Chinese Public Opinion and the Interest Frontiers

2021 ◽  
pp. 144-169
Author(s):  
Andrea Ghiselli
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Simple Fact ◽  
Territorial Integrity ◽  
The Media ◽  
Chinese Public ◽  
Western Democracies

Although it is not as decisive a factor as it is in Western democracies, the space for Chinese public opinion to influence foreign policy has grown over the years thanks to the population’s greater access to the Internet, the diversification of the media, and the simple fact that today’s Chinese leaders are not revolutionary heroes. While domestic public opinion cannot shape the country’s foreign policy on issues related to China’s “core interests”—the commanding role of the Chinese Communist Party and the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty—the situation is different when the discussion is less sensitive. The Chinese approach to North Africa and the Middle East is one of those topics. Hence, this chapter looks at how online Chinese public opinion influenced the domestic narrative on protecting the country’s overseas interests. It exposes a contested environment where the actions and the narrative put forward by policymakers were often under pressure as Chinese citizens favored a more muscular approach to defending the country’s overseas interests.

10. The role of media and public opinion

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piers Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Persuasive Communication ◽  
The Public ◽  
Critical Approaches ◽  
The Media

This chapter examines the relevance of media and public opinion to our understanding of foreign policy and international politics. It first considers whether public opinion influences foreign policy formulation, as argued by the pluralist model, or whether the public are politically impotent, as argued by the elite model. It then explores whether the media can influence foreign policy formulation, as argued by the pluralist model, or whether the media are fundamentally subservient to the foreign policy process, as argued by the elite model. It also integrates these competing arguments with theoretical frames used in the study of international relations: namely, realism, liberalism, and critical approaches (including constructivism and post-structuralism). The chapter concludes by discussing contemporary debates concerning organized persuasive communication and the ‘war on terror’.

11. Media and US foreign policy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piers Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Global Media ◽  
Power Projection ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter examines the academic debates over the relationship between US public opinion, media, and foreign policy. It first considers the nature of US media and public opinion, including democratic expectations of mass media and public opinion, before discussing pluralist and elite approaches to understanding the links between media, public opinion, and foreign policy. It then explores the role of propaganda and persuasion with respect to US power projection, with particular emphasis on the ways in which public opinion and media can be understood as a source of power for — and as a constraint upon — US foreign policy. It also reviews contemporary debates regarding the impact of technological developments, such as the emergence of global media like the internet and social media, upon US power and influence.

Propagating Terror: 9/11 and the Mediation of War

2002 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
Cultural Construction ◽  
Noam Chomsky ◽  
Cultural Conditions ◽  
Mediated Discourse ◽  
The Media ◽  
Ideological Perspective

Academic and public analysis of the media's performance during the 9/11 and Afghanistan wars are critically influenced by the specific ideological perspective of the analyst. Those commentators who support the reprisal attacks against bin Laden, Al Qaeda and the Taliban tend to commend the media, identifying a substantial confluence between state interests, public opinion and media reporting. Alternatively, commentators such as Noam Chomsky who are highly critical of American foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, see the media as representing a pernicious conduit which allows state and military hegemonies to oppress and manipulate public opinion. The role of the media in reporting war and terrorism needs to be considered in terms of processes of cultural construction and representation. As we approach the anniversary of 9/11 and the ‘war on terror’, we need to understand that government foreign policy, public opinion and military action are all shaped through specific kinds of mediated discourse. Our role as media analysts is to expose these discourses in terms of those complex historical and cultural conditions which have served to generate a violence of this proportion.

scholarly journals Foreign Policy of Provisional Priamur Government (1921—1922): Process of Formation and Basic Ideological Attitudes

2021 ◽  
pp. 431-449
Author(s):  
F. A. Popov ◽  
V. Z. Tsvetkov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Russian Territory ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
Far Eastern ◽  
Ideological Attitudes ◽  
Newspaper Articles

The article is devoted to the foreign policy course of the anti-Bolshevik Provisional Priamurye Government, which controled Primorye in 1921—1922. The source base of the research was the journalism of the pro-government press (the newspapers “Slovo”, “Russian Territory”, “Bulletin of the Provisional Priamurye Government”) and archival materials. Particular attention is paid to the role of the media in substantiating the foreign policy of the Far Eastern non-socialists. It is shown that the official statements of the government (appeals, proclamations, interviews of officials) published in the press contained the foundations of the foreign policy doctrine of the White movement. In addition, it is indicated that anti-Bolshevik publicists regularly responded to foreign policy events and tried to form public opinion through newspaper articles. It is noted that the cornerstone of the program of the Provisional Priamurye Government was the thesis of the antagonism of “Russia” (personified in the white Primorye) and “Sovdepia” — RSFSR (together with the buffer Far Eastern Republic). As an example, illustrating the application of Provisional Priamurye Government ideological attitudes in practice, the sending of a delegation from the white Primorye to the Washington conference at the end of 1921 is given. The preceding press campaign, designed to substantiate the importance of the presence of the anti-Bolshevik delegation in Washington, is highlighted. 

The Media in the Making of Indian Foreign Policy

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manoj Joshi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Media Ownership ◽  
Fourth Estate ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
Policy Direction ◽  
Indian Foreign Policy

The media has often been called the fourth estate, or the fourth branch of the government, for the role it plays in the societal and political life of a country. Through the medium of newspapers, TV, and now the Internet, it not just informs, but also influences public opinion and through that, the government, to adopt, reject, or modify a chosen policy direction. While there are other means through which people make informed choices on domestic policy, the media plays a significantly larger role when it comes to foreign policy. This chapter seeks to establish just what kind of a role the Indian media plays in the making of foreign policy, discussing also influences over its content, not least those relating to media ownership in India.

Intervention and Intransitivity: Public Opinion, Social Choice, and the Use of Military Force Abroad

1995 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 534-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt Taylor Gaubatz
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Social Choice ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Military Force ◽  
Public Preferences ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
The Impact

This article argues that the problems identified in the literature on public choice should critically affect our research on public opinion and our understanding of the impact of public opinion on foreign policy. While a robust literature has emerged around social choice issues in political science, there has been remarkably little appreciation for these problems in the literature on public opinion in general and on public opinion and foreign policy in particular. The potential importance of social choice problems for understanding the nature and role of public opinion in foreign policy making is demonstrated through an examination of American public attitudes about military intervention abroad. In particular, drawing on several common descriptions of the underlying dimensionality of public attitudes on major foreign policy issues, it is shown that there may be important intransitivities in the ordering of public preferences at the aggregate level on policy choices such as those considered by American decision makers in the period leading up to the Gulf War. Without new approaches to public-opinion polling that take these problems into consideration, it will be difficult to make credible claims about the role of public opinion in theforeignpolicy process.

scholarly journals Media Massa dalam Situasi Konflik: dari Bandwagon Effect Sampai Peace Narrative

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 503
Author(s):  
Aloysius Ranggabumi Nuswantoro
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Theoretical Studies ◽  
Bandwagon Effect ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Relationship

Conflict occurs between two or more parties with different interests. Media related to conflict. The ability of the media to influence public opinion is the biggest element in the relationship between media with conflict. The media in this context can be a party that sparked the conflict but could also act as resolutor conflict. Media as a provocateur when play became an arm of one of the conflicting parties, while a conciliator conflict when showing neutrality and information that tends to peace (peace narrative). And theoretical studies should be conducted searches empirical facts on this subject, to clarify the position, the position and role of media in conflict situations. The results can also be used to see the extent to which the media contribute to creating conditions of public space and democratic deliberative. Against this, the choice to stick with journalism be the most appropriate choice for the media in an effort to maintain its position as an agent of democracy in society.

scholarly journals The Role of the Media in Shaping and Propagating May Day Rituals

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 377-423
Author(s):  
Slađana Josipović Batorek ◽  
Valentina Kezić
Keyword(s):  
Communist Party ◽  
Religious Tradition ◽  
Political Messages ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cult Of Personality ◽  
May Day ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
Political Rituals

The Communist Party of Yugoslavia’s (CPY) rise to power in 1945 was followed by a period of fundamental socio-political changes that encompassed all aspects of life. In order to establish a complete political and ideological authority, the government attempted to suppress all elements which, in their view, were not aligned with the doctrine of the Communist Party. As a result, everything that was perceived as remnants of the old socio-political order was marginalised, such as religion, tradition and customs. Moreover, reinterpretation of the past also took place, as well as creation of new rituals and Tito’s cult of personality. Accordingly, a completely new calendar of official, state holidays was established, deprived of any national or religious tradition. One of those holidays was May Day, which was celebrated for two days and whose purpose, like most other holidays of that period, was to create uniqueness of feelings and actions in society, focusing on the working class, socialism, CPY, Yugoslavia and Josip Broz Tito. Besides, celebrations of major anniversaries and holidays, including May Day, presented an opportunity for transmission of ideological and political messages, most often articulated through numerous slogans which clearly defined the direction in which the society should move. The media played a key role in this process. Therefore, the central part of the paper consists of the analysis of newspaper articles from Glas Slavonije in order to understand its role in the implementation of those new political rituals and social values.

Revisiting the synopticon: Reconsidering Mathiesen’s ‘The Viewer Society’ in the age of Web 2.0

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Reciprocal System ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Media Production ◽  
Top Down ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Mass Media ◽  
The Many

Thomas Mathiesen’s ‘The Viewer Society’ has been widely influential. Mathiesen posited, alongside the panopticon, a reciprocal system of control, the synopticon, in which ‘the many’ watch ‘the few’. I point to the value of Mathiesen’s arguments but also suggest a reconsideration. I consider where recent challenges to theorizing surveillance as panoptic leave the synopticon. The synopticon is tied to a top—down, instrumental way of theorizing the media. It neglects resistance, alternative currents in media production and reception, the role of culture and the increasing centrality of the internet. Mathiesen’s piece is most useful in a narrower way, in highlighting how surveillance and the mass media interact, rather than in thinking about the role of the media in control more generally.

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