Debating NWICO and WSIS: A Historical Perspective
XU, PEIXI (2008)
2008
Tiedotusoppi - Journalism and Mass Communication
Yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta - Faculty of Social Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2008-03-19
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:uta-1-17823
https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:uta-1-17823
Tiivistelmä
The thesis gives a historical review and analysis to the process from the New World
Information and Communication Order (NWICO, 1976-1984) to the World Summit
on the Information Society (WSIS, 2003-2005). With the support of the Socialist East,
the Non-Aligned South initiated the NWICO movement at the end of the 1970s in
order to challenge the unfair international communication mechanism dominated by
the Capitalist West. The multilateral negotiations on NWICO lasted for almost ten
years at various UN platforms until the US and the UK withdrew from UNESCO. At
the dawn of the 21st century, the political, market and civil society forces met twice at
WSIS summits in Geneva and Tunis, continuing to pursue topics such as Internet
governance and intellectual property rights.
NWICO and WSIS are not only international communication activities by themselves
but also international communication regulation events and media events, and
constitute a sound sample for international communication research. The thesis adopts
a debating formula to describe and analyze this sample. These debates consist of both
academic debates and political ones. Chapter 1 introduces the composition of the
thesis. Chapter 2 and 3 respectively introduce the dominant academic paradigm and
political process of NWICO. Chapter 4 and 5 respectively introduce the dominant
academic paradigm and political process of WSIS. Chapter 6 puts everything together
and meanwhile comes to several important conclusions regarding this historical
process. These academic and political debates contribute not only to the
understanding of their relationship but also to the understanding of various topics
regarding media systems, international communication regulation, and international
communication research.
As far as the media system is concerned, the thesis reviews critically how the
market-controlled media system has been defended in global forums. While a
state-controlled media system is in no case compatible with communication
democratization, neither does a profit-oriented media system constitute a sufficient
condition for such democratization. In the aspect of international communication
regulation, the thesis argues that both the Newly Industrialized Countries and the civil
society forces pose themselves as the challengers of the international communication
rule-makers, an alignment of transnational corporations and Western polities. The
appeals of the latter, however, come closer to the core of communication
democratization. In terms of international communication research, the study
concludes with a promotion of such perspectives like human rights, the right to
communicate, and civil society and the intellectual elements embedded outside
Western intellectual traditions.
Key Words: NWICO, WSIS, history
Information and Communication Order (NWICO, 1976-1984) to the World Summit
on the Information Society (WSIS, 2003-2005). With the support of the Socialist East,
the Non-Aligned South initiated the NWICO movement at the end of the 1970s in
order to challenge the unfair international communication mechanism dominated by
the Capitalist West. The multilateral negotiations on NWICO lasted for almost ten
years at various UN platforms until the US and the UK withdrew from UNESCO. At
the dawn of the 21st century, the political, market and civil society forces met twice at
WSIS summits in Geneva and Tunis, continuing to pursue topics such as Internet
governance and intellectual property rights.
NWICO and WSIS are not only international communication activities by themselves
but also international communication regulation events and media events, and
constitute a sound sample for international communication research. The thesis adopts
a debating formula to describe and analyze this sample. These debates consist of both
academic debates and political ones. Chapter 1 introduces the composition of the
thesis. Chapter 2 and 3 respectively introduce the dominant academic paradigm and
political process of NWICO. Chapter 4 and 5 respectively introduce the dominant
academic paradigm and political process of WSIS. Chapter 6 puts everything together
and meanwhile comes to several important conclusions regarding this historical
process. These academic and political debates contribute not only to the
understanding of their relationship but also to the understanding of various topics
regarding media systems, international communication regulation, and international
communication research.
As far as the media system is concerned, the thesis reviews critically how the
market-controlled media system has been defended in global forums. While a
state-controlled media system is in no case compatible with communication
democratization, neither does a profit-oriented media system constitute a sufficient
condition for such democratization. In the aspect of international communication
regulation, the thesis argues that both the Newly Industrialized Countries and the civil
society forces pose themselves as the challengers of the international communication
rule-makers, an alignment of transnational corporations and Western polities. The
appeals of the latter, however, come closer to the core of communication
democratization. In terms of international communication research, the study
concludes with a promotion of such perspectives like human rights, the right to
communicate, and civil society and the intellectual elements embedded outside
Western intellectual traditions.
Key Words: NWICO, WSIS, history