Afterword
| Author | Paul Claval |
| Published date | 01 July 1995 |
| Date | 01 July 1995 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/019251219501600308 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
305-
Afterword
PAUL
CLAVAL
ABSTRACT.
The
author
places
the
papers
in
this
issue
of
the
Review
in
the
general
context
of
communications,
political
geography
and
global
change.
He
considers
several
major
perspectives:
the
worldwide
impact
of
modern
communications
systems
on
political
and
economic
structures;
the
effects
of the
communications
revolution
on
regional
planning,
and,
finally,
on
the
private
sector.
Impact
of
Modern
Communication
Systems
Worldwide
The
improved
technologies
of
communication
make
it
increasingly
difficult
for
states
to
isolate
themselves
from
the
international
scene.
Because
people
were
able
to
listen
to
foreign
radio
broadcasts,
it
became
impossible
during
World
War Two
for
state
propaganda
services
to
achieve
a
monopoly
of
information
on
the
territo-
ries
they
controlled.
Socialist
countries
tried
to
isolate
themselves
by
iron
or
bamboo
curtains.
However,
the
collapse
of
East
European
communist
regimes
has
since
shown
the
futility
of
such
a
stance.
Today
a
political
system
cannot
sever
its
communications
from
the
rest
of
the
world
even
during
a
time
of
war.
On
the
other
hand,
it
can
limit
or
forbid
the
movement
of
newsmen,
and
organize
the
diffusion
of
information
in
an
attempt
to
bluff
the
foreign
press
services:
the
Gulf
War
was
an
excellent
illustration
of
both
these
practices.
Cambodia
in
the
1970s
and
ex-Yugoslavia
today
prove
that
it
is
impossible
to
conceal
atrocities
for
a
long
time.
The
pressure
of
public
opinion
to
know
the
facts
has
increased-partly
through
the
action
of
television
news
services
like
cNN.
Another
feature
of
the
political
scene
today
is
that
international
political
life
has
ceased
to
be
monopolized
by
states;
non-governmental
organizations,
which
played
only
a
modest
role
until
the
post-war
period,
are
increasingly
numerous.
They
are
active
in
the
fields
of
religion,
culture
and
the
economy;
they
have
given
a
new
dimension
to
international
relief
action;
they
often
bypass
diplomacy,
or
comple-
ment
its
action.
The
technological
changes
of the
last
fifty
years
have
had
a
major
impact
on
economic
life.
Until
World
War
Two,
energy,
raw
materials
and
manufactured
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