VYTAUTO DIDŽIOJO UNIVERSITETAS POLITIKOS MOKSLŲ IR DIPLOMATIJOS FAKULTETAS POLITOLOGIJOS KATEDRA
Povilas Junas
EMERGENCE OF SELF-RULING MASS MEDIA IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Magistrantūros studijų baigiamasis darbas
Diplomatijos ir tarptautinių santykių programa, valstybinis kodas 62102S101 Politikos mokslų studijų kryptis
Vadovas Prof. dr. Gintautas Mažeikis ______(Moksl. laipsnis, vardas, pavardė) (parašas) (data)
Apginta Prof. dr. Šarūnas Liekis ______(Moksl. laipsnis, vardas, pavardė) (parašas) (data)
Kaunas, 2011
1 Table of Contents
Summary...... 3 Santrauka...... 4 Abbreviations:...... 5 1. Introduction...... 6 2. Shifting patters of political communication and battle over the control of the Internet...... 11 2.1 Nature of political communication ...... 11 2.2 Power of information and discourse...... 13 2.3 Nature of International Political Communication...... 14 2.4 Three dimensions of cyberspace's control...... 21 3. Sovereign states' struggle against online mapping service providers...... 24 3.1 Understanding the principal of territoriality...... 25 3.2. Constrained might of a state in international political communication...... 27 3.3 Research case No. 1: Study of online mapping service ...... 29 3.3.1 Contrariwise determination of national territory...... 30 3.3.2 Cyber micro-image atlas and it's affect to a state might...... 36 4. Inception of überstate mass media...... 40 4.1 Information wars...... 40 4.2 The Pentagon Papers story's impact to International Political Communication...... 44 4.3 Supranational and subnational layers of international political communication...... 46 4.4 Research case No.2: Presumption of überstate mass media...... 47 4.4.1 Narrow narrative of überstate mass media...... 48 4.4.2. Wide narrative of überstate mass media...... 50 4.3 Überstate mass media's impact to international political communication ...... 53 5. The premise of stateless international political communication...... 56 5.1 Pattern of stateless international political communication...... 56 5.2 Value of communicative action and supremacy of communicative rationality...... 57 5.3 Division between social capital and symbolic capital online...... 58 5.4. Research case No. 3: Study of stateless international political communication ...... 60 5.5. Complexity of online personality in decentralized international political communication...63 6. Conclusions...... 68 References:...... 71 Bibliography:...... 71 Other Sources: ...... 75 Annexes:...... 78
2 Summary
International political communication is a part of international relations. Sovereign states used to be only participant of the process one century ago. International talks were carried on between statesmen behind close doors. However, last one hundred years have brought many changes to political communication and international relations in general. First of all, emancipation of people and introduction of universal suffrage have radically changed scene of political communicative activities. Ignorance of public opinion is unforgivable in modern politics. Furthermore, role of mass media has substantially increased. News organizations moved form being transmitters of 'objective' fact to being interpreters and creators of facts. Thus, eventually three major actors have settled in the field of international political communication. Yet, the process have been substantially shifted again by the emergence of the Internet – global, liberal and decentralized network of information and communication.
The Internet is complex and multilayer environment. National governments, non- governmental organizations, transnational corporations and other business organizations, mass media and other organizations acts in cyberspace. Furthermore, some offline world activities, such as shopping, establishing and maintaining personal relations, business meeting and negotiations, were partly or fully transferred to online word. Moreover, online organizations has accrued in the last decade. Some of them rapidly grew up and became more important than other, just like in the offline world. While the information is the main commodity in online world, organizations, which control streams of information became more and more powerful.
Independence and liberty of cyberspace enabled inception of new kind mass media. Internet based news organization no longer needed to obey national laws and acknowledge states' superiority in international political communication. News organizations, like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Wikileaks, etc., have emerged as mighty actors in the international communicative activities. They are being driven by self-interests, which not necessary conform sovereign states' interests. The development of new kind mass media are not being determined by national laws or other offline rules. This study determined the role of self-ruling mass media in the international political communication. Also, this work showed that emergence of new kind mass media have caused substantial decline of sovereign states' power in international political communication.
3 Santrauka
Politinė komunikacija yra neatsiejama kasdienės politikos dalis. Tuo tarpu, tarptautinė politinė komunikacija yra tarptautinių santykių dalis. Įprasta manyti, kad valstybės yra vienintelės dalyvės tarptautinėje politinėje komunikacijoje. Taip iš tiesų buvo XX amžiaus pirmoje pusėje, kuomet tarptautinis bendradarbiavimas vyko tik tarp valstybinių pareigūnų už uždarų durų. Vis dėlto, per pastaruosius šimtą metų tarptautinė politinė komunikacija stipriai pasikeitė. Visų pirma, politikai nebegali ignoruoti viešosios nuomonės. Visuomenė tapo komunikacijos proceso dalyve. Taip pat, žiniasklaidos priemonės tapo neatsiejama proceso dalimi. Žiniasklaidos funkcijos XX amžiuje stipriai keitėsi. Pradžioje ji tebuvo tarpininkas, kuris perduodavo „objektyvias“ naujienas, visgi laikui bėgant naujienų agentūros pradėjo interpretuoti ir kurti naujienas. Šie pokyčiai buvo labai svarbūs, tačiau ne vieninteliai. Interneto – laisvo, decentralizuoto ir globalaus komunikacijos ir informacijos perdavimo tinklo atsiradimas kardinaliai pakeitė tarptautinę politinę komunikaciją.
Internetas – sudėtinga ir daugiasluoksnis komunikacijos tinklas. Taip pat, jis – kasdieninė daugelio gyvenimų dalis. Nacionalinių šalių vyriausybės, transnacionalinės korporacijos, nevyriausybinės organizacijos, žiniasklaidos kompanijos ir kitos organizacijos aktyviai veikliai kibernetinėje erdvėje. Dalis veiklų ir paslaugų buvo perkelta į internetą. Taip pat, ir tarptautinės politinės komunikacijos proceso dalis vyksta skaitmeniniame pasaulyje. XXI amžiuje informacija tuo pačiu metu yra prekė, įrankis ir, netgi, ginklas. Todėl, kova dėl informacijos kontrolės ir dėl interneto kontrolės yra labai intensyvi.
Liberalus, atviras ir decentralizuotas internatas – erdvė, kurioje vystoji naujos rūšies masinio informavimo priemonės. Jos yra nepavaldžios nacionalinių valstybių vyriausybėms ir veikia skatinamos savų interesų. Google, Wikileaks, Facebook, Twitter ir kitos netradicinės internatinės žiniasklaidos organizacijos tapo įtakingomis ir galingomis veikėjomis tarptautinės politinės komunikacijos procese. Jos vystosi ne pagal valstybių sukurtas taisyklės, tačiau pagal savas. Jos yra pirmos viršvalstybinės naujienų agentūros. Šis tyrimas atskleidė savivaldžių žiniasklaidos organizacijų vaidmenį ir galią tarptautinėje politinėje komunikacijoje. Taip pat tyrimas parodė, kad naujo tipo žiniasklaidos iškilimas lėmė valstybių galios tarptautinėje politinėje komunikacijoje mažėjimą.
4 Abbreviations:
EHRC – European Human Right Court
EU – European Union
IR – International Relations
NGO – Non-Governmental Organization
OD – Online Disclosure
OSC – Online Social Connections
OSD – Online self-disclosure
SNS – Social Networking Site
TNC – Transnational Corporation
UK – United Kingdom
USA – United States of America
5 1. Introduction
Field of the study: There are almost no independent variables today. Recent global financial crisis was an example of complexity and interconnectivity. Share market are all connected among each other, also it is connected with bank system and real estate market, which are connected with consumers will to consume, which mainly dependence on advertisements, public relations propaganda, which directly connected with mass media, which has bias with national governments, which again is connected with each of subject mentioned before. In other worlds, contemporary world is like huge web with many strings, which connects everything with anything. Thus, connectivity and communication are especially valuable nowadays. Statement, that informations is the most valuable commodity, is already cliché. On the one hand, the structure of web is dangerous, because event which occurs in one part of the web, and would be local one century ago, can shake whole web nowadays. Real estate crisis in US, which has caused worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression was most complicated, yet merely one example among many. On the other hand, every point is attached to many strings and are supported by them. Thus, critical failure of any single point is less likely in the web structure. Thus, local becomes an international. However, concept of all interconnected globalized world structure is mainly based on fluent, efficient and fast international political communication. Sovereign states, transnational corporations (TNCs), non- governmental organizations (NGOs), news organizations, societies, democratic movements, minorities, trade unions, political parties, etc. are permanently politically communicating on the international level. Emergence of the Internet – global network of communication and movement of information – has caused rapid growth of the intensity of political communication and altered it in various ways, as well.
Exploration of the field of study: Political communication has been studied in various ways by many students (McNair, 2003, Habermas 2002, Perloff 1998, Denton ir Woodward 1998) In Lithuania Balčytienė, Vinciūnienė, Bielinis, Mažeikis are analyzing field of political communication. A. Vinciūnienė has defended her PhD thesis on European Union communication policy and its implementation on the national level last year. Professor A. Balčytienė worked together with other students of political communication and published various studies of political communication in European Union. Professor G. Mažeikis published priceless monograph about propaganda and symbolic thinking, which are subjects of international political communication. Although, the field of political communication is well researched, there are some gaps. First of all,
6 the emergence and the rapid growth of the Internet raise many questions. Number of students of social science, political science, communication, journalism, etc. have discussed about the nature of the Internet and how it affects international political communication among people, societies, nations, sovereign states (Boyd 2008, Buffardi, Campbell 2008 Chang, Himelboim, Dong 2009, Kumar 2010, Ledbetter & others 2010, Rice 2006, Manen 2010, van Manen, 2009, Vise 2006).Yet, one of the main feature of the Internets is its dynamics. Online world is changing far quicker than offline world. Furthermore, these online shift has rather tremendous impact on offline world. Information transfer and communication technologies, such as the Internet, computers, cell-phones, surveillance and tracking technologies, are developing and diffusing in the 'speed of light'. The Internet is the best example. In the couple of last decades cyberspace expanded handful of websites to several millions. While, the expansion of quantity is undeniable crucial, the growth of quality is even more surprising. One of the most striking trends of two latter decades is devaluation of physical distance. Because of the Internet, long distance, international political communication is as easy and cheap as never before. Speed of information has increased rapidly in past twenty years. Thus, practically almost any part of the world can be reached in a matter of minutes, even seconds. Furthermore, the Internet differs from any other kind of technology of communication and broadcast of information, by high scale of independence from small number of governmental or business institutions. Number of students have studied political communication among common people in the cyberspace. (Chung 2008, Corrales & Westhoff, 2006, Keohane & Nye 1998, McKinnon 2008, Rosenau 2002).
Novelty of the study: Social scientists generally agree that information technologies, for better or worst, have became inseparable part of states' and people's daily life. Although there are no consensus, on what degree the Internet affect public uprisings, protests, turmoils and revolutions, among students of democratization and political science, they all agree that cyberspace matters. Furthermore, while national political communication is being studied by many, only few scholars are aiming for studies of international political communication. Unfortunately, scholars of International Relations (IR) are reluctant to analyze the Internet's part in IR. Eriksson and Giacomello (2006: 222) explain the problem:
In particular, very few attempts have been made to apply international relations (IR) theory in analyzing the information revolution, an exercise which seems warranted both for the understanding of the impact of the information revolution on security and for the development of IR theory.
Therefore, in this work, I am going to study international political communication. Many different
7 kind of political organizations are participating in international political communication. Majority of the students of international political communication are still arguing that state are primal and, even, an only actor in the international relations. Yet, this study takes unorthodox approach towards international political communication. It is going to be shown that the list of participant of international political communication can not be narrowed down to statesmen and sovereign states only. Indeed, international political communication is very complex process. Talks between two or more are part of it, however it is merely narrow stream in the wide torrent of international political communication. Moreover, this work is going to present the new trends and prove, that role of the sovereign state in international political communication is declining. Some student of political communication (Kuman 2010, Xin 2010, Danh, Haddow 2007, Errikson Eriksson,Giacomello 2006) have investigated international relations among sovereign states and non-state actors, however this field of studies are very fresh, dynamic and vibrant.
Relevance of the study: In the last decades, students of political communication argued, that mass media – on of the three participants in the process of political communication, next to political organizations and society – are more than just a transferrer of “objective” information. Mass media interpret facts and present its interpretations next to the fact, as well. Furthermore, boundaries between facts and interpretations are fades. Firstly these processes occurred in the national arena. Ideologically orientated and biased news organizations have emerged inside sovereign state borders. International political communication is rather a tool to reach specific aims, than actual aim by itself. Since the end of the Second World War news organizations have became a powerful player in national politics. In the recent decades it power expanded and passed by borders of sovereign states. In this study I am going to analyze, what changes have caused new mass media in the international political communication.
Problem of the study: Since the emergence of political communication, it was dominated by nationally dependent mass media. Primary mass media has been seen as mediator between society and politics. It delivered politics' messages to the society and vice versa. However, soon power of information was realized and mass media was not satisfied with being merely mediator. Mass media started to be participant in the process of politics. According to Brian McNair (2007), mass media has five functions in the ideal word. Beside other task, mass media should deliver a platform for political discussions and educate society about politics, by delivering facts about political events and trends. However, mass media avoid these duties (McNair 2007, McQuail 1994). Contrary, it is rather interpreter than merely messenger. Yet firstly these changes occur inside the
8 national states. For example, while Fox News has rather different point of view of U.S. National politics than MSNBC, both these news agencies are pro-American in the international area. Just like BBC is British, Al Jazeera – Arabic Xinhua – Chinese and etc. Sangeet Kumar (2010: 158) observed 'states have always been troubled by foreign media content, and have sought to regulate it'. However, in the last decade situation has evolved. The proliferation of communication satellites, rapid rise of accessibility and usage of the Internet, privatization of state-owned news agencies accelerated mass media movement to international stage. Eventually self-ruling, ideologically orientated, biased, selfish and global mass media emerged. Information, broadcasted by global news organization, are accessible almost universally. Moreover, national state options to control transnational streams of information are very limited. Sovereign states have lost monopoly of control of information inside it's borders. Thus, number of clashes between national states and global self-ruling mass media organizations accurst increases.
The aim of this work is to determine the role of self-ruling online mass media in International Relations, after having done the analysis of shifted patterns of International political communication.
The objects of the work are acts and communicative practices of self-ruling news organization: Google, Bing, Yahoo!, Яндекс, Baidu, Wikileaks, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube.
In order to achieve the aim of the work, I had these tasks:
1. The first task was to explain the liberal and decentralized nature of international political communication in the World Wide Web.
2. The second task was to define balance of power between sovereign states and self-ruling mass media in the international political communication.
3. The third task was to analyze the inception and pattern of new kind mass media, which liberates itself from the rule of sovereign states.
4. The fourth task was to determine process of international political communication, which is being proceeded without participation of sovereign states.
The research sets out to test the following thesis: the emergence of the Internet and the inception of self-ruling mass media have caused contraction of sovereign state power in
9 international political communication.
The methodology applied in this study involves method of analyzes of literature. This method is used to define theory of international political communication and its appearance on the Internet. Also, the methodology applied in this study involves method of qualitative analyze of the spectrum of international political communication acts and practices. Quantitative research method was applied for three research cases. The method is used to determine changes caused by the new mass media in the international political communication.
Chapter 2 introduces the concepts of national and international political communication; the powerful nature of discourse; and the liberal and uncontrollable background of the Internet. Chapter 3 studies patterns of territorial principe and origin of national cartography; shrinking states' might in international political communication; and struggle between sovereign states and online mapping service provider for a right to determine and present image of sovereign state and international system. The study of online mapping service providers, its relations with sovereign states and its role in the international political communication was made in the chapter. Chapter 4 explores a one hundred year old history of international political communication and states' superiority over an information, especially in the times of war; development of whistleblower concept; and constitution of new type news organization, which exists above rule of national laws. The study of new type überstate mass media and it participation in the process of international political communication was made and exhibit in the chapter. Chapter 5 analyze theory of communicative action and superiority of communicative rationality; patters of Social Networking Sites and online public spaces; characteristics of online personality, trends in online social existence and how these factors affect international political communication. The research study of Social Networking Sites role in international political communication was made and exhibit in this chapter. Chapter 6 provides with the conclusions of the study.
10 2. Shifting patters of political communication and battle over the control of the Internet
2.1 Nature of political communication
Political communication systems, in Swanson (Swanson 2004) words, are dynamic, constantly evolving, never settled. Just when we think we understand how is all works, things change. Role of mass media in the process of political communication is not stable, as well. Since idea of the universal suffrage was started to implement in modern state, way, how mass media is been seeing by politics, public and itself, is changing constantly. Sabato (1991) suggest that we saw 'lapdog role' of the media primarily from the 1941 to 1966, the 'watchdog role' from 1966 to 1974, and then a shift to what he calls the 'junkyard dog' role form 1974 to present. Idea of journalists as lapdogs means opposite perspective of news media, rather than one of journalist of “guarding” the public (journalists as watchdog), is news media serving at the will of government officials rather than people). Meanwhile, the 'junkyard dog' exemplifies the reporter as aggressive and instructive and suggest that gossip may be perceived as newsworthy.
While, many scholars of political communication, journalism, public relations, etc. may disagree with Sabato theory and claim that it is to old to adopt in 2010's, vast majority of them agrees that mass media broadcasts not just facts but partisan opinions, as well. Stanyer (2007: 112) noticed, that the distinction between news and comment, once a cornerstone of the broadsheet press, is fading. High pressure from competition has meant the high modern idea of providing 'objective' information, on which a civic-minded public can make political decision, is being abandoned. The changes has been driven in part by advertisers, interested in reaching particular audience. James Stanyer (2008) explains that since 1980s media moved away from citizen-centered outlook towards customer-centered outlook. He (Stanyer 2007: 95) states: “In this contemporary market-driven news order, audiences are increasingly regarded not as citizen first and consumer second, but first and foremost as consumers”. Marker is one of the main causes of the recent shift of mass media's role in political communication. Fuchs has developed similar idea in his work about mass media imperialism. He (Fuchs 2010: 46) argues:
Media globalization then means that corporatism – the structuration of media organizations according to the logic of capital accumulation and profit maximization – has expanded its worldwide scope. Corporatism
11 rules the world, therefore it also rules media and information organizations, which have increasingly been transformed into media corporations in processes of accumulation by dispossession that transform information and technology into commodities or intensify their commodity character.
News organizations see its audience as a group of consumers, not only with limited political appetite but with different tastes and patterns of consumption, as well. Hence, they act as a salesmen. Firstly, they try to attract an attention of potential customer. Thus, mass media are desperate for breaking news and scandals. Secondly, it seeks to keep an interest of customer – in this case reader, viewer, listener and surfer. Thus, it is permanently exposing new information to the customer. Mass media, just like any other business organization has adopted, concept of 'creative destruction'. Term of 'creative destruction' first time has been mentioned by Joseph Schumpeter in his work entitled "Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy" (1942). He has stated (Schumpeter, 1942) that it is "process of industrial mutation that incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one." In other world, each day customers of mass media are being provided with new information, which overlap old information. Thirdly, mass media urges actions of customer. A news organization is successful only if customer chooses its product. Therefore, it has to provide different product, than its rivals. There is little point for news organizations to repeat what the audience has been in other channels. Hence, the broadsheet press increasingly sees its role as that of commentator of events, acting interpreter for their readers (viewers). Moog (2001) notes that news is increasingly engaged in interpreting event and reactions to interpretations. Lastly, mass media seeks to create loyal customer. Thus, it is moving further and further from providing 'objective' information. Journalism moved, in Patterson's (2000) words, from being an observer relaying events to being an analyst interpreting events for the audience. Mass media seeks to shift and eventually construct a way how people are interpreting news. Therefore, it is trying to create predispositions. Mažeikis (2010) reminds, there is no meaning in the World per se, apart of the meaning, which is being created by communities and individuals, such as historians, critics, economists, sociologists, bureaucrats, essayists and journalist. Creation of predispositions are directly linked with new, changing rhetorics. Various legends substantiate importance and decisiveness of new statements. These statements are being used as premise in various contexts. Contemporary news organizations are using this technique. Firstly, mass media present interpretation of the event as actual event. Later on news organizations use these fictional events to support other fictional event. Eventually consumers of the information are being pulled in into the stream of information, with barely distinctive boundaries or no boundaries between 'objective' fact and its interpretation.
12 Then again, modern politics are mainly mediated politics (Bennett and Entman, 2001), in the sense, that mass media main is the most important channel of communication between the politics and society. The role of the internet in this process of communication is widely discussed. Jesper Strömbäck (2010) argues:
The increasing importance the mass media still constitute the most important source of the information for most people on matters beyond their personal experience... <...> Political opinions can thus never be understood without tacking the media coverage of political issues, actors, and organizations into account (Strömbäck and Kaid, 2008). It is also widely acknowledged that the news media can be considerable power with respect to what issues people think are the most important (McCombs, 2004; Wanta anf Ghanem, 2007), both in general and when evaluating political actors (Iyengar and Kinder, 1987), and, through framing, how people perceive different issues, actors and organizations (Iyengar 1991; Reese, Gandy and Grant, 2001)
Yet, Strömbäck considers just one layer of the Internet. Cyberspace is not merely an environment politicians and society can directly communicate via technologies such as e-mails, online forums, chats, video calls, etc. Mass media are, nevertheless, active in the online world. On the one hand, the Internet is an additional sphere for mass media. The vast majority of TV broadcasters, newspapers and radio stations have partial and fully transferred their activities to the online world, as well. On the other hand, emergence of cyberspace has brought totally new technologies into informational environment. For example, potentiality for real-time coverage of the news is unlimited. Therefore online mass media, either it is brach of offline mass media, either its exclusively online organization, has substantial impact on political communication and politics in general.
2.2 Power of information and discourse
Post-modernists, such as Michael Foucault, Jean-Francois Lyotard, and others, examined knowledge and power relations. While knowledge is the product of information, I am going to use knowledge term instead of information in the next chanter. It is widely accepted that the Internet became main source of information and knowledge, as well. And it is rapidly growing every year. Proponents of post-modern perspective question relations between power and knowledge in international relations. Hence, it is important to analyze the Internet source of knowledge and its relations with power in the international relations. Foucault (Sarup 1993: 74) agues, 'knowledge induces effects of power. It is impossible for power to be exercised without knowledge, it is
13 impossible for knowledge no to engender power.' In other words, knowledge and power is directly interconnected and those who controls knowledge have power and vice versa. In The Postmodern Condition Loytard analyzes nature of knowledge. He distinguishes two types of knowledge: Scientific knowledge and narrative knowledge. The post-modernist argues that narrative knowledge was devaluated in modern world. On contrary scientific knowledge emerged as only ‘true’ type of knowledge. The main difference between scientific knowledge and narrative knowledge is that scientific knowledge requires that one language game, denotation, be retained and all others be excluded. In this cases, the idea of single language game imply that the development, the democratization and the globalization means the same processes with the same consequences through out the world. As early as in the 1960’s Lyotard (1999) says that, computerized knowledge has become the principal force of production over last few decades. This has already had noticeable effect on the composition of the work-force of the most highly developed countries. He have observed changes in the social structure of developed societies. Even more, Sarup (1993: 133) explains how Loytard sees knowledge as source of tension among the states in the future: Knowledge will be the major component in the world-wide competition for power and it is conceivable that nation-states will one day fight for control of information, just as battled for control of territories in the past. In the postmodern age science will probably strengthen its pre-eminence in the arsenal of productive capacities of nation-states and the gap between developed and developing countries will grow even wider.
This idea, explains why rulers are trying to control information, source of knowledge, in their states. Moreover, it also gives explanation, why states are so concerned of loosing grip of information and knowledge control in the global arena. However, in contemporary world it is impossible to be leading source of information with out online domination.
2.3 Nature of International Political Communication
The political process of communication has and international dimension, as well. International political communication is multilayer process, which is being proceed among many different actors. In the most conservative understanding international political communication means interaction between two or more sovereign states. McNair (2007:168) describes reasons for international political communication among sovereign states:
Nation-states have interests vis-à-vis each other, which frequently bring them into economic, diplomatic or military conflict. In pursuing such
14 conflicts governments use not only directly conventional instrument of power (economic pressure and military force, but public opinion, both home and abroad.
The ideas, expressed above are very traditional. It represents Realpolitick which is the oldest and most frequently adopted theory of international politics. This theory is being dated back to Niccolò Machiavelli's and Thomas Hobbes' works. Indeed, as Donnelly (2009:31) noticed, “Realist emphasize the constrain on politics by human selfishness ('egoism') and the absence of international government ('anarchy'), which require 'the primacy in all political life of power and security' (Gilpin 1986:305)”. States used to be only actors of international political communication till the era of mass communication. Then international communication used to be carried on behind closed doors. However, as the mass media has enormously expanded, the gap between event and the reportage of it has almost disappeared and physical distance lost its relevance, foreigns policies of states became a matter of daily public debate. Sovereign states are not only actors, which dwell in the process of international political communication. First and foremost, mass media has to be added to the list of participants of global communication. Also such actors, local and global societies, minority groups, non-governmental organization, businesses enterprises, labour union and many other actively or passively participate in contemporary international political communication.
State's propaganda and public relations (PR) is a substantial part of international political communication, as well. Sovereign states uses propaganda and PR campaigns to influence people's notions and actions. In the introduction to his monograph Mažeikis (2010) observes, that modern propaganda is based on the wide spectrum of techniques and technological measures to form and maintain thinking schemes; also, to ensure societie's dynamics and modernization. Over the last one hundred years, sovereign states invoke propaganda to gain specific foreign policy goals many times. Liberation of free and creative rationality prevent brainwashing, though reforms and other manipulative actions of propaganda. The Internet enabled international political communication, which is not suppressed under national laws. New types of international news organizations spread antipropaganda widely. Contemporary cyber mass media acts as broadcaster of information and public spaces for communicative action. Moreover, in many cases it is not obligate to obey any national law. Therefore, it is especially powerful lever against sovereign states' propaganda.
Globalizations of the mass media is a vibrant topic among many who study trends of information industries. The proliferation of communication satellites, expansion of international news video, growth of transnational news organizations, rapid rise of accessibility and usage of the Internet, organization of global news networks, emergence of citizens' and bloggers' journalism and
15 fading lines between local, national and global news are the key elements of global news system. The system not only provides alternative news source through transnational satellites service and Internet cables, but also penetrates national states, when foreign interpretation of global, regional, national or even local news are often available. What is more, 'foreign' news today becomes 'local' news. As Franks (2005: 100) has written:
The demarcation between home and abroad is dissolving as never before. This is not a simply matter of globalization, but the fact that domestic and foreign matters intersect in an ever more complicated way.
Constant growth of amount of information and rather dynamic nature of news streams prevent national state from taking control over information inside its borders. Eriksson, Giacomello (2006: 224) state that 'international flow of messages and images has grown at an extraordinarily rapid rate, thus saturating the capabilities of a state to monitor closely what information goes in and what goes out of its territory'. News agencies, all around the world, adopt similar practices of information's analysis and interpretation for the audience. Furthermore, the agencies are fully aware, that it reacher audience, beyond national borders. Swanson (2004:56) summarized, that an impressive number of the comparative studies of political communication have documented similar practices in televisions news around the word. Reporters have adopted practice to decide, what counts as news and how it should be reported. Fuchs (2010: 45) analyses statistical data and argues that the globalization of media/information corporations is not a myth. On the one hand, skeptics are right that there surely is not a purely global media system because transnational corporations are grounded in their respective national economies. On the other hand, global production in the form of outsourcing, subcontracting and spatially diffused production seems to be an emergent quality of capitalism and therefore also of information corporations. In other words, majority of news organizations' production is available to foreign customers. Moreover, customers are consuming more and more information from foreign mass media. Put differently, they are accepting events interpretations offered by foreign news agencies. This traffic flows through increasingly integrated worldwide communication systems, which are no longer dominated by national bodies (Camilleri and Falk, 1992). News organizations have expanded from national level to international level. Yet, it is was only one dimension of mass media's growth. Geographical expansion of the mass media is only one feature. Analysis of horizontal growth is very important for mass media and communication studies. News organization have acted in a similar ways as transnational corporation in other businesses. It have started to subcontract local agencies, outsource labour, import 'just' facts – raw material, and
16 export interpretations of facts – production. Yet, acknowledgement and understanding of these processes are not enough to understand the role of mass media in contemporary international area. The growth of news organizations is noticeable not only in geographical terms, but in terms of power and importance, as well. The interpretive nature of modern mass media made it rather powerful player in ideas' and news' market. How, mass media have transformed from being just a broadcaster of 'objective news' to an interpreter, have been explained above. Firstly, these changes were made with in borders of sovereign state. However, no one has expected, that global geographical expansion is going bring news organizations back to neutral role. Indeed it has not happened. Contrary, ideological and bias trends global mass median are more obvious than ever before. One of the main feature of market globalization is deregulation. Since 1980's regulations have shrunk in every sector of the global business. Marketplace has been rapidly liberalized. Moreover, sovereign state's ability to control actions of transnational corporations and global market in general has suffered substantial decline. Many students of social sciences, political sciences and economics have studied these processes and its effect in various ways (Bauman 1998, Bauman 2003, Žižek 2002, Stiglitz 2003, Klein 2000). Expanse of freedom of businesses enterprises is one of many consequences of globalization, deregulation and liberalization. Business organizations are least dependent on national laws than ever before in the history of modern world. Almost ultimate freedom of financial capital movement enables transnational corporation to subcontract cheep labour wherever businessmen think it is the best for their interest. Furthermore, transnational corporations may retreat from a state whenever they want.. Although sovereign states still own absolute control of the right and regulations within the borders of the state, it does not have levers to shift patterns of global marketplace. In the other world, sovereign state can oblige any subject to obey national law, while it is in the territory, but it can not to force transnational corporation to stay in the country. Bauman (1998) is arguing that states unable to control transnational corporations, because modern technologies of communication have increased speed of capital and information transfer almost till the speed of light. Laws and rules of the state, where transnational corporation is registered are only exception. Yet, even in this kind of situation powerful business organizations has some lever and may change policies of government. The tendencies of responsibility's and dependence's shrinkage and freedom's and power's growth are favorable by many actors in the global market. Yet, news organizations enjoy current trends even more. Not only it may move its capital freely around a world and outsource labour to little regulated developing countries, it the freedom of movement in news and information market is much higher than in a market of any other commodity. Although, as latter I am going to explain, sovereign states are still enabled to control networks of information proliferation at some degree, the number of
17 option of control is much smaller than in any other area. Effectiveness of border control in terms of movement of information is not clear and is being discussed widely.
The most important and the most powerful news organizations are dwelling in the the capitalist world-system. The notion of the capitalist word-system was found by Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein in his book “The Capitalist Word-economy”. The author argues that there are no independent national markets and every single country participates in capitalist world economy. Even more I. Wallerstein (1979: 74) says that even socialist countries are members of the global system: 'Even if every nation in the world were to permit only state ownership of the means of production the world still be a capitalist system, although doubtless the political parameters would be very different from what the presently are'. In other words, the author is saying that it does not matter what kind of ownership is allow inside of the states, world economy system will exists as long as relationship between states will be based on the market. Since the end of 1970's many things have change in the global arena. First of all, number and importance of countries ruled by socialist regimes dropped. Yet, establishment of the networked global space is much more important in the context of this work. Many private enterprises went truly global, established branches all over the world, moved factories into developing peripheral countries, entered share market. However, information industries are rather different. Eriksson and Giocamello (2009:215) noticed 'that a common feature of most of the literature on the information revolution is the particular belief that in the ‘‘information age,’’ information is becoming the major resource of power.'
Furthermore, while majority of transnational corporations use levers of economic power, transnational news organizations have additional lever of power of information. Deregulation and liberalization of the market has caused a growth of power of bias, yet independent mass media. The Internet – global network of information, is one of the main causes and, at the same time, one of the major consequences of globalization. An information – product of news organization – spends much faster and less controlled than any other product. One of the main features of information is absence of physicality. This is dividing line between information and any other kind of commodity. Later on, I am going to present argument that states still have a lot of control over the means of information, yet it are loosing grip on the control of information per se. States' inability to control transnational news organizations and information by itself has created a vacuum of control of cyberspace. Therefore, the Internet used to be seen as free and open space for communications and exchange of information. However, this large part of uncontrolled space has been conquered by mass media in the last decade. Although the Internet is still the most liberal and open source of information, the powerful mass media controls substantial part of the flow of information in the online world.
18 Kumar (2010: 159) explains origins of power of mass media:
'it's [new mass media] might arises not from military capabilities, such as standing armies or physical power, but intellectual capital – a crucial arbiter of power in the information age.'
Yet, idea that information is a tool of power is not new. While some students of propaganda argues, that there are elements of propaganda in ancient Greece, the first one who argued about importance of information in International Relations was Edward Hellet Carr. Since his book 'The 20 years’ crisis, 1919 – 1939' was published in 1939, Carr is considered as one of the genius of 'real politik' theory of International relations. In his famous critique of idealism he (Carr, 1995: 102) argued, 'political power in the international sphere may be divided, for purposes of discussion into three categories: (a) military power, (b) economic power, (c) power over opinion.'. According to him power over opinion is not less essential for political purposes than military and economic power. Private information industries owns not only crucial power over opinion, but economical power as well. And as Carr stated economic forces are political forces. Furthermore, Carr is among first students of international relations, who argued that states suffer substantial damage if it underestimate importance of information. States have to control information and morality of it's citizens and solders, especially in the war time. Fight for control of public opinion was especially intense in the 1930's. Hence, it is not surprising that the author of the book emphasize this element of the power in international politics. In his book, Carr masterfully combines classical realism theory of International Relations, analysis of propaganda and study of economics. Therefore, his theory is priceless in International relations studies, when information is main commodity and great source of power in the international arena. Carr's observation, that contemporary politics are vitally dependent on the opinion of large masses of more or less politically conscious people, whom the most vocal, the most influential and the most accessible to propaganda are those who live in and around great cities, are even more accurate in the 21st century. Even authoritarian state can not totally ignore will and opinion of people. While democratic states rather follow mass opinion, authoritarian states in determining their policy, profess to express the will of the masses. Moreover, citizens of undemocratic states has to obey the rules and the laws. On the one hand, this aim can be reached by using ruthless and repressive actions, such as surveillance, cruel and public or semi- public punishments by military, paramilitary and intelligence institutions. On the other hand, all authoritarian regime have massive propaganda apparatus, which aims to keep public order in rather non-violent actions. Thus, monopoly of information is necessary. Hence, public opinion in authoritarian state are nevertheless important, for effective existence of the regime, than public
19 opinion in democratic state.
Italian According to Gramsci (1988: 423), hegemony means ‘cultural, moral and ideological’ leadership over allied and subordinate groups’. Hegemony or the ‘cultural, moral and ideological leadership’ must be achieved through establishing a new ideological territory through consensus rather than coercion (Gramsci, 1988: 423). For Gramsci (1977, 1988), hegemony is not only cultural, political and ideological, but also economic. Therefore, Gramsci’s (1977, 1988) account of hegemony can be an option. Facebook, Google, Twitter and Wikileaks are internationally hegemonic actors.
Yet Carr had wrote his major work on International Relations in late 1930's and many things have changed since then. On the one has importance of the public opinion and the power of information was steadily growing since then. On the other hand the emergence of the Internet has shaken solid grown, where state's fortress of national control of information used to stand. States can no more rely on its own ability to regulate national marketplace of information. The process of political communication has expanded from national to transnational level. Information is being used as tool in national warfare. Christian Fuchs (2010: 55) explain it:
Information today plays certainly an important role in warfare in two distinct senses: (1) psychological warfare with the help of media is conducted in order to intimidate, influence and manipulate enemies and the foreign public; and (2) there are computer-based weapon systems that bring about an informatization of warfare.
Many advanced military technologies has adopted for peaceful means. Such technologies as, Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Internet, has been firstly developed for military needs. Although first and foremost computer-based weaponry are essential for modern military, it may be adopted to peaceful purposes and in this way substantially affect to civilian lives. Meanwhile, psychological warfare through mass media, are less distinguishable with a naked eye, yet more common in the contemporary international relations.
Unfortunately important role of information have made a marginal impact to theories of international relations. There are lack of clearance what are relations between cyberspace and international relations. Unfortunately only several student of international relations are trying to understand how principles of international relations could be applied for online word and vice versa. Eriksson and Giacomello (2006) have analyzed of three mainstream theories of International relations – Realism, Liberalism and Social Constructivism – and summarized, that there are two
20 interrelated problems in past efforts at understanding International Relations in the digital age. First, theory and practice on this matter are so distant that they hardly ever inform each other. Second, existing International relations theories are plagued by an entrenched dualism, implying great difficulties for theoretical adaptation and application in analyses of the complexities of the emerging new digital world.
In the last couple of years there was several attempts to understand role of the sovereign state in the online world. Eriksson and Giacomello (2009: 210) have explained sovereign state's victories and defeats in the fight for the Internet's control. They have argued very the state is best positioned to impact the new and expanding cyberspace environment, because of the anarchic nature of the international system. Unlike other international actors, the sovereign state has sole ownership of the legitimate use of force and the authority to regulate cyberspace within its territory. This is one of the most popular argument among political science and international relations students, who advocate for state-center theories. Chang, Himelboim and Dong (2009) noticed that no matter what kind of regime is ruling state, it is not able to stake out any legitimate territorial claims in in cyberspace, or dictate what could occur in the cyberspace. However on the other hand they are (Chang, Himelboim, Dong 2009: 139) saying:
Governments is strategically positioned at the gateway to decide whether citizens should be allowed to enter the playground (e.g. North Korea), how freely they should be permitted to roam the place once entry is granted (e.g. use of proxy servers in Singapore) and what the consequences may be if they violate the rules of the game that govern citizens’ online behaviors (e.g. the arrest of Internet dissidents in China).
Therefore, in order to understand trends in the networked global playground and it's implications to offline international relations, is essential to diffuse different layers of global cyberspace and how it can be controlled by sovereign states.
2.4 Three dimensions of cyberspace's control
According to Eriksson and Giocomello (2009: 206), there are three dimensions of Internet's control: 1) access to the Internet, 2) functionality of the Internet and 3) activity on the Internet. In general the first two dimensions are highly technical. The discussion about states ability to control the first and the second dimensions is important. Yet, power over access to the Internet and its functionality brings supervision of means of the Internet, rather than supervision of the Internet as the global space of information exchange. Indeed, states have primal ultimate power monopoly of means of
21 the Internet. Samuel F. Miller (2003: 234) explains why the Internet can not be seen as ultimately independent space: First, the Internet is not in fact independent. The intangible Internet requires the tangible. The Internet cannot exist without the human element. Somewhere someone is physically writing the code necessary for the Internet to operate. The Internet is not in fact some ethereal body beyond the physical. As it is part of the physical realm, it must have a physical location, however difficult this may be to place. Thus, the idea of the Internet as a unique and independent territory on some separate territorial plane is false.
Furthermore, states control hardware, such as satellites, cable networks, antennas. It is clear, that with out usage of means of the Internet connections to the cyberspace is impossible. Thus, if any state decides to denny access to the hardware inside the state, inhabitants are unable to connect to the cyberspace. For example, authoritarian government of Democratic People's Republic of Korea is using this strategy in order to isolate North Korea from the communication with the rest of the World. However, this kind of actions are rather exception from the global trend. There are no second state, which absolutely forbids access to the means of the Internet. Moreover, unilateral and complete shut down of access to the cyberspace has dramatic impact to the national economy economy. Effective and sufficient trade is impossible without the access to global network of information. On the one hand state may choose to switch of its internet serves in order to protect it national sovereignty and power over opinion. On the other hand this kind of decision has a dramatic impact on states economic power. Therefore, gains in former sector are being overwhelmed with looses in the latter one. Because of these substantial looses, complete deny of access to the cyber space is extreme action, which can be performed only by government placed in extraordinary situation. Meanwhile, the control of the third dimension is rather more complex. Although, it is less absolute and direct, it has less dramatic consequences, as well. Thus, the discussion of control of activities on the Internet control is the most important.
Although the monopoly control of the means of the Internet may be considered as an important tool in the hand of states, it does not create a substantial advantage in the international political communication. In this cases, the Internet can be compared with a medieval town under siege. If the army can deny entrance and exit trough the main gate of the town, it does not mean that it controls processes inside the the town. The complete and long term blockade can prevent from any activities, however it has dramatic financial and economic consequences, as it was explained in previously. Moreover, a cyber traffic rises sharp after blockade ends, just like new town dwellers will move into the city after it's no longer under the siege. Furthermore, there is substantial
22 difference between dissociation from the global network and complete shut down of the cyberspace. Every person experiences three types of connection. Firstly, it is a connection to the Internet per se. In other words, it is connection between offline and online world. Secondly, it is a connection to the global stream of information. In this case the Internet is being used as source of information, technology of broadcast service. Lastly, it is a connection between unlimited number of person. Put differently, the internet is ultimate technology with connects its users. As a consequence, dissociation from the global network blockade import of foreign information and export of national, local information. However, this action does not prevent from persons connection to other persons. Complete, shut down of all serves within the state is absolutely necessary if authorities want to prevent connectivity among inhabitants.
Liberal and independent patter of the Internet and sovereign state supreme legacy causes strong clashes between newly established online mass media and state institutions. On one hand, sovereign states struggle to keep as many control levers as it can. Authoritarian regimes uses modern technologies to suppress its citizens even more. The internet and universal connectivity caused rapid growth in public surveillance and tracking. Many students of democratization argued, that democratic movements are being crushed by the growth of restrictions and censorship on the Internet. Chung (2008: 728) explained this change:
The Internet is generally considered a double-edged sword. It allows the expression and circulation of a diversity of views through countless communication channels, but as a result the Internet also has the potential to threaten authoritarian regimes. Unsurprisingly, studies have shown that government control of the content on the Internet does exist in authoritarian countries.
Moreover, Eriksson, Giocamello (2009: 208) noticed 'a great many liberal democracies have developed their own surveillance systems, including advanced systems of tracking all incoming and outgoing Internet traffic, and blocking of illegal sites (notably those containing pedophilia)' . While, it is cliché, that authoritarian regimes are heavily interested in online tracking and surveillance systems, liberal democracies are none the less engaged in cyber-security.
On the other hand, Dunk Cavelty (2008) has observed, the Internet cannot be captured in its thing-ness; as hardware, software packages, distributed servers, wires and cables, or even the way in which this object can be apprehended discursively. That is another reason why states are less active in the control of the hardware. Many sovereign states with liberal economy have privatized means of the Internet. Prevailing notion, than control of the means of the Internet does not lead to
23 control of the cyberspace, is one among many causes of communication network's privatization. Massive privatization of the news organization and communication networks has been carried on by many government since 1980's This process has been accompanied by liberalization and deregulation of mass media. Therefore, it is not a surprise, that often broadband cables or antennas of wireless connections are ran by private firms. However, states has lost much more that control of means of the Internet. It lost grip on the control of the information outside and, even, inside its territory. First of all sovereign states do control presentation of its territory, which used to be a cornerstone of national state. Moreover, it can not restrain actions of self-ruling mass media and information, which is being broadcasted by this type news organizations. Lastly, over the last one hundred years role of sovereign state in the process international political communication rapidly decreased. Statesmen used to be only participants of the process, nowadays they rarely take any part in communicative action.
3. Sovereign states' struggle against online mapping service providers.
The traditional understanding of a modern state are closely related to the principle of territoriality. Many authors are talking about emergence of post-modern state or, as Beck (2000) puts it, state of second modernity. In the introduction to his book 'What is Globalization', Beck (2000:1) is saying that “the premise of the welfare state and pension system, of income support, local government, and infrastructural policies, the power of organized labour, industry-wide free collective bargaining, state expenditure, the fiscal system and 'fair taxation' – all this melts under the withering sun of globalization.” Beck is one among many, who talks about diminishing power of a state. He illustrates his thesis, with the example of taxes. According to him levying of taxes concerns the very core of the principle of authority of the state in its territory. However, a state are loosing grip on many levers, which it used to unrivaled control. Lever of taxes is one among many. As it was explained in the previous chapter, state are unable to control an information in its territory. Fast development of communication technologies and skyrocketing growth of accessibility and usage of the Internet has handicapped states power over control of information. Furthermore, the process of emancipation of information, has not stopped there. It is constantly enrolling. However, for the purpose of the study of international political communication is necessary to overlook the premises of classical understating of sovereign states territoriality.
24 3.1 Understanding the principal of territoriality
Karl Marx (1857) explained, that a higher unity of the State has established itself on the foundations of the primitive rural communities, which kept their ownership of the soil, while the State became the true owner in conformity with the apparent objective movement that attributed the surplus product to the State, assigned the productive forces to it in the great projects undertaken, and made it appear as the cause of the collective conditions of appropriation. The principe of territoriality is one of the very ground principles of sovereign state. The territorial state, in Beck's (2000:64) words, 'became an “container” of society'. Spruyt (2002) summarizes, that accounts of the origins of the state can be divided into three categories: scholarship that stresses changes in the military environment; economic perspectives that highlight the growth of trade and production; and institutionalist views that accentuate the particular features of territorial sovereignty. He states, that although the first two perspectives contain many insights, a micro-level institutionalist perspective forms a necessary complement to macro-level accounts that focus on military and economic functions. In the other words, the economics and military played undeniably crucial part in a formation of the modern state, yet micro-level institutions of human agency has to be added. Ancient authorities had to find a replacement for personalistic rule. Spruyt (2002:130) explains the issue:
“The ability to command individuals who were not blood relatives enabled rulers to expand their domains over much larger population bases and territories. This required, however, alternative modes of legitimation. Blood ties of the clan, tribe, or kin group were relatively obvious. But how could one bind others to one’s rule? Rulers needed to expand conceptions of tribal affinity and grant others the means to join. The ascriptive markers used to delineate membership and authority had to be replaced with associational criteria if the polity wished to transcend its temporal boundaries (legitimate rule would then attach to roles rather than individuals) and to expand its geographical frontiers (the polity could then incorporate more potential members). As Doyle (1986) suggests, the Roman willingness to expand its basis of rule from tribal affinity to associational citizenship, and to extend that citizenship to all parts of the empire, greatly aided the long-term viability of Roman imperial rule.”
Thus, the creation of the principe of the territoriality was necessary for the subordination of the bigger communities. In the early stages of development of the modern state perception of the sovereign has shifted. Spruyt uses an example, how Early Middle Ages sovereigns were considered as rulers of the people (e.g. King of the Franks, King of the English, etc), but by the Late Middle Ages impression of the rulers was different. They had been seen as the kings of land (e.g. King of
25 France, King of England, etc.) Last personalistic aspects of the rule have disappeared with the end of feudal state.
Engels argue, that the state subdivides not the people but the territory. Even though the principles of nation and national brotherhood are important in the modern world, it obvious that sovereigns' rules and laws are applied first and foremost rather for territories, than for the people. Put it simply, any person has to obey the laws of the country, in which he/she currently stays. The fact whether person is or is not a citizen of the country does not impact to obey the law of the state. Then again, clear principle of territoriality and control of the territory is necessary for the modern state in many ways. Although, as it was illustrated earlier, it is important for the sovereignty per se, it is also crucial for military and economics. Sufficient collection of taxes and revenues is impossible without the control of the territory. Furthermore, the higher revenues was important for rulers, because it has allowed kings to eventually raise standing armies to replace the ad-hoc feudal service. Moreover, dismiss of feudal based army meant that army had not been gathered on the principle of personal relation. This principle was substitute by territorial principle in the formation of modern army, just like in the establishment of the sovereignty.
The next step in the development of modern state was establishment of homogeneous governance, formalized legal codes and maps, which have replaced the previous juridical segmentation of society based largely on informal customs and traditions. Professional bureaucracy and public office has replace private possession of royalties. The process caught momentum in the wake of the French Revolution of 1789. Napoleonic rule extended formal legal codes over much of continental Europe, extinguished the last vestiges of aristocratic particularism and clerical privilege, and standardized weights, measures, and administration. Inhabitants of the territories became citizens. In the course of the nineteenth century, public education and conscript service led to linguistic homogeneity and uniformity (Weber 1976). Therefore, importance of accurate state's map has increased even more. Tilly (1985: 181) studies state as monopoly of legalized user of the violence. He argues, that in this sense, agents of the states characteristically carry on four different activities:
1. War making: Eliminating or neutralizing their own rivals outside the territories in which they have clear and conditions priority as wielders of the force.
2. State making: Eliminating or neutralizing their rivals inside those territories.
3. Protection: Eliminating or neutralizing enemies of their rivals
26 4. Extraction: Acquiring the means of carrying out first three activities – War making, State making and protection.
Yet again, the principle of territoriality is extremely important for at least two of four basic activities of the sovereign state. Line between war making and state making disappears, when there are no clear determination of the borders of sovereign state. There has to be drawn line which separates inside rivals from outside rivals. Furthermore, this line differs no merely the definition of the rivals, but the actions, which being carried on to eliminate or neutralize them. The war making activities used against inside rivals leads to civil war situation. Meanwhile state building activities used against outside rivals created state backed terrorism.
Bauman (2002) explains that the clarity of the state's space is necessary for the authority, which aims to monopolize legal, regulative of social interaction and loyal control. The total supremacy of the rule of sovereign can be achieved, when state are only legal source of the map of it territory. Establishment of professional administration instead of personalistic rule, formation of modern army instead of army based on feudal relations, and collections of revenues to the state's budget are possible only, after determination of the territory of the state. Process of state making – legal usage of violence within its territory – is rather impossible, without the official and state approved maps of its territory.
3.2. Constrained might of a state in international political communication
The Internet has brought modern state's monopoly of control of information on its knees. Liberalization and deregulation of the market, including the market of the information, have had a heavy impact on the monopoly of information. However, even in the most liberal conditions of the market television and radio broadcasters newspapers and publishers were under control of national government. National agencies used to control radio frequencies and rules for establishment of cable broadcasters, practice of censorship of pre-publishing, supervise and ban information, which may cause damage to national security and national interests. Although, state liberalized the market of news, it still has kept a grip on control of nationally important information, such as determination of its territory. Only extraordinary international events, such as wars and collapse of empires, may impact state's monopoly of setting its territory. Yet, redrawing of maps was still a matter of sovereign states. Tilly (1985: 184) put it in this way:
From 1648, if not before, at the ends of wars all effective European states
27 coalesced temporarily to bargain over the boundaries and rulers of the recent belligerents. From that point on, periods of the major reorganization of the European state system came in spurts, at the settlement of widespread wars. From each large war, in general, emerged fewer national state than entered in.
Although, latter statement is debatable, especially if we take the First World War into consideration, when far higher number of national state were at the end of the war, than at the beginning, accuracy of this Tilly statement is not so significant for this study. It is much more important to observe those actors, who caused changes of the maps. Hence, since the inception of the Westphalian system, only a sovereign state could change shapes of the maps. In some cases, such as the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795 and Yalta conference in 1945, maps have been redrawn by the power of super-states. Establishment or reestablishment of new independent states, like Republic of Lithuanian in 1918 and 1990 have reshaped maps, as well. Also, there used to be precedents when merge of two sovereign states (e.g. merge of The German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany in 1990) caused changes of the maps. History of international politics is full of territorial changes, caused by various turnovers. Yet, in general, sovereign states have caused every single change of maps since 1648. Only states has right and ability to determine national territory and approve its presentation. Cartography used to be strictly control by agencies of the sovereigns.
The ground rules of the territoriality and cartography, which have been set by the Westphalian patterns have experienced dramatical shift in the recent decade. States have lost its absolute grip on the presentation and determination of its territory. The process of deterritorialization has started. The concept of deterritorialization was developed by Gilles Deleuze and Pierre-Félix Guattari. They have argued that deterritorialization 'divides the earth as an object and subjects men to the new imperial inscription, to the new full body, to the new socius' (1977: 215). In other words, deterritorialization is a process, which is being carried on by sovereign newcomers, which is conquering particular piece of land. Deterritorialization means abolition of rules and norms of the old regime. For example, soviets have deterritorialized territories of former Baltic state by outlawing norms and traditions of old regime. The same process are being exercised by every single imperial force. According to Deleuze and Guattari deterritorialization is only one step. The next step is reterritorialization, after deterritorialization have been successfully proceeded. Reterritorialization is an implementation of the rules and norms of the new authority. And again, soviets have been more or less successfully reterritorializationing territories of former Baltic republics after the Second World War.
28 Yet we have to talk about the deterritorialization in slightly different meaning in this study. While in social and anthropological terms deterritorialization means demolition of rules and norms of older regime, in terms of political science and international relation I would refer to deterritorialization as to the process which presents state weakening position to determine its territory and present it on a map. This is definition of the deterritorialization, which is going to be used in this study. While it has been presented, why principe of territoriality was so important for establishment of modern state in the Westphalian system, it is undeniably important to check how online initiated process of political deterritorialization. The principle of the sovereign's control of the determination of states' territory is among fundamental concepts of modern national state and international system as such.
3.3 Research case No. 1: Study of online mapping service
New online media entities like Google, Yahoo!, etc. have created their own mapping softwares, which allow users to zoom in on locations around the world. These services have irked many sovereign states, which perceived it as a threat to their territorial integrity.In several ways sovereign states can be threaten by mapping websites.
First of all, mapping websites present a normative version of international boundaries. There are many territorial conflicts, between two or more sovereign state in contemporary world. Each side of the conflict draws border line differently. Government of Pakistan and Indian government incorporate disputed territory of Kashmir into their territories. Russians and Japanese still have not reached a consensus on territorial dispute over sovereignty over the South Kuril Islands in the norther part of Pacific Ocean. This only two cases among many bilateral and multilateral international territorial conflicts. Furthermore, there are many civil conflict within territories of the sovereign states. Separatist movements, such as Kurdish separatist in Easter Turkey, Northern Iran and Northern Iraq, Separatistic territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in the territory of Republic of Georgia, etc. are fighting for independent national state. Degree of success and independence among these fighters various in great amplitude. There is a lack of consensus of opinion of sovereign states, whether separatist movement should be recognized as authorities of newly formed sovereign state, whether it should be condemned as terrorist, anti-state groups of organized crimes. Moreover, there are territories, such as an island of Taiwan, a territory of Western Sahara, a territory of Kosovo, etc, which international status is unclear; on one side there is a sovereign state, which arguing that the disputed territory is an integral part of state's territory, while majority of
29 international community do not legally recognized these claims.There are many disputed territories. Thus, each time creators of globally, freely and easy accessible online maps, draw a line through or nearby a disputed territory, they also make an decision, which affects international political communication. The line through internationally disputed territory is creators interpretation of a fact and a message to international society.
Secondly, mapping websites allow its users to access close up images of sites. There are many authorities, which are concerned that these maps can be used by theorists, hostile groups and organization of organized crimes. Many objects of national security, such as military bases, nuclear facilities, governmental buildings residences of heads of states, etc. can be be closed up. This kind of information used to be available only for persons, who were approved by agencies of national security, high level agents of foreign authorities and personnel of foreign interagency institutions, couple of decades ago. However, nowadays any internet user may sea these object from above and often close up an image to the great details. Furthermore, Google Maps Street Views software bring image of the object from a street point of views. Thus, object of national security may be observed and analyzed from many perspectives. The power of information delivered to ordinary people by new mass media, can be transformed and occur as anti-state violence. This new information created a friction between states and online mass media, especially its flagman – Google. Statesmen argue, that this kind of new information creates a vital danger and may cause human casualties. Therefore, availability to the high definition maps has to be limited. Meanwhile, news organizations are persistently saying that close up software per se could not cause human casualties and damage objects of national security. Instead of blaming provider of maps, states should look for source of potential damage – terrorists, saboteur and others hostile agents.
3.3.1 Contrariwise determination of national territory
States were only single powers which could define and redefine borderline of a state. Many international processes, declaration of war, declaration of peace, merge of two state, declaration of independence, etc. shapes political maps of the World. Yet, state are main participants in any kind of these processes. Put differently, state used to be only actors, who were able to change its shape and present in on maps. Nevertheless, the situation has changed in recent decade. States are not only actors, who change the look of maps. Furthermore, traditionally actual changes caused changes of maps, but not vice versa. For example collapse of the Soviet Union has generated significant changes of the political map of the words. It used to be unimaginable, that change of map, which by
30 it definition is a diagrammatic representation of an area of land or sea, could lead to actual changes of the perception of territorial structure of the world.
Though, the map of the Earth generally have not changed in centuries, it has not been fully universal. There are many versions of the political map of the World, which is representation of the structure of national states. Some national state recognize some entities as independent, while other denies its sovereignty. For example, majority of western democracies recognize Kosovo as an independent unit, Spain has different approach. Therefore, map's variation depends on the author of the map. In the end of the day, there used dozens of various and slightly different versions of the political Word's map and no single and universally acknowledgeable map. Put differently, there has not been dominant image of the World. There are several reasons, why there was no single map. First of all, a state used to have tight control over opinion of their people. The control of image of the world is an crucial part of the general opinion. Maps used to be used for states' propaganda. Three World atlas1, which have been published in different countries differs one from each other. Years of publication of atlas differs slightly: American atlas have been published in 1986, German (published in Federal Republic of Germany) have been published in 1982 and Soviet atlas have been published in 1981. Although there was some international events between 1981 and 1986, there are no fact about great changes of borderlines. Furthermore, maps of the regions, where major international event, such as the First Lebanon War after Israel forces invaded southern Lebanon, was skipped from analysis. Even if the complex Middle east region is skipped, the maps differ. One of the most Gordian region for cartographers and students of international relations is Himalayan area on Indian, Pakistani and Chinese border. The unclear borderline is legacy of decolonialization and military conflict between the countries. Fight between Pakistanis and Indians have broke out almost half of a century ago, in 1965. Since then both sides could not reach an agreement and sign a peace treaty. As a consequence, there both sides draw borderline differently. There are no consensus among other states as well. In the American atlas Line of Control – de facto border2 – divides the states and Ansai Chin – disputed territory between Indian and China – is part of India, without any signs that China is claiming its right to the territory. In the German atlas Line of Control is marked, but the whole territory of Jammu and Kashmir (including Northern Areas) is
1 I have analyzed McNally, J. Rand, Family World Atlas, Chicago etc., Rand McNally,1986.; Haack Weltatlas /redaktion: H. Langer ... [et al.], Gotha :VEB Hermann Haack :Geographisch-Kartografische Anstalt,1982; and Малый атлас мира /Главное управление геодезии и картографии при Совете Министров СССР, редактор Н. М. Терехов, Москва :Главное управление геодезии и картографии при Совете Министров СССР, 1981; 2 The line of control is a result from the ceasefire of December 17, 1971. It has been recognized by both sides as Line of control inShimla agreement which has been signed by Quaid-e-Awam President Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Indira Gandhi Prime Minister Republic of India on 1972. Line divides territory in to two parts: Norther Areas administrative by Pakistanis; Jammu and Kasmir administrative by Indians
31 presented as a part of India. Meanwhile Ansai Chin is presented as disputed territory between India and China. Lastly, in the Soviet Atlas Line of Control is marked, but the whole territory of Jammu and Kashmir (including Northern Areas) is presented as a part of India as well, though Ansai Chin s part of China, without any signs that India is claiming its right to the territory. Therefore, each maps represents different interpretation of the facts. Furthermore, each interpretation represent position of the states, where it was published, government. On the one hand, Pakistan was ally of USA, meanwhile China had worst relations with US among three Asian states. On the other hand China was ruled by Communist Party, though it had issues with the Moscow, two communist countries were natural allies. Indian was supported by USSR in the Kashmir conflict and Pakistan was ally of worst enemy of Soviets. Western Germany was a member of wester alliance, but it s map is the most neutral in this cases. This is a classical example international political communication, when interpretation of the fact is being presented as actual fact. Even map of the World – a common source of basic information – is being used a tool in the international political communication.
Secondly, there was no single universal broadcaster of the information. Furthermore, there was not single network of information. Although radio waves technically could reach any part of the world, radio transmitters and receivers have technical limitation. Same problem occurs with the broadcast of television. Thus there was not single technology for a single universal maps of the world. The emergence of the Internet – the most global network of communication and transfer of information – was necessary for creation of the universal map of the world. Once the common area of information was established, there was only matter time, when the truly global map is going to be drawn. There was several attempts before, however the first globally used and universally recognized map is being contained in Google Maps website. It has revolutionized how people perceive space and even how they navigate through it. Google maps is universal map, which has been made by non-state, self-ruling actors. Google maps is a flagman of online maps software. Technology of universally accessible, high definition maps have radically shifted patterns of international political communication.
The Internet bring unlimited amount of space. This is one of the reasons why, many kind of services are much less limited in the online word, that in offline word. For example, Amazon bookstore has technically unlimited number of book to sell, why any offline bookstore has limited space to store their books. Same trends impacts cartography. Google, and any other online maps, is unlimited in the space. It is impossible to produce a map in such a detail, multiply it and proliferate
32 it offline world. Even a single copy of the map would be too big to use it. The scale of the greatest resolution google maps is 1:500. In other words, one centimeter presents five meter. Thus, length of the print of the World map (at equator), in such a detail, would be 80 kilometers. The whole maps cover an area larger than 6000 km2. Even the World atlas of maps in 1:500 scale is unpractical. Furthermore, the Internet enables real-time coverage of the news. Online maps broadcasters made a decision to deny real time coverage of the Words map, though its technically possible. Firstly, real time coverage would be extremely expensive even for leading transnational news corporations. Secondly, real-time coverage of the world would create many legal problem around the world. Already, Google has faced many trials for violation of privacy. Although, the real-time maps options are switched of, online mapping software reacted quicker to offline world changes. Changes of online maps are being made more operatively and more cheaply than changes of paper-based maps.
From the first glance, online mapping websites present just facts. The world maps is a very basic information. The image of the Globe is very well known to the majority of the Internet's users. Thus, international news organizations, such as Google and Yahoo!, do not have many space for interpretations of the facts. Nevertheless it not really accurate observation. Firstly, greater part of the World are unfamiliar for ordinary persons. While many people know shape and location of USA, far less number is familiar with characteristics of Honduras. Moreover, general knowledge about USA does not mean, that person is familiar with state's territory in great detail. Small number of users would notice changes of the map of scale 1:500. Only, great size mismatch would be noted. Nonetheless, local inhabitants of the area, which is being presented misleadingly, would detect false information rather quickly. Yet, there are significant gap of power between local inhabitants and the broadcaster of universally acknowledge and globally used map.
The power of discourse of mapping site is so substantial, that it enable a dispute over the state's power to define its territory. Many borderlines are unclear and disputed. Thus, creators of the maps are not merely presenters of the actual facts. They interpret facts. Borderline through the military conflict area between two or more sovereign state is rather interpretation of the fact, than fact by itself. All involved sided of the conflict has their own versions of the map. However, rarely maps, created by participating sovereign state are being used so often and so widely as online maps. Online mapping broadcasters has larger audience than broadcaster of national maps. Furthermore information broadcasted by mapping websites is being spread throughout the whole world. Area of proliferation has a direct causal impact to power of information in the process of an international
33 political communication. No matter what is a context of a message, it is not going to have major international impact if relatively small audience is aware of the message. Quantity matters in an international political communication. Because of that, maps, which is being used by the highest number of people is the most powerful source of the information in the process of political communication. Number of users of online maps are far higher than any number of users of any offline map.
The power of information of online mapping broadcasters creates a tension between them and authorities of sovereign states. One of the most intense disputes have happened between Google – leading broadcaster of online maps – and the government of the Republic of India. Several reasons have caused Indians' frustration. First of all online maps presented 'incorrect' borders of the state. Kumar (2010: 163) explains the situation:
Indian law prohibits the sale, within India, of maps that depict Indian borders differently from the official version. Not surprisingly, Google Earth’s version of India’s map differed from the official version in crucial areas such as the disputed north Indian state of Kashmir (Chakrawertti, 2005). Given the many boundary disputes that the Indian state faces with neighboring countries (e.g. China and Pakistan), the depiction of national boundaries in a manner different from the official version was shown by media reports to be just as problematic as security threats.
This situation have few features, which is very common in international political communication of 21st century. First of all, Indian authorities are unable to control an online information. As Kumar notice, Indian officials has express their concern that Google was publishing its map, which was different from official and legally defined map, within India. States have always been troubled by media, especially foreign, content, and have sought to regulate it. Morris and Waisbord (2001) detected the rise of this attempt to regulate media to the demand for a New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) in the 1970s, and claimed that the rise of the online media is merely the latest attack on state sovereignty. The Indian problems with Google is an example, that although national borders have always had hole, new media challenge the basic concept of defined international boundaries due to their ‘borderless’ architecture. Universal network of information and transnational online news corporations create an common international area of information, which can not be divided by national borders. Digital information, which flows backwards and forwards through national borders, are little controlled by sovereigns. Indian government has legally constrained image of its territory, however it has not lever to put it to practice national laws on transnational online news organizations. Implementation of nationally
34 laws and legal norms, which constrain freedom of information due to national security, are much more complicated in the 21st century, than ever before. Even the most successful attempts to build a a national firewall are failing to fully control streams of information, which flooding into national territory and out of it. Although Chinese authorities has massive control apparatus and relatively sophisticated national firewall, it also demands that censorship would be practiced by online news organization, which are actively broadcasting in China's territory. In other worlds, any online search engine, which has servers in China's territory, are censoring itself according to the rules, which identify items banned by the authorities. Basically these rules are applied to any Chinese website or local brach of international online website. Thus even Chinese censors are unable to control information in the state's territory.
Second feature is a power of discourse of online news organizations. India's frustration level, caused by online mapping service website is a litmus paper of power of new online mass media discourse. India – one of fastest developing countries with a second largest and still growing population – is very cautious about loosing grip on determination of its territory. In the world, where information flows free through national borders, audiences of the news are limited by technical, rather legal factors. Audiences are being impacted with two opposite trends. On the one hand mass media is leaning towards interpretative functions. It is less neutral and 'objective' as it was half a century ago. On the other hand main online news broadcaster are being seen as objective. Cautiousness of online mapping services websites' interpretative nature are extremely low. Thus, online user are less willing to unconditionally trust news, broadcaster by traditional mass media. Meanwhile, society welcome information, which coming form unorthodox new mass media. Maps broadcasted by leading mapping service websites are almost universally available and with minor exceptions universally acceptable by member of global online existence and offline society. As a consequence, online maps have earned status of axiom. While an information has a great power, the might of axiom is immense. Thus any sovereign state which is going to dispute an information, broadcasted by any leading mapping service website, especially Google Maps, has to be ready David versus Goliath type battle. Sovereign states are not a source of undisputed information, anymore. Even in the case of information about it's own territory. The mapping service websites took leading place. However, it does not mean, that positions of online maps in the international political communication, are impregnable.
35 3.3.2 Cyber micro-image atlas and it's affect to a state might
Online maps have another specific feature which differ it form paper-back maps. User can turn on satellite view in online mapping sites. Satellite view enables high-definition photo map of the World. The quality of the photo maps are irregular. Photos of big cities and megapolis, such as New York City, London, Paris, Tokyo, etc., has substantially higher resolution, than rural place. Furthermore, photomaps of territories of developed countries are more detailed than photomaps of territories of developing countries. Highly detailed photomaps in online mapping websites caused many concerns among authorities of sovereign countries. Many politicians and high rank officials from all over the World, expressed an anxiety. Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO) was one among the firsts, who have voiced its apprehensiveness just after Google Earth was launched in June 2005. Organization runs the country’s only nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights in Sydney. It has called upon Google to censor images of the nuclear site to prevent their misuse. ANSTO officials has been fearing that the images could be used by groups seeking to do harm. Yet, the Australian government has downplayed the threat, by saying that it was constantly monitoring the internet for potential threats and that the online mapping service site did not pose one. In the following weeks and months politicians and officials from the Netherlands, South Korea, Federation of Russia, British intelligence, Israel and India publicly express their worries. While majority of these cases are rather similar, some of it require more detail overlook.
One of the most interesting cases goes around the State of Israel. Israel has an special, extraordinary place in International Relations. Israel's regional and global impact is being studied by many. Therefore, it is not a surprise, that Israel's place in international political communication is extraordinary, as well. Neither of online mapping service site broadcast high resolution photomaps of the territory of the State of Israel. Yet, in order to understand abnormality, it is necessary to came back to national level of political communication. The leading online news organizations, which broadcast photomaps are located in the USA. Thus, it has to obey the laws of U.S. USA is friendly environment news organizations, because freedom of speech and expression is protected by the First Amendment. However, the freedom of expression is not universal and it has some restrictions. US laws prohibit sensitive images from being posted online, and hence regulates content even before it goes online. One such law proscribes that, ‘… images of Israel shot by American-licensed commercial satellites be made available only at a relatively low resolution. Also, the companies’ operating licenses allow the United States government to put any area off limits in the interests of national security. A 24-hour delay is mandated for images of especially high resolution’ (Hafner
36 and Rai, 2005). Israel photo maps defines the line which constrain the power of online maps broadcasters. It is still restricted by laws of host state. Yet again, leading online maps broadcasters are located in the U.S. territory. On one hand restrictions on freedom of expression are rather exceptions from the rule, than predominant rule. In the case of freedom of speech and expression prevailing law is the First Amendment. On the other hand, if statesmen perceive new mass media as a threat to sovereignty of state, they may try to restrict freedom of speech and expression in order to protect national security. National security are the main cause of restrains of freedoms in many authoritarian and democratic sovereign states around the world. Therefore, national legislation of restricting laws are the last stronghold of the sovereign state in the batter for power over opinion. If online mass media find a way, how to escape from the territory of sovereign states, latter will loose last rather effective lever to broadcasted information.
Another story has involved UK military basis in Basra region of Iraq. the British intelligence service claimed online mapping service were being used to attack UK troops. The photomaps, when matched with the accuracy of previous attacks in targeting military facilities, gave credence to their use, claimed Britons. Answer form online mapping service provider was mixed. Kumar explains (2010: 161) it:
Even though Google officially continued to reiterate its earlier stated belief in the overall benefits of its website, claiming it could be used both for ‘good and bad’, it responded to the British request within a week by blotting out its Iraq bases from the programme. It even went further, removing close-up images of several other security installations within Britain.
Although online mapping service broadcasters dispose a powerful lever of information in the international political communication, these news companies tends to avoid direct clashes with sovereign states in a matters of images of objects related to national security. Facilities, such as military bases, power-plants, often are blurred in high resolution photomaps. For example, Cartagena Heliport3 in Spain is blurred in online photomaps, high resolution photomaps of Hall High-security prison south of Sodertalje4, Sweden is publicly unavailable, photomaps of Dam and hydroelectric facility on Lake Jocassee5, South Carolina, USA are not provided in online mapping sites, possibly a Russian ICBM Complex6, in Chukotka Autonomous Federal District of Russia is covered with heavy blur or destroyed in other ways in close up satellite images. All these examples
3 37°39′29″N 1°00′44″W 4 59°09′49″N 17°40′58″E 5 34°57′36″N 82°55′10″W 6 66°16′0″N 179°15′0″E
37 show contains objects with significant national importance. However, online mapping service broadcaster are not willing to accept states' demands and partly deface its maps easily. It took two almost years from summer 2005 to early 2007 while Indian government succeeded convince
Google to remove the high-resolution images of ‘sensitive sites’, such the parliament house, the Prime Minister’s residence, the Palam air-force base in Delhi and the Yelahanka air force base in Bangalore etc., and replace them with low-resolution ones. Also, New Delhi have demanded to change borderline of the territory of the State of Indian in the online map. As it was explained in previous chapter Google Maps borders have not matched legal borders of the state. During this period, India's officials took many steps, which was proved to be useless. In the end of the day, only high level negations convinced the online mapping broadcaster to change it position on the question. Minister of State for External Affairs Rao Inderjit Singh told (30 November 2005, TOI), that 'The Indian embassy in Washington has also been instructed to take up the matter with Google Inc.' The use of diplomatic channels such as a state embassy to engage with a self-rulling mass media, Google in this case, was a tacit admission of importance of the international political communication and media's role in the global politics. Diplomatic efforts was rather successful after all. The Vice President of Google, Vinton Cerf, visited India in early 2007. Kumar (2010: 165) summarizes changes made by the company after the visit:
Timed to coincide with his visit, Google finally struck a conciliatory note, saying that it ‘saw no hitch in addressing the concerns and issues raised by the Government’. Commenting on the issue, Cerf claimed that removing the images from Google would not necessarily deter those intent on procuring them, since they were available for sale from various agencies (Press Trust of India, 2007). Google also released a statement claiming that the problematic images would be ‘blurred or camouflaged or distorted’ (Press Trust of India, 2007). The company addressed the issue of competing versions of international boundaries by using different colored lines to mark the variations, and re-naming the two sides of Kashmir, Indian and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, respectively.
Substantial effort has been made by Indian government. Long standing Google's resistance and, even, stubborn refusal to adopt its policy indicate an international power of new mass media. This kind of information power hold by non-state actor was unimaginable in the pre-Internet era.
***
In short, the principle of territoriality is one of cornerstones of a modern sovereign state. States used to only international actor which are able to determine and change political map of the
38 World. Since the early phase of development modern state, sovereign is being understood rather as a ruler of territory, than as a ruler of people. Idea of democracy and universal suffrage altered understanding of the sovereignty. The highest sovereign is not any more ruler and royal family, it is a modern nation. However, modern state still is based on the concept of national territory. Beck (2000:4) unambiguously states:
The national state is a territorial state: that is, its power is grounded upon attachment to a particular place (upon control membership, current legislation, border defense, and so on).
National territory are used for the implementation of the rule of sovereign's laws. First and foremost, a person has to obey the laws of the sovereign's in which territory he is located, but not sovereign's of citizenship. As a consequence, determination of territoriality and universal cartography is necessary.
In mind of human-beings image of the Earth is fixed and unchanging. However there image of political map of the World is being seen differently. Sovereign state have emerged, collapsed, merged and separated many times in the lifetime of single human being. The First World War, the Second World War, the Decolonization, the end of Cold War and collapse of USSR have drastically shaken political map of the World over the last one hundred years. Although, there is high awareness of dynamic nature of states' map, also it is seen as universal. The paradox comes from the false idea, that international processes, which causes birth of new state and death of old state are being accepted universally. Therefore, maps are being drawn in a same way all over the world. However this idea is misleading. Sovereign state, and especially hegemony state, such as USA, People Republic of China, former USSR and it successor – Federation of Russia, has it own version of the political map of the Worlds. Maps represent a national interest of the state. Thus, a maps is not merely presentation of 'objective' facts, it is an interpretation of facts.
The Internet – the first truly global network of communication and broadcast of information, has created an environment for the first universal political map of the World. Online mapping service broadcasters have emerged in the last decade. Google mapping service became a flagman of the service. Yet, it wisely chose to do not dispute a misleading idea of existence of universal map. Instead it created its own version of World map and presented it as universal. Consequently, global society accepted it was universal map of the World. The idea about map as a interpretation of facts, rather than just presentation of 'objective' facts was never publicly discussed. Online mapping service providers became leaders of international political communication. Their version of world
39 map stated to be understood as an axiom.
Sovereign states has lost a unique ability to determine its territory. Sovereign state was no more a front runner in the process of international political communication. Therefore, any state, which was unhappy, because of presentation of its territory in online maps, had to be ready for long and troublesome battle with new leaders of cartography. The State of India was one among the first, which expressed its frustration of the presentation of its territory in online maps. India has long standing territorial disputes with its neighboring states: Pakistan and China. Furthermore, representation of its territory in its territory is determined by national laws. Yet, emergence of the global cyberspace of information took away tools, which used to help to implement the laws, from the hand of national authorities. Indian authorities are unable to control information in the territory of the state. As a consequence, it can not ensure, that only official, state approved national map is being accessible in its territory. Moreover it is positive, that online mapping service providers broadcast another version of the national map in the territory of India. Yet, India's incapable to remove illegal maps from it territory and to punish infringers. Hence, only option was a negotiations. Indian state used its diplomatic service to negotiate a non-state self-ruling mass media. In the end of the day, online mapping service provider has adopted it maps and it meet national laws. However, this example illustrate, an international power contained by the self-ruling mass media.
4. Inception of überstate mass media
4.1 Information wars
Public opinion is an important part of international political communication since The First World War. Till then, it used to be perceived as rather personal communication among few statesmen behind close doors. McNair (2009) noticed, that educated elites could read about it in in their news paper, but the mass of the people remained relatively ignorant and knew little about their governments' international activities. Actual the First World War was the first major international event which shaken public life fundamentally. Parallel the war was follow by rapid growth of public literacy and birth of media for masses. Government and other political actors started to use mass media to influence public opinion and create a positive public image. In late 1930’s Carr (1964: 133) had argued 'the most obvious reason for increasing prominence attached to power over opinion in recent times is the broadening of the basis of the politics, which has vastly increased the
40 number of those whose opinion is politically important.' Since then, the importance of public opinion increased in unseen speed in the World’s history. The inventions of public broadcasting, television, satellites and the Internet have changed the way in which states can increase its relative power though the successful usage of power over opinion. Many students of political communication (McNair 2009, McQuail, 2005, Norris 2000, Denton & Woodward 1991, Denton 1990) analyzed principle of news and information management. Majority of these principle can be adopted to the subject of international relations. Many governments around the World used techniques of state propaganda and public relations to influence domestic and global public opinion. States' propaganda used to be very intensive in the inter war period. However, it was mainly aimed to national societies. Nazis, American or Bolshevik propagandist firstly sought to shape a national public opinion. Even rival national political forces used information about international politics in order to gain some power. For example, 'Zinoviev letter' was falsified in Britain in early 1920s. The letter supposedly was written by the Soviet Foreign Minister and it suggested that newly elected Labour government would be Bolsheviks 'puppet'. Although the letter was a forgery, it has caused Labour defeat in the next national elections.
Trend of international news usage for domestic proposes was predominant at the beginning the Second World War. The vast majority of propagandist's work was devoted to their nationals. After Nazi Germany invaded Soviet Union, latter-one became an ally of western states. Mobilizing support for Soviet Union – state, which used to be worst enemy in the past and will be one in near future – has became a major political objective. It was achieved by propaganda and public relations campaigns created to change negative images of former to decades. Soviets was presented as hard- working, peace-loving workers and Stalin became 'Uncle Joe', which was reference to the American 'Uncle Sam'. Although, from the first glance it may seem, that its entirely international political communication, it is not strictly true. In this case, American image of Soviets was impacted by American propaganda for national purposes. If Soviets tend to impact foreign (e.g. American, British, German, etc.) public opinion for their national interests, then it would be classical case of international political communication.
The Cold war was the period of very intensive international political communication. Furthermore, sovereign states, especially USA and USSR, were main participants in this process. After the Second World War ended in 1945 East-West alienation grew quickly. Western median started to portray Soviets as 'Red Treat from the East' once again. Cold war has never cause direct military confrontation between Western states – members of NATO alliance and and Easter states –
41 member of the Warsaw Pact alliance. However, many 'proxy' wars were fought between late 1940s and early 1990s. In those wars Western and Eastern allies more or less openly supported one of participating side (e.g. Angolan civil war) or, even, was actively involved (e.g. Vietnam war 1955 – 1975, Afghanistan war 1979 – 1989). Many 'hot' war in the Cold war period were rooted in tensions between leading superpowers. Washington and Moscow had interests in every single conflict. Nonetheless, the war of American or Russian national survival did not break out during these years. McNair (2009: 180) observes the nature of 'hot' Cold War wars and its impact to international political communication and public opinion:
… Most conflicts are fought over the issues of territoriality, strategic resources or economic self-interest. In such wars defeat may involve national humiliation and the downfall of a government, but nor a collapse of the society. Citizens, therefore, are less likely to support them, and may actively campaign against them, as occurred in both Vietnam War and the Falklands conflict. Mercer et al. note that 'in a limited war, the relationship between politicians and the media will be particular sensitive; the government's interest will nor necessarily be construed as identical to the national interest. [In] a time of tension preceding a war, the potential power of the media to sway public opinion is even greater' (1987, p. 6). In these situations governments have to 'manufacture' consent for the pursuit of war, and manage opinion in such a way that the war aims are achieved.
This tendency has not changes even after Cold War had ended. US invasion into Afghanistan in 2002 and second invasion to Iraq in 2003 was follow by long, costly and very unpopular wars. Though, mission in Iraq is officially ended, US troops have not been withdrawn completely yet. Meanwhile, military operation are still being carried on by NATO lead international troops in Afghanistan and even neighboring Pakistan. Yet public approval for military actions is relatively low.
Participating countries are concern about international public opinion as well. Military campaigns, like Operation Desert Storm, invasion into Afghanistan after September 11, implementation of non-flight zone over Libyan territory, was carried on only after United Nations Security Council resolutions. UN approval is highly symbolical actions which has no actual power. Second US invasion into Iraq proved, that superpowers, like USA and few other member of 'Coalition of willing', are able to carry on military actions after arbitrary and rather unilateral decision. Nevertheless, it also proved, how this kind of campaign can possibly damage an image of a state and showed level of negative impact to it part in the international political communication. Legitimation of the war is none the less important than the military actions by itself. In liberal
42 democracies, where member of the government can be removed from power by electoral judgment of national society. Thus, military operations must be legitimized in the eyes of people.
Vietnam war is being called the 'first media war'. Technologies of communication was already rather quick in 1960's. Broadcasting of the military event in South East Asian was delayed for two days, but according to McNair (2009: 183), 'by comparison with the Second World War and before, military event could be reported more or less as they happened. However, the media coverage of the war was failure from US government perspective. US government with it ally South Vietnamese government were constantly loosing media battle, just like ground battles. Global audience saw images of Vietnamese children being burned to death by napalm; of peaceful villager massacred by US troops; of executions of suspected communists; and of confused and defeated US soldiers after North attacks. US government have failed in battlefields in Southern Vietnam and it failed in scene of international political communication.
While Vietnam war was total failure for US in the international political communication, Falkland war was completely different story for UK. Before Argentina invaded Falkland Islands in April 1982 Conservators government of Margaret Thatcher was suffering lowest popularity rating ever recorded. Thus, unsuccessful public relation campaign of military action would be 'last nail into governmental coffin'. However, Falkland war was success story from international political communication perspective. First of all, it was successful for the British government and military, because it manage to strictly control stream of information. Location of Falkland Island was very unfavorable for mass media. McNair (2009: 186) explains specifics of Falklands location:
[Government's] ability to [manipulate and constrain coverage] was greatly facilitated by the fact that the Falklands conflict was fought 8,000 miles away from Britain (and from the most of the rest of the world) on territory and in conditions relatively inaccessible to media organizations. Although the availability of electronic newsgathering technology could have permitted live coverage of the conflict (of the type which would later that year accompanied the Israeli invasion of Lebanon) the geographical isolation of the Falkland Islands was an obvious obstacle for Media.
Remote Falkland Islands was perfect location for successful military actions in terms of international political communication. Because, UK government and military fully controlled access to information about the conflict, images similar to Vietnam war pictures have never appeared in the news. Yet, remote location of the Islands was not only favorable feature for British government. Time and sophistications of communication technologies was perfect, as well. The then mass media had no information and communication network, like contemporary media has.
43 The absence of the Internet meant that government was only source of information. Today, government does not have this privilege even in the most remote locations in the world. Internet enables citizens journalism, thus every time something extraordinary happens mass media is being 'bombarded' by life comments, videos and pictures provided by local inhabitants.
4.2 The Pentagon Papers story's impact to International Political Communication
Sunday, June 13 1971, American newspaper The New York Times have published the first part of top-secret documents' collection about US action in Vietnam war. Documents were leaked by Danniel Ellsberg, who gave 43 volumes of study The New York Times reporter Neil Sheehan in February 1971. Sheehan (1971: ix) describes the nature of the documents:
In the middle of 1967, Robert S. McNamara, who was then Secretary of Defense, made what may turn out to be one of the most important decisions in his seven years at the Pentagon. He commissioned what has since then became know as the Pentagon papers – a massive top-secret history of United States role in Indochina. The work took a year and a half. The result approximately 3,00 pages of narrative history and more than 4,000 pages of appended documents – an estimated total of 2.5 millions words. The 47 volumes cover American involvement in Indochina form World War II to May, 1968, the month the peace talks began in Paris after President Johnson had set a limit on further military commitments and revealed his intention to retire.
Although 4 volumes of the papers was not been disclosed and there was some gaps in the study, it was massive and before unseen leak of top-secret document, which heavily impacted US global image. The Pentagon paper had mixed impact to international political communication.
Firstly, it presented international political communication among statesmen behind close doors. Although, universal suffrage introduced international political communication to masses and impelled national governments to communicate about foreign affairs with people, it still have left a lot of room for international talks behind closed doors. Nature of these talks was keep away from public eyes. The Pentagon papers, according to Sheehan (1971: xii) is a 'step through the looking glass into a new and different world.' Further, he explains, that 'this new world has a set of values, a dynamic, a language and a perspective quite distinct form the public world of the ordinary citizens.' For many, publication of top-secret military files was a first look to a hidden political communication of statesmen. It has highlighted the side of international political communication,
44 which used to in dark. Sheehan (1971: xiii) characterized the secret political communication:
Clandestine warfare, because it is covert, does not exist as far as treaties and public posture are concern. Further, secret commitments to other nations are not sensed as infringing on the treaty-making power of Senate, because they are not publicly acknowledged.
Discussions about secret governmental talks are part of international political communication, as much as secret statesmen communication, by it self, is a part of international political communication. However, whistleblowers – persons and organizations which informs on someone engaged in an illicit activity – shift perception of political communication behind close doors. First of all, it allows to media and society – two actors of international political communication, which used to be expelled form top-secret talks – to take active part in the process. Notion, that top-secret talks can be disclosed, changes politics perception about it. Politics, aware of possibility of whistleblowers emergence are more cautious about their actions.
Secondly, whistleblowers, change a nature of public image of secret political communication. It is no longer being seen as conspiracy theory.The idea of secret governmental international political communication is being confirmed by official documents, which is being leaked from state institutions. In other words, confirmation documents, like the Pentagon papers in this case, are created by state officials. From the first glance, whistleblowers are transiting 'objective' fact. In terms of political communication, evens are being created by politicians, and whistleblowers are merely mediator state and society. It seems, that media takes 'watchdog' role, once again. The idea, that whistleblower is merely transistor of 'objective' fact, rather than interpreter of facts and creator, has been seed into humans mind in early 1970s. Forty years latter the perception of objectivity of whistleblower is deeply entrenched in a understanding of national and international political communication and mass communication per se. Furthermore, its affect to contemporary international political communication can not be overstated. Perception of whistleblower, incepted in 1970s, deeply affected nature of international political communication and sovereign state's role in it in the early 21st century. In late 2000s online global whistleblower Wikileaks was created. Although, patterns of whistleblowing in late 2000s and early 2010s differs form patterns of disclosure of the Pentagon paper, it is being seen in very similar way. First and foremost, Wikileaks is identified as a transmitter of 'objective' fact.
The public image of whistleblower was heavily affected by solely national juridical process, as well. Just after the first part of the Pentagon papers was printed in Sunday The New York Times
45 June 13, 1971, US Justice Department obtained a restraining order, which temporary stopped further publication of the document. According to Sheehan (1971:ix) US Government argued, that 'if public dissemination of the document continued “the national defense interests of the United States and the national security will suffer immediate and irreparable harm.” However the Supreme Court of the United States was not convinced by this argument and, by vote 6 to 3, stated that right to free press under the First Amendment is supreme. The Supreme Court is a branch of government, thus legally US government restricted its power in International political communication. This actions legally and symbolically important in those days. However, the Supreme Court decision hold only his symbolical importance today. Evolution of communication technologies and international political communication caused a situation, when sovereigns state's option to permanently stop a publication of any document. Contemporary whistleblower are liberated from any national laws and rules. Whistleblowers and mass media in general may choose to enjoy überstate status in contemporary international political communication.
4.3 Supranational and subnational layers of international political communication.
In order to understand the nature of überstate actors of international political communication is necessary to analyze supranational and subnational political communication. Furthermore, overlook of state in second modernity is obligatory if one want to understand the difference between international political communication forty years ago and now. Beck (2000:64) announced, that 'architecture of thinking, acting and living within state-cum-social spaces and identities collapses in course of economic, political, ecological and biographical globalization. The best know existent example of multilayer international political communication is communication with and among different actors, which dwell in territory of European Union. European Union per se is supranational product. Indeed, European political communication is not contained in the two dimensional world. Many strata of may be found. First of all, there is classical political communication between two or more modern sovereign state. Bilateral negotiations between British and Sweden authorities is a classical example of international political communication. Secondly, there are supranational political communication, which may be divined into many subcategories. For example, one subcategory would contain supranational talks between member state authorities and officials of European Union, like MP of European Parliament, Eurocommissioner, etc.; other subcategory includes negotiations between supranational European institutions or its members and institutions from third party (e.g. US State Department); and third subcategory covers
46 communication between two or more supranational institution of European Union. In the end, of the day, there may be much more subcategories in the category of supranational political communication. It is not a purpose of this study to categorize subnational communication. Yet, it is crucial to see full scale of international political communication. Subnational political communication is the third strata of international political communication. Like supranational strata, subnational may be divided into dozen of smaller and more detail categories after study. Once again, it is necessary to emphasize, that it is not a purpose of this study. Lastly, there are many types of international political communication which can added to none of three major categories. Contrary it may have element of all three types. For example, hypothetical situation when Roma person, who has German citizenship appeals to the European Courts of Human Rights in Strasbourg on decision of Austrian courts could not be added to any categories, however it is clear case of international political communication. Beck (2000: 67) claims 'there are not one but many Europes – a Europe of nation, a Europe of regions, a Europe of civilizations, a Europe of Christianities, and so on.' International political communication penetrates through every single Europe and every strata. In other worlds, it travels through almost infinitive number of vertical and horizontal social and poltical links in many directions. As a consequence, there are multilayer dense network of communication across European Union. Furthermore there are no common and universally accepted rules of international political communication in the space of European Union. Cox (1992) argues, that 'globalization encourages macro-regionalism, which, in turn, encourages micro- regionalism.' Same can be said about international political communication. Indeed, basic idea of European Union, and globalization in general, encourages macro or, in other words, supranational communication, which by itself encourages subnational (aka micro) communication. As we are going to see, complexity of international communication creates a pattern for run of überstate mass media.
4.4 Research case No.2: Presumption of überstate mass media
First and foremost it is necessary to emphasize, that überstate status means absolute freedom from master – servant relations. Überstate status organization does take a position of master, it dwell outside subordinative relations. Überstate reflects absolute freedom, but not absolute power. Existence of überstate mass media would be impossible with out the Internet – first truly global and fully independant network of information and communication. The Internet is the most complex network. Great number of small networks compose the Internet. Some of these small networks are created and controlled by national states, while others depend on private
47 enterprises. A nature of these subnetworks are very different. However, the most important that none single actor control whole cyberspace or even major part of it. For this reason, the network is ungovernable by national laws or any other rules of offline words. Put it differently, the cyberspace is 'floating' above national regulations. The Internet is überstate space. Although existence of this self-ruling network impacts the international political communication, the affect is not so great as one created by inception of überstate mass media.
Complex network of international communication in post-modern sovereign states, and especially in European Union, cyberspace with 'floats' above national regulations, legacy of the Pentagon papers are the main presumptions for inception of überstate mass media. The main location of Überstate mass media is the Internet. It is not located in the offline world. Thus it does not have to obey any national laws and regulations. This is the feature which differ it from traditional media. Yet, traditional media may be a part of überstate mass media. However it is not defining element of new type news organization. Furthermore, überstate mass media can not be defined as element of subnational political communication. Full spectrum of the international political communication is being covered by new type of mass media. Indeed, complexity is necessary 'floatation' above any norms and regulations.
4.4.1 Narrow narrative of überstate mass media
Leading überstate news organization is Wikileaks. Organization is as complex as contemporary international political communication. It may be understood and defined in many ways. First and foremost, it is a online provider of whistleblowing service.. Anyone, can anonymously upload documents, which is going to be verified and published online. Creators and manages, first of all J. Assange, guarantee that donor of information will remain incognito. Bilateral trust between sender and receiver is cornerstone of the service. In many cases, Wikileaks punished information reveled dark side of government. Therefore, informant freedom, health or even life could be put in danger if authorities found his/her identity. Team led by australian genius hacker J. Assange, have created Wikileaks service. Sophisticates technologies, such as OpenSSL (an open source site connection system, which is used by Amazon and other online retailer), FreeNet (a peer- to-peer method storing files among great number of computers, without revealing where they originated and who's property it is), PGP (the open source cryptography system abbreviated from the name 'Pretty Good Privacy') and Tor (US Naval Research Laboratory project, which uses about 2,000 computers, through which message can be routed anonymously and untraceably), enables
48 Wikileaks to provide promised anonymity to informant. Tor is very popular package of software among political dissidents and member of oppositional movements in authoritarian states because it prevents repressive regimes from tracking their movements online. Tor technology is being used by US intelligence agencies to cover up their spying work, thus the information that the technology is being used to leak US national secrets was received harshly. The Tor Project also received funding from major corporations, such as Google, and non-governmental activists groups like Human Right Watch. One of the main advocate of the project is Jacob Appelbaum – an American hacker, who also helped to develop Wikileaks project. Assange (RS 2010) in his interview to American magazine Rolling Stone said, that 'tor importance to Wikileaks cannot be overstated.'
The first Wikileaks story has came from Kenya in August 2007. The organization received report about the alleged corruption of former president Daniel Arap Moi, whose successor president Mwai Kibaki decided to keep a report in secret for political reasons. However, the report was leaked to Wikileaks. The story appeared on organization Website and front page of british newspaper Guardian. Sin The Kenyan case first time revealed self-ruling nature of the new media. It can not be affected by national laws of sovereign republic or Kenya, yet the information is accessible for its citizens. On the contrary, Wikileaks have impacted national politics of Kenya. Assange claimed that voting has shifted by 10% in next Kenyan election. Following year the website has published story about Kenyan death squads and assassinations of human rights activists who investigated the killings. The reportage brought first international recognition to Wikileaks and Assange. He awarded Media prize by international human rights organization Amnesty International. Since Kenya publications leaked documents started to flow to organization's servers.
Defining moment of überstate mass media story was a clash between Wikileaks and Julius Bear bank. Rudolf Elmer – Zurich banker who ran the Caymans Island brach of the bank – send some bank records about its customers tax records. The band went to court in California claiming that back records and personal accounts information of its customers was stolen. The court ordered Californian-based domain name hosters to disable access to the name wikileaks.org. Yet, the court has no levers to impact sites hosted in other countries. This was the first real evidence of überstate status of new online mass media. The modern news organizations, like Wikileaks, was developing on 'Hydra' model. After the name being denied in one state, organization creates many 'mirror sites' which links to published information. In other words, absence of the world's government enables to successful existence of new media in global information and communication network. This class between Wikileaks and Swiss bank was noticed by few, however trends of überstate mass media
49 immunity from national jurisdiction is crucial element of changed international political communication. There are no state, whose legislative, executive or juristic authorities could force überstate mass media to obey any law or regulation. The media is self-determining and self-ruling.
4.4.2. Wide narrative of überstate mass media
Since 2007, relatively small online whistleblower service website has developed to much greater phenomenon. Important turn over have happened on June, 2010. The organization reached a cooperation agreement with British newspaper the Guardian, American newspaper the New York Times and German weekly magazine Der Spiegel. Cooperation was widen in on November, 2010 . French newspaper Le Monde and Spanish newspaper El Paìs were included into alliance. The Wikileaks decided to give them access to a huge archive of secret diplomatic and military documents, which have been leaked by US army Specialist Bradley Manning from Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), used by the US department of defense and US state department to securely share information; and from Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communication System (JWICS), which is used as global channel for top-secret dispatches. In exchange Wikileaks and its leader Assange, received credibility and extra protection against national attacks provided by the most famous international newspapers. Leigh and Harding (2011: location 1562) explain, what potential danger they saw:
As [Nick Davies – investigative reporter of the Guardian, who has negotiated with Assange] saw it, Assange was facing four separate lines of attack. The first was physical – that someone will beat him or worse. The second was legal – that the Washington would attempt to crush Wikileaks in courts. The third was technological – that US or its proxies would bring down Wikileaks website. The fourth and perhaps most worrisome possibility was a PR attack – that a sinister propaganda campaign would be launched, accusing Assange of collaborating with terrorists.
These treats, especially latter three, were minimized by the cooperation between four news organization. First and foremost, the honorable names of the Guardian, the New York Times and Der Spiegel (Le Monde and El Paìs after November, 2010) and prevented US government from temptation to carry on state's propaganda attack on Wikileaks and Assange. These five news organizations have a legacy of professional journalism, which can not be suddenly demolished event by the most powerful apparatus of state's propaganda. Their names are credible nationally and internationally. Newspaper per se are very powerful actors international political communication, which dispose of large social, financial and symbolic capital. The American newspaper was very
50 strong partner in this area. Leigh and Harding (2011: location 1621) gave an explanation, why the New York Times was so important:
There are no way, Davies argued, that the Obama administration would attack the most powerful Democrat-leading newspaper in the US. Any Wikileaks stories in the paper would enjoy the protection of the free speech provision of the first amendment to the US constitution; furthermore, there was the precedent of the New York Times historic battle to gain right to publish the Pentagon papers.
Secondly, cooperation substantially increased technical power of the whistleblowing service provider. Secret document were broadcasted by four sources, instead of original one. It was a crucial after secret US diplomatic cables were disclosed on November 2010. Powerful technological attack was launched against Wikileaks website. Firstly, powerful DDOS (distributed denial of service) attack was carried on, after tens of thousands controlled computers were used to crash down wikileaks.org. The net traffic rapidly increased from 13 Gigabits per second (Gbps) to 18 Gbps. Although the website have suffered DDOS attacks earlier, this particular attack was eight time larger. It was carried on by American right-wing hacker. The attack was fallowed by Amazons decision to stop hosting Wikileaks. Decision was made after after US Senator Joe Lieberman, Senate homeland security committee chairman urged company to stop the cooperation. It was followed by similar decisions of other companies, like Tableau Software and EveryDNS. In the end of the day domain wikileaks.org have disappeared from cyberspace. However, it was everything what was achieved with technical assault. Wikileaks was still operating, and was reachable by alternative addresses, such as wikileaks.ch. However, technical attack was doomed to be unsuccessful from the beginning. Although, Wikileaks was main actor in the story, it was not only holder of secret documents any more. The cooperation between whistleblowing service provider and other five news agencies made online broadcast technically unbreakable. Wider, unprecedented and hardly imaginable cyber-attack on websites of all six news agencies is necessary in order to disrupt broadcast of the information. Moreover, it would be very temporary solution, which could not stop stream of the information in a long term. Proper work of websites would be restored in days or even in hours after attack.
Julius Bear bank failure to ban publication of documents, showed legal 'muscles' of Wikileaks. Anyone, who try confront Wikileaks in courts, condemned with a long and tiring legal dispute, which likely ends with Wikileaks victory. Main Wikileaks servers are based in Sweden, which is being described as 'heaven of freedom of speech'. Sweden is among leaders in the protection of freedom of speech and human rights in general. Thus it is least likely, that anyone
51 would be able to convince a judge to turn off the servers. Worldwide famous the Pirate Bay trial ended with the prosecutors, who tried to shut down website defeat. The Pirate Bay is Swedish website, which host torrent files. Companies like, 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros, Universal Music and other are deeply frustrated by torrent files sharing service provided by the website, which was created in November 2003. Although legal trials a dated back to early 2008, prosecutors are not able to shut down website and it's servers till today. This is an example for anyone, who considering legal option to fight Wikileaks. The quadruple cooperation disabled any chance that a crisis could be solved by a legal actions. News organizations need to be confronted in US, British, German, Spanish, French and Swedish courts. Furthermore, national court decision from latter five states can be disputed in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Multilayer European Union and its complex network of communication have an important part in momentum of change of international political communication. Three of four members of primal agreement and five of four member of final pact dwell in the territory of European Union. They are acting under complexity of number social and political system. Freedoms and rights are protected by national laws and supranational regulations of EU institutions. Legacy of complex not institutionalized network of horizontal and vertical communication is deeply rooted in a phenomenon of Wikileaks and überstate mass media in general. Agreement between four news organization per se is example contemporary international political communication. On the one hand, it is possible without a sovereign state's part. On the other hand it strongly affect whole nature of international political communication and state's role in it.
Lastly, the agreement did not increased Assange's physical safety. However, wider cooperation intensified torrent of information about Wikileaks. In the late 2010 Assange was one of the most recognizable name in the World. It is hard to believe that anyone would take such a drastic measures to stop Wikileaks and attack him physically. Yet, physical attack by itself it not a subject of international political communication. Because of this reason, this option and its prevention are not going to be discussed in this study.
4.3 Überstate mass media's impact to international political communication
After comparison of International political communication in pre-Internet era and the process nowadays is clear that sovereign state's position is relatively weaker. In second modernity sovereign state lost a grip on many levers it used to control in the first modernity. Model of welfare
52 state is not a dominant any more. Beck (2000: 20) claims that 'one constant feature is the overturning the central premiss of the first modernity: namely idea, that we live and act in the self- enclosed spaces of national states and their respective national societies.' In the previous chapter is was explained how sovereign states lost its grip on determination and representations of national territory. Sovereign state was deteritorialised by online mapping service providers. However 'humiliation' of state has not stopped there. It has lost any control of information in international political communication. While, this lost hurts pride of state in ordinary days, it became dangerous in war times. The first decade of 21st century is marked with few powerful symbols. First of all, it was decade, which will be remember for war against terrorism and, especially, longterm military operation, which fallowed invasions to Iraq and Afghanistan. Ironically, the longest US war against non-state network of terrorist is a symbol for state's model struggle to keep 20th century might in new millennium. The first decade indicates, that a state will not be rewarded with success. Damage to state's military dominance is caused by terrorist and militias; state's economic might is reduced my transnational corporations; and state was pushed by überstate mass media from leading position in international political communication.
It is necessary to clarify, that inceptions of überstate mass media in the process of international political communication and coup d'etat against state's dominance are more important and longer process that merely a battle US v. Wikileaks. Furthermore, Leigh and Harding (2011: location 2644) noticed, that Assange have incised to delay publication of US secret diplomatic cables because he 'did not want Wikileaks to seem obsessed with America.' He argued, that cables has much wider significance, and people must realized that it is not simply about US. Indeed, whole hackers movement, from which Wikileaks have developed, believes that freedom of information is highest good. Thus, it confronts anyone, who disclose information, which serves to public interests. A state used to be and in many cases still are the biggest holder of the secret information. Because of this reason, überstate mass media, like Wikileaks, has determined itself to confront a might of a state. The existence of the global liberal cyberspace awarded new mass media with a significant success in this battle. None state is able to control information nowadays, as UK controlled an information during the Falkland Island military campaign. Even the Pentagon papers' leak can not be compared with leaks of secret Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo prison records and US diplomatic cable. While there are several reasons to think, that these to cases have very little in common, the most noticeable is the difference of the size is astonishing. The leek, which has been made by online whistleblower, would be impossible without the Internet. Leigh and Harding (2011: location 2199) vividly explain the situation:
53 If the tiny memory stick containing the cables had been set of printing texts, it would have made up a library containing more than 2,000 sizable book. No human diplomats would have attempted to write so much before the coming of digital age: if written down, no human spy would be able to purloin copies of that much paper without using lorry, and no human mind would have been able subsequently to analyse it with out spending half a lifetime at the task.
Although assistance of sophisticated technologies was very important, it still took weeks of work of five of the world's most reputable newspapers, which were totally committed to selecting, redacting and publishing of secret diplomatic documents. Although the the new media liberated itself from national cage, it keep old tradition of interpretation of news. Manning was leaked 'raw' military and diplomatic documents into Wikileaks servers, however it got rather different shape into frontages of the newspapers and event in the website of whistleblowing service provider. Mass media member have argued that documents were reviewed and redacted to avoid human casualties. Indeed, states' main argument against disclosure was high danger to persons, which are mentioned in the documents. Many officials, like US Senator Lieberman, have stated, that the disclosure puts live at risk around the world. As Leigh and Harding (2011: location 1816) observed, 'slogan - “blood on hands” - was in turn perverted from a speculation into a fact, endlessly repeated, and used as a justification for bloodlust on the part of some US politicians, who seemingly though they might profit in votes by calling for Assange himself to be murdered.' However, the proves that the publications caused looses of life does not exist and in the end of the day it was silently admitted that Assange or any of its partners does not have 'blood on their hands'. However, justification of the redaction of the document does not eliminate the fact that it was actually redacted. Newspaper have interpreted the facts. In addition each newspaper has published slightly different interpretations. For example, disclosed cables from US embassy in Moscow, was published in the Guardian with a tittle 'Inside Putin's “mafia state”', meanwhile the New York Times run the story with a rather moore moderate headline – 'In cables, US takes a dim view of Russia'. In that way, six news organization have shared security, which had been delivered with überstate status, yet acted by following its own interests. Furthermore, as it was mention above, since 1970s whistleblower is understood as merely a transmitter of 'objective' facts. This idea is still alive in a minds of people. Wikileaks, in its narrow and wide narrative, is not being seen as interpretation. The fact, that no one is questioning 'objectivity' of news broadcasted by überstate mass media, gives it extra power in process of international political communication. Concept of whistleblower is related with forty year legacy of 'objective' mass media image. It is another feature of mighty überstate mass media. Meanwhile, ordinary national mass media cannot enjoy liberty from national regulations, nor unquestionable
54 nature of its news.
***
In the end of the day it is obvious that sovereign states used to have dominant role in the process of international political communication. Moreover, for a long time international political communication per se used to be understood as statesmen behind closed doors. Trends started to shift since the First World War. Inception of mass media, growth of literacy rates and emancipation of masses were among main causes of shifting trends. Governments of the democratic states were obliged to pay attention to public opinion. State's foreign policy stated to topic of public discussions. However, it took some years before state started consider public opinion of foreign or, even, global society. Inter war period was marked by heavy usage of propaganda. Yet it was directed mainly to national audience. Management of foreign propaganda and global 'battle for people's mind and hearts stated only during the Cold War. Student of political communication, like McNair (2009), considers that actual international political communication has not developed until the 1960s. 1971 is marked with the New York Times publication of the Pentagon paper, which revealed dark side of US government’s involvement into Vietnam War. Events, which have followed the disclosure, have a deep impact to international political communication. It put a standard for concept of whistleblower.
International political communication have strongly changes during last half of century. First of all number of actors has rapidly growth. Many subjects of contemporary society are interconnected though many different links. European Union are phenomenal network of complex horizontal and vertical intercourse. Various actors communicate through supranational, national and subnational strata of communication. The complex communicational space of European Union enabled pattern for inception of new generation of mass media. Meanwhile, existence of the Internet is a cornerstone of news organizations which are 'floating' above national laws. This kind of mass media do not need to obey any law or regulation, which is being enforced by any sovereign state. Online mass media is self-ruling and self-determining.
The phenomena of Wikileaks is the first actual überstate mass media. In the harrow narrative is it a online whistleblowing service provider. Number of hackers led by Australian Julian Assange have created the project. It is based on principe of anonymity. Sophisticated technologies, used in the online service enables informant to stay incognito. The project was started in 2007. Reports about corruption and state human rights activists' assassinations were first publications,
55 which brought international recognition to Wikileaks project and its leader Assange. However, project was not taken seriously by many until it started to publish US secret document. In the second half of 2010, the hackers organization started to cooperate with the five of most recognizable newspapers in the world: British the Guardian, American the New York Times, German Der Spiegel, French Le Monde and Spanish El Paìs. The cooperation substantially increased might of überstate mass media. None sovereign stated could launch legal, technical and propaganda attack, which would cause significant damage to 'floating' mass media. It was invulnerable. Moreover, whistleblower type media enjoys status of transmitter of 'objective' fact, though it still continue a practice of interpreting and redacting news. Because of that, each member of cooperation enjoys protection, gained by moving to überstate status, though it acts by its own interests.
5. The premise of stateless international political communication
5.1 Pattern of stateless international political communication.
International political communications is being proceed in many layer and levels. Layers, which includes sovereign states has been discussed previously. Also, it had been shown how modern state lost its privilege position in international political communication. States used to be only participants of international political communication one century ago. However, non-state political actors, such as labour union, terrorists organizations, organizations to protect minorities and others, have step into process of international political communication. Simultaneously news organization emerged as powerful participants of international political communication. News organization used to be mediator between politics, which mainly represented a sovereign state, and societies. It provided a medium for communication. It was merely a broadcaster, by its primal definition. In time, role of mass media has shifted. Mass media became a source of international political communication. In other words, news organizations started to create events. Before politicians and societies used to be only two actors of political communication, which had an options to manufacture international political events. These, processes have started in pre-Internet era. The inception of global information cyberspace accelerated these processes an the beginning and actually enabled political communication without the participation of a politicians. While national and local political communication was possible without politician getting involved, international political communication could be carried on with no state's interference. Emancipation of masses, rise of news organizations' power and inception of global communication and
56 information transfer network is a prerequisites, which build a pattern for stateless international political communication. Nowadays, a substantial part of international political communication is being proceeded without any participation of sovereign state.
5.2 Value of communicative action and supremacy of communicative rationality
Action of communication and its importance to single person and society has been studied by many. J. Habermas is one of the leading voices of these studies. He has developed theory about communicative rationality. He has argued, that human rationality is coming from communicative rationality. Communicative rationality refers primarily to the use of knowledge in language and action, rather than to a property of knowledge. Or as, Cooke (1994) puts, it refers primarily to a mode of dealing with validity claims, and that it is in general not a property of these claims themselves. In other words, basis of communication rationality is communication action rather than information transferred through the action. Moreover, the communicative rationality is a higher value, that humans rationality, because, latter one comes form former one. Communicative rationality is directly connected with a communicative action. He based his ideas on social interaction and communicative practices. Habermas (2002) argues, that in theory of communicative action process of closed circle, in which living world and daily society overlap, takes a role of mediator, which was called social practice by Marx and other Western marxists. While social practice acts as mediator between humans rationality and his/her alterity, aim of communicative action theory is to understand intelligent practice as rationality concretized in history, society and speech. Communicative rationality is direct part of social life, because acts of mutual understanding overtake function of coordination mechanism. Habermas theory goes further and claims, that communicative action is an environment, where living world reproduce itself through, three functions: continuum of traditions; groups' integration based on norms and values; and socialization of new generations. However, Habermas (2002: 354) states, that 'communicative rationality unfolds in the conception of decentralized world.' This idea is very important in the contexts of contemporary international political communication. Decentralized cyber net of communication is a premise for better, improved communicative action, in which universal communicative rationality unfolds and reproduction of living world happens. Thus, centralizing role of state in the international political communication is not necessary. Contrary, it is damaging and disruptive.
While in the pre-Internet era state's dominance in public sphere was inevitable, situation
57 have changes with the emergence of cyberspace. Although welfare state is loosing its might, global system is still based on Westphalian model. In other words, 'grey' public spaces, where international offline political communication would be possible without superiority of sovereign state's rule, do not exists yet. However, online world is not being dominated by states' rules. In the first decade of 21st century divers public spaces emerged in the Internet. Social Networking Sites (SNSs), such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and other, were created. Number of its users rocketed. SNSs became online public spaces, which enabled international political communication without state's superiority. Online existence started to develop disconnectedly form offline and by its own 'law of gravity' in SNSs. Online person began to develop and gain features, which are uncharacteristic for offline personality.
5.3 Division between social capital and symbolic capital online
Boyd and Ellison (2008) specify a definition of SNS that helps to clarify them from other web-based services; specifically, an SNS must be a web-based service that allows users to (a) create profiles that are either public or semipublic within a bounded system, (b) display connections that they have with other members of the social network community, and finally (c) find other users through a virtual networking system. Facebook, an SNS in which the primal purpose was to aide users in maintaining their already existing relationships. Facebook is unique, because users are presented with a template that allows them to enter in an extensive amount of personal information in order to create a user profile. It is necessary to review two feature of online social networking: online self-disclosure (OSD) is one of the most controversial component of persons' life online, which contains any message about the self that a person communicates to another; meanwhile, online social connection (OSC), indicates maintenances of existing social connections (Ledbetter & et al., 2010). Ledbetter (2009: 76) claims that these orientations address an individual’s attitude toward the medium itself, which then influences both the formation and interpretation of online messages.
There is causal relation between online social connection and online self-disclosure. Working models of Facebook, Twitter and many other SNSs are based on Network Externalities. Katz and Shapiro (1985: 424) explains, that there are many products for which the utility, that a user derives from consumption of the good, increases with the number of other agents consuming the good. This concept have been introduced and proved to be working by the first post patent president of Bell Telephone, Theodore Vail. However, one century latter SNSs designers adopted this principe in their websites. It means, that ordinary people are more tempted to use SNS, which has greatest
58 number of users. In other words, OSC can reach highest level only in the SNSs with the highest number of users. Meanwhile, OSC are one of the main elements of social capital, which is represented in i.e., apprehended symbolically in a relations of knowledge, or more precisely, of misrecognition or recognition, presupposes the intervention of the habitus, as a socially constituted cognitive capacity.
Nonetheless, OSC impacts not only social capital, but OSD, as well. Although, primary OSD is personal willingness to reveal private life to society, in SNSs' environment person looses privilege to decide, which private details he or she want to publish. For example, in 2006, Facebook has introduced concepts of News feed and Personal Wall. Back then News feed was socially revolutionary and controversial technology, which has published any change of personal Facebook profile to Friends, i.e. other users of this SNS, which have been added by particular person as Facebook Friends. Although, this kind of information had been publicly available even before this controversial technology was introduced, since then person is left without choice, whether he/she wants to publish his/her information and action or not. Meanwhile, Personal wall is one of the main features of Facebook, which exists since creation of the SNS itself, though it is important to remember that any of person's Friends (on default setting) can publish anything on his/her wall. Furthermore, Friends can disclose privacy, by publish photos or any other kind of material, which contains intimate information. Combinations of high OSC, personal wall and news feed technologies minimize personal options of the control of OSD. Hence, term of online disclosure (OD) should be used instead of online self-disclosure term.
5.4. Research case No. 3: Study of stateless international political communication
Twitter – one of the most popular SNSs – lacks a tool to maintain and increase social capital, however it has develop technology called hashtag. Hashtag is a part of the personal message, which adds an additional context and metadata. Hashtag may be created simply by prefixing a word with a hash symbol (e.g. #hashtag). The technology developed as a mean to create groups on Twitter without having to change the basic service. Every person, who adds particular hashtag to his/hers message, devote the message to particular group of online persons. Thus, surplus of hashtag's symbolic capitals is higher, that surplus of the persons', who use particular hashtags, social capital. Some of the hashtags became the symbols per se, which rather represents some values, than bonds Twitter's personalities. Moreover, nature and meaning of particular hashtags are
59 very dynamic and unstable. It may be used by anyone and in any contexts. Thus, symbolic capital of the hashtags are being created by many personalities which does not develop common social capital. On the one hand, there are a possibility, that hashtag may mutate and eventually represent totally different value, that it was created for. Therefore it is unsuitable for sovereign state's propaganda and PR campaigns. State are unable to control symbol of any hashtag in international political communication. On the other hand, hashtags does not depend on single actor activity. Communicative action impacts trends and shifts of hashtags and its symbolic capital. From this point of view, hashtags have a similar evolution with folk art (e.g. folk songs, folk fairytale, etc.), when anyone has very limited impact to the subject. Hashtags is a part of international political communication. It may serve as public places, like squares or social clubs, in an offline world, because it connects actors of international political communicative, which share same or similar interests. However, hashtag is not physically limited. Therefore, while in the offline world the number of participant of political communication is limited by the size of public place or persons physical abilities (e.g. person can not communicate with number of other persons, who locate themselves in different areas of a bigger place, like square), number of actors in the online process of political communication are not physically limited. Physical difference is not important for international political communication through SNSs.
Hashtag's symbolic capital grows only in permanent usage. Joseph Goebbels (Doob, 1950) was one, among many propagandists, who noticed that 'a propaganda theme must be repeated, but not beyond some point of diminishing effectiveness'. Therefore, theme has to be dynamic, nevertheless it has to contain same message permanently. On the one hand hashtags, though permanent usage, repeats a symbol, which it contains. Hashtags, which has a strong symbolic capital, can easily be used for the purposes of propaganda. The massages, with this hashtag, contains a different information, yet has a similar symbolic meaning. On the other hand, it is difficult to control symbols of hashtags, because of its' dynamic nature. The symbolic capital of new and little used hashtags can easily shifts. Furthermore, these shifts can be damaging for particular propaganda. Furthermore, a same hashtag has developed dual symbol. Possibility of unpredictable and uncontrollable mutations of hashtag's symbolic capital are constant threat to propagandists.
Life of hashtag may be shot, yet very influential. #IAmSpartacus became one of the most recognizable hashtags (symbols) in the Twitter's social existence in the end of 2010. Paul Chambers (@PaulJChambers), 26 year old trainee accountant from Doncaster, UK, got frustrated after Robin Hood Airport in South Yorkshire was closed in January and tweeted: “Robin Hood Airport is
60 closed. You've got a week... otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!” He went on court and has been found guilty. At his trial in May, Chambers was fined £385 by a district judge and told to pay £600 court costs. After this decision The online campaign was started by @christt, who tweeted "I think we should all tweet Paul Chambers' original joke, Spartacus style. Thousands of us. Would that work? #twitterjoketrial". Since then it is estimated that 25,000 people have republished a tweet that earned the original poster a criminal record, a fine and lost him his job. Time magazine (2010) has announced, #IAmSpartacus had become one of Twitter's top worldwide trending topics.
From the first glance, this cases does not qualify as part of international political communication. Moreover, the part of state is still leading, because it fine its citizen for broking national laws, though he acted in online world. However, the meaning of #IAmSpartacus has expanded and it represents much more than just a support to Mr. Chambers. #IAmSpartacus became a symbol of fight for freedom of speech on the web. Every time someone has been arrested for their expression in the cyberspace,, great number of actors of international political communication expressed support, while publishing a message with the #IAmSpartacus hashtag. Thus, this hashtag became a symbol of freedom of self-expression and fight international against states' superiority in international political communication. Although each case differs a bit, usage of #IAmSpartacus in these cases delivers same message of protest against the national legals systems, which suppress and punish persons, who have express their mind via online personalities. Persons who uses #IAmSpartacus hashtag share some values (e.g. freedom of speech) and communicate with others. Hence sovereign state is rather a topic of international political communication, than actual participant. #IAmSpartacus no longer exclusively represents Mr. Chambers case. It has been adopted to the number of other cases (e.g. Gareth Compton’s arrest in UK, Cheng Jianping imprisonment in China):
• @Count_Christoph : #iamspartacus Chinese Government is Big Brother http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11784603;
• @BarrySpex: How has everyone missed this?! http://j.mp/b86z5W makes #twitterjoketrial seem even more trivial! This needs more publicity! #IAmSpartacus;
• @russellcavanagh : Demo in #Sheffield at Town Hall today re Paul Chambers and #iamspartacus #iams http://wp.me/p12f2c-3IW.
Hence, hashtags, like #IAmSpartacus, make possible international political communication
61 among people around the world. In some cases, this new type of communication may enable destructive force against a particular state and model of state system in general. Online international political communication took a part in Coup d'etat in Tunisia and Egypt and uprise of oppositional movement it other Middle East states. While it is misleading to name political turmoils in Middle East region after SNS, it is rather accurate to opine, that international political communication in SNS was carried on without state's superiority and, even, without its participation in the process. Many scholars study how online word impacts political changes in the offline word (Kumar 2010, Chang, Himelboim, Dong 2009, Vise 2006, Manen 2010, Buffardi, Campbell 2008, Boyd 2008, Ledbetter & others 2010, Rice 2006). A lot of political science students analyze analyze changes in national society caused by different websites and the Internet in general (Kumar 2010, Al Nashmi & others 2010, Jongpil 2008). In the 1990's there was great excitement, among social scientist, human rights activists and many politics from democratic countries, about democratic power of the Internet. They believed, that free flow of information and ideas in cyber space will empower peoples in authoritarian states and inspire them stand up for democratic changes. Jogpil (2008: 73) noticed that, Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both strongly believed that the Internet will bring freedom and, ultimately, democracy to China. Yet, proves, that the Internet challenges authoritarian regimes were inconstant and blurry. Number or optimist gradually shrank in first decade of the third millennium. However, there was some crucial changes in the beginning of 2011. Peoples uprisings, unrest and rather peaceful revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt was partly caused by communicative action in the stateless international political communication. Although, believe that the Internet will cause third wave of democratization was shrinking, there was some student of political science who never stopped arguing that communicative action in the cyberspace impacts existence of sovereign states. Eriksson and Giacomello (2009: 211) noticed that Rand Corporation – one of the leading think tanks – predicted a wave of political change in the Middle East ushering democracy in ways never seen before. Meanwhile Al Hashmi & others' study on online political discussion in the Arab words exposed political communication in which states do not participate. . Study (2010: 733) explained the situation in the online public areas:
One common theme in the Egyptian forum was the continuous criticism of President Hosni Mubarak. <...> The forum users, who appear to be strong supporters of opposition Islamic parties, expressed constant frustrations over Mubarak and his government. In any negativity surrounding issues like education, healthcare, crime or the economy, the president was usually the first blamed. The president also came under harsh criticism when he publicly denounced Hezbollah’s capture of two Israeli soldiers. <...> Some users called for reform and change in the political systems, but rarely do they go to the extreme and call for a
62 revolution or an overthrow of the current government. An example of one that does is a discussion from the Egyptian forum appearing on 20 July 2006, in which the author writes directly to the Egyptian people asking them how much longer they are willing to endure the rule of Mubarak who is acting as a puppet to the USA and Israel. Furthermore, the author calls for a new leader, one similar to Jamal Abdul-Nasser, who, according to the author, will stand up for the rights of the people. The author speaks to the Egyptian people: ‘How can you accept this disgrace and disregard that Mubarak has put on to you? What are you waiting for? Why are you being so quiet? A tornado is coming, that of Bush, Blair and the Zionists to wipe away the rest of the Arab world.’
Number of online public spaces are close to infinitive. None actor of political communication is able to be participant of communicative action in every single space. However, this limitation does not contradict notion of multiple online personality's development.
5.5. Complexity of online personality in decentralized international political communication
The public spaces in the online world are truly decentralized. Online social existence are divided among many SNSs. The existence of many alternative SNSs also enables possibility to create and develop number of fictional personalities, which does not exist in offline world. The Internet is a perfect environment for fictional personalities, because it creates parallel social existence, with it's own social gravity and customs. Online personalities may be as different from offline personalities as online world is different from offline world. The virtual world has very week bounds with physical existence. It is social norm, that one human being was one personality in offline, though such a norm has been demolished in online world. One human being can have multiple personalities in online world. It is common, that one human being is a part of many SNSs. Various SNSs create different amount of the surplus of social capital and symbolic capital. Thus, one human being is able to develop many different personalities. For example, Facebook's personality characterize high social capital and moderate symbolic capital, meanwhile Twitter's personality characterize high symbolic capital and moderate social capital. Because of this reasons one human is able to develop more than one online personality. Furthermore ties between online world and physical existence are rather weak. Hence online person's age, race, gender, social status, etc. does not necessarily correlates with human being's age, race, gender, social status, etc. While, the Internet is based on openness and freedom of choice, it has became a norm to choose personality in online social existence. As a consequence, in the online existence connective rationality is supreme in comparison with humans rationality.
63 Furthermore, offline personality contains beastly heritage of human being. Beastly heritage is not social construct, it is, rather, tied with physiology of human being. Therefore, there are temptation to declare, that constructed online fictional personalities does not contains beastly heritage, because of its' weak ties with physiology of human being. However, in the free and open online social existence majority of walls, which contains humans sexuality and anger in offline society, have been destroyed. Many of online personalities contains high libido and tanta. Mažeikis (2010: 12) has noticed, propaganda tries to constrain beast in offline world. In order to do it, propaganda shapes beast's habits, behavioral forms, predisposition, disposition, values, schemes of understanding, potentialities of mind and will, also constrains it's sublimations and desublimations.
Online world developed by its own rules, thus many social norms and constrains of offline world does not apply online. Online persons forms online social existence, which has a substantial part in the process of international political communication. Therefore, it is important to analyze is online personalities being shaped by some kind of online social norms, online propaganda, international political communication per se and how it's correlate with offline personalities, society and propaganda. If online personality represents i.e. shares identity with offline personality, then it is partly constrained by offline social norms and attempts to shape it's habits, behavioral forms, etc. However, if online does not represents i.e. has different name, image, gender, race, etc. as offline personality, it can operate out of offline world systems and norms. Yet, SNSs, like Facebook, strongly constrain online personalities and seek to link it to offline person. Thus it is crucial to understand trends, which happening online social existence.
Narcissism is highly encouraged and valued in online social existence. Buffardi and Campbell (2008: 1304) have summarized features of narcissism:
Narcissism is associated with being (a) liked in initial interactions (Oltmanns, Friedman, Fiedler, & Turkheimer, 2004; Paulhus, 1998), (b) perceived as a leader (Brunell, Gentry, Campbell, & Kuhnert, 2006), (c) perceived as exciting (Foster, Shrira, & Campbell, 2003), (d) socially confident (Brunell, Campbell, Smith, & Krusemark, 2004), (e) entertaining (Paulhus, 1998), and (f) able to obtain sexual partners (Foster, Shrira, & Campbell, 2006). Second, narcissism is associated negatively with seeking out or creating long-term relationships that have qualities of closeness, empathy, or emotional warmth (Brunell et al., 2004; Campbell, 1999; Campbell & Foster, 2002). Third, narcissism is associated with using relationships as an opportunity or forum for self- enhancement. Indeed, longitudinal research on relationships has found that the initial likeability associated with narcissism fades and is even reversed in the longer term (Paulhus, 1998). Similarly, longitudinal
64 research in clinical settings has found a significant long-term consequence of narcissism is the suffering of close others (Miller, Campbell, & Pilkonis, 2007).
All of these narcissism's features are highlighted in SNSs, eg. these websites are working not only as a services to maintain already existing social connections, but also as public spaces to start new connections and to growth social capital; while networks, like Twitter and YouTube, are encouraging leadership, creativity and willingness to publicly express personal views. Although SNSs has very shot history and it is, rather, impossible to make forecast how these site are going to impact social relations in long term, I think, that many online persons are acting without considering long term consequences. Miller, Campbell, & Pilkonis (2007) studies show that narcissism in offline world has negative consequences, yet it has to be done studies, whether online narcissism has negative consequence for offline personalities. Many online persons are aware, that new online social spaces are only tools. This tendency is most obvious among online persons, who represents offline persons. Surplus of social capital and symbolic capital of representative online persons are being transferred to offline world. Narcissistic trend to start new connections, growth social capital and express personal opinion are very important in terms of international political communication. Social existence constantly creating new links and develop communicative actions all around the world. Sovereign states do not control communicative action and, even more importantly, do not participate in the major part of process of international political communication. Online world is an best example how communicative action shapes human rationality, trough communicative rationality.
***
In the last one hundred years international political communication have moved from governmental offices to public areas. It used to be understood as secret talks between two or more statesmen behind closed door, in contemporary world talks which passes through sovereign states' border are daily activity. Emancipation of the people and changing role of mass media have introduced process of international political communication to new actors, such as news organizations and non-governmental political actors, like trade union, terrorists organizations, etc. Spectrum of international political communication is increasing rapidly since the early 20th century. Therefore sovereign state are unable to participate in every act of international political communication. Moreover, it is a participant in minors part of the process. The great majority of political talks, which passes through sovereign states' borders happens without state's involvement
65 and, even, without its acknowledgement. Trends of stateless international political communication is clear
German philosopher Jürgen Habermas has developed a theory of communicative action. He has stated, that human rationality is coming from communicative rationality, which is supreme and even transcendent. The basis of communication rationality is communication action rather than information transferred through the action. Meanwhile, the communicative action is an environment, where living world reproduce itself through, three functions: continuum of traditions; groups' integration based on norms and values; and socialization of new generations. In the context of international political communication, Habermas' idea that communicative rationality unfolds in the conception of decentralized world is very important. In the pre-Internet, actually decentralized world unattainable goal, because social order and spaces for communication were centralized by dominant power of sovereign state. However, decentralized nature of the Internet has changed it. Communicative action is able to proceed in the decentralized online word.
Indeed, online world is actually decentralized. Existence of many alternative social existence in the number of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) enables development of the multiple online personality. Online social existence is matures by its own laws, which not necessary are linked to social rules and norms of offline world. Online personalities develop gain different amount of social capital and symbolic capital surpluses in various SNSs. For example, Facebook's personality characterize high social capital and moderate symbolic capital, meanwhile Twitter's personality characterize high symbolic capital and moderate social capital. However, SNSs do stimulate some personal attributes. First of all, these sites encourage Online Disclosure (OD) and discourage privacy. Furthermore, it push narcissism. Online persons are more willing to express their personal views and engage in new online relations. Also narcissist person endeavor to increase its social and symbolic capital. Because of this reason, international political communication do well in the cyberspace.
Social Networking Sites are online alternatives for public spaces, such as squares, social clubs, etc. Yet, there are some substantial difference between online and offline public spaces. First of all, online world removed physical limitations of communicative action. Number of persons in the SNS – online public space – is physically unlimited. Furthermore, physical distance between actors of communicative action becomes irrelevant in the cyberspace. Also, sovereign state is not superior centralizing unit in the online world. Furthermore, very often sovereign state do not participate in the online international political communication. In the end it is evident, that
66 sovereign state moved from being only actor in international political communication to being rare participant of the process. In general, international political communication was decentralized and 'destated'. Moreover, in the terms of Habermas' theory of communicative action, the online communicative rationality is supreme over humans rationality. Latter one is being constrained by former.
67 6. Conclusions
Based on the research, the following conclusions can be made:
1. International political communication is complex, dynamic and multilayer process, which is constantly developing. The emergence of the Internet substantially affected the process. The main actors of international political communication are statesmen (politicians, which represent national states), mass media and society. However, role of non-state actors (NGOs, TNCs, terrorist organizations, etc) are growing in international political communication. Role of mass media has changed. It used to be transmitter of 'objective' news, however it is interpreting and creating news nowadays. Besides a cleavage between fact and interpretation are barely noticeable. Information has a high value in the 21st century. Therefore, the battle for the control of global network of information intensifies. Sovereign used to control 'means' of the Internet – communicational technologies and hardware, which is necessary to connect to the cyberspace. However, control of 'means' of the Internet does not create an advantage in the struggle for better position in the international political communication.
2. Since the early phase of development modern state and the Westphalian system, sovereign is being understood rather as a ruler of territory, than as a ruler of people. National territory are used for the implementation of the rule of sovereign's laws. First and foremost, a person has to obey the laws of the sovereign's in which territory he is located, but not sovereign's of citizenship. As a consequence, determination of territoriality and universal cartography is necessary. In mind of human-beings image of the Earth is fixed and unchanging. However there image of political map of the World is being seen differently. Sovereign state have emerged, collapsed, merged and separated many times in the lifetime of single human being. Although, there is high awareness of dynamic nature of states' map, also it is seen as universal. The paradox comes from the false idea, that international processes, which causes birth of new state and death of old state are being accepted universally. The Internet – the first truly global network of communication and broadcast of information, has created an environment for the first universal political map of the World. Google mapping service became a flagman of the service. The idea about map as a interpretation of facts, rather than just presentation of 'objective' facts was never publicly discussed. Online mapping service providers became leaders of international political communication. Their version of world map stated to be understood as an axiom. Thus, sovereign states has lost a unique ability to
68 determine its territory.
3. For a long time international political communication per se used to be understood as statesmen behind closed doors. Actual international political communication has not developed until the 1960s. 1971 is marked with the New York Times publication of the Pentagon paper, which have a deep impact to international political communication. It put a standard for concept of whistleblower. International political communication have strongly changes during last half of century. First of all number of actors has rapidly growth. Many subjects of contemporary society are interconnected though many different links. European Union are phenomenal network of complex horizontal and vertical intercourse. Various actors communicate through supranational, national and subnational strata of communication. The complex communicational space of European Union enabled pattern for inception of new generation of mass media, which are 'floating' above national laws. The phenomena of Wikileaks is the first actual überstate mass media. In the harrow narrative is it a online whistleblowing service provider. Number of hackers led by Australian Julian Assange have created the project. It is based on principe of anonymity. Sophisticated technologies, used in the online service enables informant to stay incognito. In the second half of 2010, the hackers organization started to cooperate with the five of most recognizable newspapers in the world: British the Guardian, American the New York Times, German Der Spiegel, French Le Monde and Spanish El Paìs. The cooperation substantially increased might of überstate mass media. None sovereign stated could launch legal, technical and propaganda attack, which would cause significant damage to 'floating' mass media. It was invulnerable. Moreover, whistleblower type media enjoys status of transmitter of 'objective' fact, though it still continue a practice of interpreting and redacting news. Because of that, each member of cooperation enjoys protection, gained by moving to überstate status, though it acts by its own interests.
4. German philosopher Jürgen Habermas has stated, that human rationality is coming from communicative rationality, which is supreme and even transcendent. The basis of communication rationality is communication action rather than information transferred through the action. In the pre-Internet, actually decentralized world unattainable goal, because social order and spaces for communication were centralized by dominant power of sovereign state. However, decentralized nature of the Internet has changed it. Communicative action is able to proceed in the decentralized online word. Existence of many alternative social existence in the number of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) enables development of the multiple online personality. Online personalities develop
69 and gain different various characteristics However, SNSs do stimulate some personal attributes. First of all, these sites encourage Online Disclosure (OD) and discourage privacy. Furthermore, it push narcissism. Online persons are more willing to express their personal views and engage in new online relations. Social Networking Sites may be online alternatives for offline public spaces, such as squares, social clubs, etc. Yet, online world removed physical limitations of communicative action. Number of persons in the SNS – online public space – is physically unlimited. Furthermore, physical distance between actors of communicative action becomes irrelevant in the cyberspace. Also, sovereign state is not superior centralizing unit in the online world. Sovereign state moved from being only actor in international political communication to being rare participant of the process. In general, international political communication was decentralized and 'destated'. Moreover, in the terms of Habermas' theory of communicative action, the online communicative rationality is supreme over humans rationality. Latter one is being constrained by former.
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76 Annexes:
Illustration 1: McNally, J. R. (1986) Family World Atlas, Chicago etc.: Rand McNally
77 Illustration 2: Langer, H. ... [et al.] (1982) Haack Weltatlas, Gotha: VEB Hermann Haack: Geographisch-Kartografische Anstalt,
78 79