Public Communication and Establishing Democracy - Dissertation Example

Public Communication and Establishing Democracy A. Introduction The role in public communication in establishing democracy in post-conflict countries is an important one. Free public communication that is unrestricted, uncensored and unbiased is a cornerstone of democracy. However, there will inevitably be barriers that inhibit the free exchange of information. Literacy rates are one such barrier, for it is expected that in many developing and post-conflict countries the literacy rate will be low. Government censorship is another concern. This censorship can affect most modes of public communication, such as the Internet, radio, television and print. Another barrier is how accessible the different modes of public communication are to the people of the country, particularly the poor. In poor countries, Internet access will be non-existent of spotty for most citizens. In those same countries, the poor cannot afford televisions and radio access might be spotty as well. It is further in question how much access the rural and the poor in post-conflict countries have to newspapers and other modes of print. With all these potential barriers in mind, it is important to understand, through the literature, exactly what the access is for citizens of these post-conflict countries to public communication and explore some the solutions to the barriers. It is further important to find out the literacy rates of the countries studied, and how the citizens of individual countries feel about their access to public communication and whether they recognize it as important. B. Aim of Research The research question was how people feel about public communication and if they understand how public communication relates to establishing a democracy, and what are the barriers to communication in their country. My aims were to understand the current literature regarding public communication and the barriers to public communication; how public communication enhances democracy in post-conflict countries; and the solutions to the barrier to public communication that are being propounded by commentators and advocates regarding these issues. Another aim is to understand how individuals feel about public communication in their country, and what they believe to be the largest barriers to public communication, as well as if they realize the connection between public communication and establishing democracy; to compare how the responses to the questions to the current literature regarding these issues; and to draw conclusions and make recommendations on how to resolve the problems surrounding public communication. C. Methodology The proper research paradigm for this dissertation is that of qualitative questionnaires. The qualitative design of this research will based upon the four phases outlined by Cowan, in that the point of view of the research will be considered, as will the philosophy, the methodology and the design. (Developing a Doctoral Research Methodology). The point of view encompasses what the researcher wants to know, what needs to be learned. In this case, the research will be geared towards how the citizenry of different countries feel about public communication, whether they feel that public communication is vital to a free democracy, what kind public communication they use to gather information, and any barriers to the use of this public communication. The research philosophy is understanding what the underlying assumptions of the research are. The underlying assumption for this research is that the citizenry is well-aware of their public communication mediums, but might not have the best access to these mediums for a variety of reasons. Another assumption is that the degree of literacy by the citizens in this country will have a profound impact on how well public communication can shape democratic ideals. A third assumption is that the citizenry in post-conflict countries may not necessarily know how important public communication is to fostering democratic ideals. By working through these assumptions, one can pinpoint the dichotomy between what people want and they actually receive, in terms of public communication. This is why the particular research paradigm is appropriate for the research questions at hand. Literature Review A. “New Technologies” - The Internet and Mobile Phones The advent of the Internet has introduced a new method of public communication, in addition to the traditional methods of public communication. The Internet has been an important, sometimes, crucial development in the mechanism of promoting democracy around the world. One way that the Internet has been influential in this regard is by getting student activists worldwide coalescing for a cause by shrinking the globe into the local communities and energizing social activism. (Danitz & Strobel, 2000, p. 146). The Internet has provided a way for students to unite, as well as provide a tool for knowledge and information about countries in conflict. Moreover, the Internet works by putting students in touch with activists, campaigners and advocates, who teach the students how to electronically organize and encouraging students to join in the action. (Danitz & STrobel, 2000, p. 147). The Internet also works in promoting democracy by enabling expatriates from a post-conflict country to communicate with citizens within that country to encourage those citizens to work to spread democratic ideals. While the Internet works by uniting citizens in countries such as the United States for a cause, such as promoting democracy in a post-conflict country, it also works in mobilizing the citizens of the post-conflict countries themselves. This provides the citizens of a certain country a voice to lobby their own government for change. (CIPE, 1998, p. 2). The Internet has been proven to be particularly useful as a tool for spreading democracy for several reasons. The first is that it is inexpensive and convenient, much less so than “traditional” modes of public communication, such as the telephone, direct mailing and fax machine. The second is, as described above, the fact that the Internet brings together many disparate groups and communities to organize and spread information. It therefore enables average citizens to have the power that was once reserved for lobbyists, and that is the power to influence governmental decisions. It also has the power to “mobilise literally millions of people within only a few months.” (Tyler & Trewhella, 2007, p. 3). The third reason is that it enables organizers of successful campaigns to export the strategies that formed the foundation of these campaigns globally, as well as letting the global community know what did not work. The fourth is that causes are easily publicized through the Internet. (Danitz & Strobel, 2000, pp. 160-161). While there are numerous advantages to using the Internet as a mode of public communication to spread democracy, there are numerous disadvantages as well. One such disadvantage is that too much reliance on one medium will cause a movement to be vulnerable if something happens to that medium. In other words, Internet crashes might result in a loss of communication that could hurt momentum. This is a particular problem that plagues the citizens of the post-conflict countries, as these countries do not have the same Internet infrastructure as more developed countries, as the citizens encounter “poor telephone lines, low band-width, an unresponsive telecommunications monopoly and exorbitant user rates.” (CIPE, 1998, p. 3). The second disadvantage is that Internet communications can be monitored, which enables opponents of these grass-roots organization to “electronically eavesdrop” on their strategies. The third disadvantage is that opponents can use the Internet to sabotage the activists. One way of doing this is by a saboteur posing as somebody sympathetic, which can disrupt a campaign by posting messages designed to “cause dissension or sidetrack the campaign.” (Danitz & Strobel, 2000, p. 164). The fourth disadvantage is that information transported on the Internet can be of questionable accuracy, due to the unmediated nature of the medium. The fifth disadvantage is that the Internet is not a substitute for human contact. (Danitz & Strobel, 2000, pp. 165-167). Yet another disadvantage to this mode of communication is that countries often censor Internet content, especially countries who are post-conflict or in conflict. Censorship is accomplished by filtering, which works by using ISPs to block traffic “to and from lists of websites specified by their Internet Protocol address (a numerical identifier such as 128.16.64.1).” (Brown, p. 3). People can get around these filters, however, by using overseas Web proxies and countries. Countries typically find it difficult to filter every single proxy machine, partly because of the difficulty of locating them. Anti-censorship activists have also created proxies that enable individual users to run their home and office PCs anywhere in the world, and this increases the difficulty for governments to block access to every proxy. (Brown, p. 3). However, these solutions work for the sophisticated users who are determined to circumvent the filters. For the average person, however, these filters are effective in preventing them from accessing certain sites. (Brown, p. 4). Another way of obstructing access to websites is by introducing deliberate error into the Domain Name System (DNS). “DNS servers translate human-readable domain names such as www.ucl.ac.uk into the numerical IP address equivalent...allowing web browser software to connect directly to web servers.” (Brown). Users are blocked when they attempt to connect to the DNS servers elsewhere on the Internet, and ISP remove or change the addresses for the blocked sites on their own DNS servers. (Brown, p. 4). However, despite the disadvantages, there is no disputing that the Internet is an effective way to broadcast public communication. There are numerous ways in which the Internet works to foster public communication. One way is through Twitter. For instance, in Chile, the president and his cabinet have set up Twitter accounts, and this is a way that the Chilean government is keeping in touch with its citizenry. This has spurred one commentator to have hope for “greater horizontal communication” between Chilean authorities and the Chilean citizens by using technology as a means to foster a “real citizen government.” (Does Twitter Promote Democracy?). Another such mode of Internet communication is the weblog, or “blog”. Blogs have four main characteristics, and they are 1) interactivity; 2) sustainable membership; 3) the creation of a virtual public space; and 4) variety of communicators. (Nafisi, 2008, p. 12). Further, blogs create “an opportunity for dissent, discussion and dissemination of ideas that is not available in any other form.” (Nafisi, 2008, p. 12). One country whose dissidents are benefitting from the role of blogging is Iran. Despite the fact that the country punishes people who are critical of the government by such methods as arrest, imprisonment and physical abuse, the blogging community is alive and well in this country, thanks in no small part to Hossein Derekhshan, an expatriate Iranian journalist living in Canada. Derekhshan created the first Iranian blog, which encouraged others to blog and included instructions on setting up blogs. Derekhshan is credited with the fact that there are currently over 700,000 active blogs in Iran. (Nafisi, 2008, p. 13). These blogs have, in turn, been credited with laying the foundation for Iranian political change. It is interesting to note that there are four main categories of bloggers, only one of which, the “secular/reformist” would be critical of the Iranian government, and these bloggers are, by and large, made up of expatriates as opposed to people living in Iran. (Nafisi, 2008, p. 14). This indicates that the citizens of Iran are probably still intimidated when it comes to criticizing the government, leaving this task to people who do not live within Iran’s borders and are thus not likely to be subject to punishment. The other categories of bloggers are religious/conservative, poetry and literature and a mixed network. (Nafisi, 2008, p. 14). Iran is a rather totalitarian state, and, as such, practice Internet censorship, which makes it difficult for Iranian citizens to access many of the expatriate blogs. However, perhaps due to the fact that even the most sophisticated of filters are not fool-proof, there is still much cross-communication between the Iranian citizens and the expatriate blogs that are critical of the Iranian government. For instance, several studies have examined blogs that originate both inside and outside Iran. These studies have consistently shown that expatriates comment on blogs that originate in Iran, and Iranians comment on blogs that originate overseas by expatriates. One study found that 80-90% of the secularist expatriate blogs are accessible to Iranian citizens. (Nafisi, 2008, p. 16). This shows that either censorship is weak in Iran or that the people have found a way to get around blocking and censorship. Either way, the blogs provide a platform for expatriates to express their democratic views to Iranian citizens, thus providing a way for democracy to flourish in Iran, despite its best intentions to prevent this. Another country where the Internet is being used to promote democracy is the country of Burma. For instance, activists have used the Internet to pressure companies to not do business within the Burmese borders due to the undemocratic regime that is inherent there. For instance, the state of Massachusetts passed a bill in 1996 that banned any companies doing business in Burma from getting new contracts in Massachusetts. Proponents of the bills pointed to Internet campaigns, particularly e-mail campaigns, as being influential in getting this bill passed. (Danitz & Strobel, 2000, p. 140). The Internet was given particular credit for this legislation because it was able to draw a coalition of people from as close as Harvard University and as far away as Burma, Europe and Australia to protest companies involved in Burma, thus negating the need for a natural constituency within the United States borders. Such natural constituencies, such as African-Americans that protest South African apartheid and Irish-Americans who have been influential in policy regarding Northern Ireland was not present for Burma, which is what made the Internet that much more important in this particular campaign. (Danitz & Strobel, 2000, p. 141). Mobile phones are another new technology that has enhanced the sphere of public communication in developing and non-democratic countries. They are a means to “improve communications and to capture, access, and share information,” and have the advantage over the Internet in that they are widely available and have a low cost, which means that low and middle-income countries’ citizens have more access to this medium than to the Internet. (Sida, p. 29). Mobile phones have been used to monitor Kenyan and Ukraine national elections and helped topple the Phillipine government in 2001 “by directing 700,000 demonstrators to the People’s Power shrine to demand the resignation of President Estrada.” (Sida, p. 30). They have also been used in Burma, where Burmese citizens photographed and videotaped, on their mobile phones, a violent junta crackdown of protestors and fed these photos and videos to Burmese exiled journalists and pro-democracy activists. (Sida, p. 30). B. Traditional Media Traditional media, such as print, radio and television is another way of using public communication to promote democratic ideals globally. One commentator states that the “dynamics of democracy are intimately linked to the practices of communication, and societal communication increasingly takes place within the mass media.” (Sida, p. 22). However, it has not proved as effective as the Internet for mobilizing democratic factions, for a variety of reasons. The first reason is that traditional media might not be accessible to everyone, but, rather, the classes of affluence might have access to this media while members of the poor classes might not. One example of this is South Africa, in which most of media advertising was targeted at the educated and the affluent, while the poor blacks are targeted much less. (Sida, p. 23). Another disadvantage is the fact that developing countries often have a lack of resources and skills, which makes the medium of radio “difficult to implement.” (Sida, p. 23). Yet another disadvantage is the possibility that the media is controlled by the state, which would limit the information available to citizens. Such was the case in Malawi, where Malawi membership in good standing in the national Congress Party was required if one was to have access to almost anything. The ruling party also took control of the media and those newspapers and magazines which did not support that party were destroyed completely, offices and presses destroyed and even people killed. The state has all the power and controls the media too. (Wolhlgemuth, et al., 2000, p. 170). The two factions which fought for control alternately launched purges of all the dissident groups and the media which promoted them, so media organizations slowly got ground down to a mere remnant of a healthy media sector. Communication between the people and the government was one way only, informing the people of what the government expected and what it would do to people who rebelled. This lack of a free and independent press is one way to subvert democracy, as it is “impossible to maximize democracy without a free and independent press.” (Verdier, 2009, p. 1). Nevertheless, traditional media such as radio and television remain an integral part of public communication in promoting democratic ideals. For instance, it remains the medium through which Africans receive information about events affecting them nationally and internationally, with radio leading the way over television and newspapers. (Ott, p. 4). This is because, in developing, post-conflict countries, many people cannot afford television, but they can afford radio. Moreover, traditional media, especially radio, is expected to continue to be the main medium through which Africans receive their news for some time to come. (Ott, p. 5). Another traditional medium that helps promote democratic ideals, and new ideas in general, is the public library. The public library both helps to facilitate the dissemination of information through electronic means, in that it gives it citizens a way to access the Internet, and helps to spread ideas through traditional means, such as books and magazines. (Jemo, 2008, p. 8). Along with these purposes, libraries help strengthen democracy by providing the citizens a place to meet to express their views and provide information to the citizenry; and by promoting literacy, which is essential for individuals to gain knowledge through any kind of print or electronic medium. (Jemo, 2008, pp. 9-10). Furthermore, literacy is crucial to the development of democratic ideals, as illiterate individuals “are at a permanent disadvantage – unsure of their rights, unable to fulfill their potential and unable to play a full part in society. They are disempowered. Literacy is a right and a capability that is fundamental to overcoming poverty.” (Jemo, 2008, p. 11). In other words, an educated population is one that is better able to understand their rights, or lack thereof, which makes them much more likely to participate in the democratic process. Conclusion Public communication is essential to the democratic process in post-conflict countries. Public communication may take a variety of forms – new technology, which includes the Internet and mobile phones; and traditional media, which includes newspapers, radios, television and the library. Whatever form it takes, it is crucial that citizens have proper access that is free and independent from the state government. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. The barriers to free public communication are numerous – literacy rates, access rates and government censorship are just a few of the barriers that are faced by citizens in developing countries. It is therefore difficult to educate the citizens about their rights, as well as encourage them to stick up for their rights and force their government to properly observe these rights. While there is some hope in certain countries, like Iran, where educated individuals are accessing the Internet and reading blogs by expatriates interested in establishing democracy, as well as some hope in that democratic countries, such as the United States, are using the Internet to mobilize people to rise against oppressive countries, these are no doubt the exceptions as opposed to the rule. Further research might establish which countries are the target for developed countries, in terms of establishing a democracy in that country, and which countries are ignored by developed countries. Further research will also help establish which countries have free access to all modes of public communication and which countries have poor to no access to these modes of public communication. Further research is also necessary to establish tentative solutions to the problems that have been presented in this paper. Sources Used Brown, I. 2008, “Internet Censorship: Be Careful What You Ask For,” Available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1026597 Cipe, 1998, “How Information Technology Can Promote Democracy,” Economic Reform Today, no. 3, pp. 2-6. Danizt, T. and Strobel, W., “Networking Dissent: Cyber Activists Use the Internet to Promote Democracy in Burma”, in Networks and Netwars: The Future of Terror, Crime and the Militancy, Santa Monica, CA: Rand Publishing, pp. 129-169. “Developing a Doctoral Research Methodology,” web accessed 11 June 2010, available at: http://www.theknightweb.com/research/ publications/2008JRNL_KnightCCM-DRAFT.pdf “Does Twitter Promote Democracy?”, The Economist On-Line, 1 April 2010, pp. 1-3. 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