The Political Economy of Global Communication: An Introduction

As media corporations continue to merge, we are moving towards an ever more commercially driven system of global information. How does this impact upon the security of ordinary citizens? Peter Wilkin addresses this question and highlights the limitations of conventional views on communication and security. He emphasizes that autonomy, as an aspect of human security, depends upon the ability of citizens around the world to gain information about the institutions and processes that serve to shape their lives. In this respect, autonomy and communication are inherently linked and are prerequisites for the etsbalishment of meaningful democratic systems. Wilkin argues that the continuing shift in control of communication provides an increasingly powerful obstacle to human autonomy. The author reviews the changes in global communication and details the alternative responses to them.