Editors' foreword (original) (raw)

Australian Journal of International Affairs, 2014

Abstract

The media and political violence have long been intertwined in the history of human society. The media can be understood as a vehicle through which conflict is not only reported, but also conducted. The relationship between the media and political violence is never static. A key element of this evolution is technological innovations. One of the most significant developments in this realm in recent decades has been the emergence of digital new media. It is the relationship between digital new media and political violence that is the particular focus of this special issue. The articles that follow explore this ever evolving relationship between digital new media and political violence, whilst also reflecting on its ramifications for world politics more broadly. To what extent does it impact on the nature of world politics, the structures of the international system and the nature of agency within that system? The origins of this special issue lie in a conversation between Sebastian Kaempf, Cynthia Banham and Raymond Apthorpe that concerned whether and how the tools of digital new media truly empower alternate voices in world politics. From this conversation grew a major symposium—War 2.0: Political Violence and New Media—which was hosted by the Australian National University, Canberra, in 2009 with the support of the University of Queensland, and organised by Cynthia Banham, Madeline Carr, Sebastian Kaempf and Jacinta O’Hagan. A follow-up workshop—Bullets, Bites and Bandwiths— organised by Peter Mantello, was held in Beppu in 2011 and hosted by Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. This facilitated further development of the ideas and conceptual framework utilised in this special issue. As editors of this special issue we have sought to harness a breadth of knowledge and insight represented both in the work of the contributors to this special issue and of the broader range of contributors to these events. We owe a particular debt of gratitude to the speakers, discussants and participants in the War 2.0 symposium—both those in the room and those who joined us via the Internet, Skype or Twitter. Their contributions have been invaluable to us in developing the ideas that underpin this special issue. We are particularly grateful to Cynthia Banham, who was central to the initiation and organisation of this symposium and a crucial member of the team who developed the conceptual and empirical dimensions of this project. We thank Chris Reus-Smit for his initiative and support in organising the initial symposium. We would also like to thank the Department of International Relations and the College of Asia and the

Jacinta O'Hagan hasn't uploaded this paper.

Let Jacinta know you want this paper to be uploaded.

Ask for this paper to be uploaded.