TY - JOUR
T1 - Speed, international security, and new war coverage in cyberspace
AU - Walsh, Lucas
AU - Barbara, Julien
PY - 2006/10/1
Y1 - 2006/10/1
N2 - Mass media representations foster a view that the "War on Terror" is taking place both everywhere and nowhere, presenting Western governments with an opportunity to mobilize public support in new and ubiquitous ways. Starting with Virilio's critique of technology, speed, and de- territorialization, this article discusses the ways in which mass support is mobilized by the state in conventional pursuit of geopolitical objectives. Drawing on contemporary international relations theory, the authors introduce the concept of "securitization" and discuss how war coverage in cyberspace has been used to securitize international threats, such as "global terrorism," to justify state intervention, including war. It is concluded that one of the paradoxes of war coverage in cyberspace is that whereas cyber-technologies should democratize the politics of war by liberating access to information about war, the state has coopted information and communication technologies to facilitate new forms of mass mobilization for war itself.
AB - Mass media representations foster a view that the "War on Terror" is taking place both everywhere and nowhere, presenting Western governments with an opportunity to mobilize public support in new and ubiquitous ways. Starting with Virilio's critique of technology, speed, and de- territorialization, this article discusses the ways in which mass support is mobilized by the state in conventional pursuit of geopolitical objectives. Drawing on contemporary international relations theory, the authors introduce the concept of "securitization" and discuss how war coverage in cyberspace has been used to securitize international threats, such as "global terrorism," to justify state intervention, including war. It is concluded that one of the paradoxes of war coverage in cyberspace is that whereas cyber-technologies should democratize the politics of war by liberating access to information about war, the state has coopted information and communication technologies to facilitate new forms of mass mobilization for war itself.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33847333806&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00321.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00321.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:33847333806
VL - 12
SP - 189
EP - 208
JO - Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
JF - Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
SN - 1083-6101
IS - 1
ER -