Foreign Policy Involvement Matters: Towards an Analytical Framework Examining the Role of the Media in the Making of Foreign Policy
Foreign policy processes have long played a minor role in the study of political communication. There is a broad consensus that the media is the central mediating actor and primary conduit between political decision-makers and the public. However, the media’s influence on foreign policy remains c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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FU Berlin, University of Erfurt
2013-05-01
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| Series: | Global Media Journal: German Edition |
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| Online Access: | http://www.db-thueringen.de/servlets/DerivateServlet/Derivate-27630/GMJ5_Schulz_final.pdf |
| Summary: | Foreign policy processes have long played a minor role in the study of political
communication. There is a broad consensus that the media is the central mediating actor and
primary conduit between political decision-makers and the public. However, the media’s influence
on foreign policy remains contingent across various processes and phases of foreign policy making;
it is dynamic and multi-directional. Considering that the public sphere is essential for the
legitimacy of foreign policy making, there is a demand for further research on the media’s
performance in the making of foreign policy. Based on secondary research, this paper proposes an
analytical framework for the systematic analysis of media–foreign policy relations by integrating
foreign-policy context conditions as a research variable. The framework is based on the assumption
that the role of the media varies across diverse foreign policy contexts depending on the intensity of
governmental involvement in foreign affairs. The intensity is distinguished according to three
dimensions: no involvement, indirect involvement and direct involvement. Finally, a case study is
suggested in order to demonstrate the framework’s explanatory power: the German media coverage
of Russia. |
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| ISSN: | 2196-4807 2196-4807 |