Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Differences in political ideology seem to be increasingly stark . In order to better understand how communication inputs may influence to political ideology, and how political ideology may influence communication-relevant attitudinal outcomes, I examine Lakoff’s (2002) moral politics hypothesis, family communication patterns, and support for censorship. Results show some support for Lakoff’s typology, but it is not the best description of different familial-ideological positions identified. Communication in the family of origin that encourages conformity and deference to parental authority tends to be associated with more conservative ideological self-identification, which in turn tends to be associated with greater support for censorship. This study adds to the literature by providing empirical evidence regarding Lakoff’s arguments, further support for the proposition that greater conservatism tends to be associated with greater support for censorship, and explanation for why that relationship exists.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The publication of the ‘Mohammed cartoons’ in a Danish newspaper recently sparked a debate about censorship and identity in Denmark. The discourse of ‘freedom of speech’ took on a new meaning, and was linked more firmly to a particular reading of Danish identity and securitisation in a post-9/11 world. Sweden has also experienced a similar debate, to a lesser extent, on the same theme, and this paper explores the different approaches to freedom of speech that both Nordic countries adopted. It examines how constructed ideas of identity, security, and rationalism have become contested issues in Denmark and Sweden, and argues that immigration and religion are having an important impact on debates about Danish and Swedish identity, security and multiculturalism. Through a constructivist analysis, this paper also aims to discuss how embedded notions of solidarity and equality (which have been long-standing in Denmark and Sweden, although given different emphasis and context) confront wider debates about inclusion and multiculturalism.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: An online survey (n=360) of working journalists looks at the concept of optimistic bias to better understand journalists’ perception of self-censorship in U.S. newsrooms. The study shows that the surveyed journalists reported practicing self-censorship less often than their colleagues did. Both broadcast and print journalists would believe that they face less editorial control than their cross-media counterparts. There was no gender difference in terms of journalists’ perception of self-censorship. The results supported the hypotheses proposed under the theory of optimistic bias.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: China’s Internet censorship regime is the most sophisticated effort of its kind in the world, comprising multiple levels of technical control, involving numerous state agencies and thousands of public and private personnel. Even though the Chinese government tightens control of “undesirable” information flow, it does not curb all information but do so selectively, to the most benefit of itself. The patriotism or nationalism is an area that the Chinese government is willing to maneuver.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The paper introduces some tentative arguments based on the theoretical framework of a research project dealing with the current international system. In the project it is maintained that: 1) The U.S. has gained so much power in the international system that the system is changing from anarchical into hierarchical. 2) The hierarchical international system is being constructed and maintained both militarily and narratively. 3) Just war has replaced the just enemy. The difference between war and politics is becoming more obscure as war is not merely an instrument of politics but has become an essential form of it. War no longer needs political reasoning – in the narrative constructed by the U.S., the War on Terrorism is only a just and necessary reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

I will elaborate this framework further by introducing four additional arguments. In relation to the construction of the hierarchical system, I suggest that 4) the ten-year period from the end of the Cold War to the U.S. War on Terrorism fabricates a continuum of significant wars where the gradual metamorphosis of the system from anarchical into hierarchical manifested itself differently in its various stages. The three following wars in particular can be regarded as crystallizations of the gradual transformation of the international system and as phases and junctions of development of the hierarchical international system: the Gulf War (1990-91), the Kosovo War and 3) the U.S. War on Terrorism (2001-). In relation to the construction and maintenance of the system I suggest that 5) in the hierarchical international system the significance of so-called “world public opinion” – and thereby the media’s potential for influence – on the decision-making of the system’s leading state is marginal. However, regarding the home front, I suggest that 6) as the system turns hierarchical, propaganda and censorship also enter the time of peace – or to put it more comprehensively – propaganda and censorship are essential in the development and maintenance of the hierarchical system. And finally, as a result of the above, I argue that 7) the system turning hierarchical, in which the difference between war and peace as well as war and politics is obscured (together with the image of war) has also broader implications for the social and political reality.