Paper
Culture and the Structure of international communication
Published Dec 1, 2005 · G. Barnett, Eunjung Sung
The Journal of International Communication
11
Citations
0
Influential Citations
Abstract
Culture is a group's shared collective meaning system, including its values, attitudes, beliefs, customs and thoughts. Intercultural communication is thus the exchange of information between well-defined groups with significantly different cultures. Globalisation is 'the process of strengthening the worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local events are shaped by circumstances at other places in the world' (Giddens 1990, p.64). One potential consequence of globalisation is cultural homogenisation due to information exchange among people from different cultural groups. Traditionally, world system theory has ignored the exchange of information among nations. The literature from world system theory (Chase-Dunn & Grimes 1995; Wallerstein 1976) on the antecedent determinants of international interaction suggests that economic relations within nations provide the primary organising principle of international relations. However, recent research (Barnett 1999, 2001, 2002; Barnett & Choi 1995; Galtung 1993; Huntington 1996) indicates that cultural factors such as language and religion play a significant role in the process. This article uses network centrality to examine the relationship between culture and international information flow. Centrality is of particular significance because world system theory (Barnett & Salisbury 1996; Chase-Dunn & Grimes 1995; Wallerstein 1976) argues that international interaction is structured along a centre-to-periphery dimension. Centrality is the number of links or the social distance required to reach all other countries in a network. Therefore, it may be worthwhile to examine how national culture is related to international information flows in constructing the patterns of intercultural communication. This article investigates the relationship between national culture and international information flows. Specifically, it examines the relationship between national culture and the internet and international telecommunication flows. In the conclusion, this article discusses national culture's relation to the globalisation of international information flows.
Full text analysis coming soon...