Abstract
Political interactions have become highly mediatized given the globally interconnected digital environment today. Alexa Robertson commendably explores various aspects of this transformation in this book. Presenting both theories and diverse empirical instances from across the world, this daunting task is contained in 11 chapters broadly divided into three parts. The chapters follow a similar structure. They raise a theoretical or conceptual issue about contemporary media-politics with some discussion about the operationalization of key concepts, academic debates, empirical analysis, general patterns and exceptional instances. With such a global focus and plenty of stimulating observations, the book touches upon vast contexts of media and politics.
At the outset, Robertson begins with a description of two ‘media artefacts’ – a television programme of 1980 before globalization gathered pace and wikileaks disclosure of 2011, to draw attention to the impact of technology and globalization on changing media-politics relations. She uses them as ‘portkeys’ to journey into mediatized experiences, the few among many vivid examples that are evoked to help readers grasp the monotony of theory and critically analyse media-politics in practice. All chapters follow this pattern of looking at theoretical debates and empirical instances.
Part 1 introduces the notion of power. Chapter 1 locates various sites of politics in a globalized world, moving from the private sphere to public settings and beyond the confines of state borders. The brief theoretical discussions about global interconnections are supplemented with enriching examples of changing modes of media-technology consumption and participation. Chapter 2 raises questions about information and its implications for the public sphere. Drawing attention to different forms of media power and their political roles in diverse national settings, the author uses examples to explore academic articulations and to prod the reader into thinking about power, media and politics.
Part 2 looks at the significant players who control and influence information in the media and political systems, namely, elites, journalist, audiences and activists. Robertson revisits some of the older academic and normative debates; and relooks them given the digital dynamism that prevails today. Part 3 follows up to analyse mediatization, media freedom, the impact of technology on new and old media, control over information as a means to explore consequences for political communication. It is a running theme that pushes readers to question media-mediated transformations. For instance, Chapter 7 on mediated conflict discusses a brief history of media and war, brings in the role of journalists, the mediating role of imagery, political and military elites and cultural transformations which have transformed the communication of conflict.
With diverse academic standpoints which entail different questions about the role and relation of different actors, such ‘narratives of media and politics’ can appear ‘confusing and contradictory’, as Robertson notes in the concluding chapter (p. 163). The book might appear dense. Yet, it brings together an overwhelming range of conceptual and theoretical tools to think about and compare democracy, power, information, globalization, publics, media and participation. One important element is that many of the new issues and debates about media and political change are contextualized historically. Therefore the chapters grapple with the tension between continuity and change due to globalization and new technologies.
The book leaves many exploratory questions for the curious reader who wishes to understand contemporary media and politics. The chapters therefore act as standalone resources too. For those interested in empirical research, the guide at the end of the book too offers some resources and suggestions about approaches, themes and questions.