"WE" AND "THEY"
And the Lack of Global Discourse
By Ingrid Volkmer, 09/18/2001
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The tragic events of last week have changed the world. They have affected not only national and international politics, and the economy in the industrialized nations of the world but also seem to challenge democracy at its best. Despite the global impacts and new imbalances, which are not even foreseeable today, news media as the backbone of a "global information society", have not established a global public sphere, but instead created new gaps worldwide. Constructions of "we" and "they" seem to dominate media not only here in the U.S. but internationally. "We" and "they" refers in U.S. media to the quite diverse worldviews of Christian and Islam, which are both substantial elements of the multi-cultural society of the U.S. A sudden "Clash of Civilizations" (Huntington, 1998) has been a dominant tone in the U.S. media at least in the first days and it is interesting to observe, how media attempt to "neutralize", some of the too hastily created stereotypes. Instead of defining the similiarities of different peaceful religions, news headlines define gaps.By analysing media coverage internationally, it is interesting to observe, that constructions of "we" and "they" also appear, though in different shades and "local" tones. Despite a new European unity with the US in terms of military action, "local" constructions of "they" have been created, which seem to set the political stage for further national action. French media debate dangers of Algeria's involvement, given decades of difficult relations between France and Francophone North African countries. In Spain, media emphasize that the ETA has terrorized the country for years and that the Spanish government has advocated an international task force against terrorism for years. In China, headlines of the attacks have dominated the front pages, which usually present almost exclusively national news. Although China has offered huminitarian help, Chinese media seem to avoid debates of further political involvement. These are just some examples of local or regional "formats" of the tragic events. Despite the infrastructure of the Internet, of theories of a "Global Network Society" (Castells, 2000, 1996), "Global Journalism" media around the world seem to re-define a new national public sphere in times of a global crisis. Suggested Material for Further Reading, which Represent Opposing Viewpoints
International Media
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