Political violence and new media

30 October 2009 | Today, war is conducted not only by the dispatch of Tomahawks in the air or Kalashnikovs and suicide attacks on the ground but also by means of bytes, tweets, digital images, and social networking forums. (New) media technology, in other words, has become a medium of war and diplomacy.

This multidisciplinary two-day symposium on 7-8 October hosted by the Department of International Relations at the ANU mapped the shifting arena of war, conflict, terrorism, and violence in an intensely mediated age. The symposium brought together international relations academics, media scholars and media practitioners, policymakers and defence staff. It explored cultural, political, strategic, and technological transformations in media platforms and media participation and assess their impact on policy, publics, and outcomes of political conflict.

The symposium addressed questions such as: What is 'new' about new media? How have the transformations in media technology influenced media-military relations? How have these transformations impacted upon traditional media actors? How are war, conflict, terrorism and violence represented; what are the consequences of these representations? In what ways has new media technology empowered marginalised voices in war, conflict, and terrorism? And how has the transformation of the media landscape impacted on the way states conduct their foreign policy?

This event is hosted by the ANU with the support of the School of Political Science and International Studies, University of Queensland.

    Symposium (Day one) >

Presenters: Kate Geraghty, Brigadier Brian Dawson, Prakash Mirchandani, Bill Paterson, Peter Mantello, Eric Beecher and more.

   Symposium (Day two) >

Presenters: Paul McGeough, Sophie McNeill, Peter Leahy, Seb Kaempf, Julie Posetti, Hugh White and more.