International and Development Communication provides a historical perspective and a contemporary analysis of the field of international communication and its application to development communication. The book examines how communication media and telecommunications are considered central to globalization and to national development, and discusses globalization in history, the role of media, changes in structural biases of media and telecommunication institutions, national forces of capitalism, and biases in international and development communication messages.

The book, divided into two parts, revolves around media institutions and the conditions under which they have been used by the state and private capital. Part One covers international communication and presents the thinking of several well-known authors from areas such as South Asia, East Asia, Europe, and North America. Part Two focuses on development communication applications by various active researchers and professors, drawn from Latin America, South Asia, and North America.

With contributions from experts in the field, each part of the book begins with a chapter on theories and closes with one on issues. Chapters within each part examine the distinct and broadly recognized topics of research within each area, such as media corporations in the age of globalization, transnational advertising, the global-local dialectic and polysemic effects, development communication campaigns, communication technology and development, and international development communication.