Within a comparative, theoretical and global network, this volume focuses on the impact of information technologies on the prospects for democratic development. It deals with the hopes as well as the fears for democracy and development that have emerged out of the current technological revolution in information and communication. The volume argues that information technologies have historically played a dual and paradoxical role in political formations. Generally, the Big Media (the national press, broadcasting and mainframe computers) have served the centralizing forces, while the Small Media (the alternative press, small scale audio-video production and transmission facilities and increasingly personal computing networking) have provided the channel for community resistance and mobilization. The volume argues that the new information technologies, like the old, should be viewed neither as technologies of freedom nor of tyranny but primarily as technologies of power that lock into existing or emerging techno-structures of power.

In this innovative work, Hindu, Buddhist, Confucian, Christian, Islamic, Indigenous and secular Humanist voices apply their peace agendas to offer concrete policy proposals to meet the challenges of the 21st century. This impressive volume brings together comment on all the major issues ranging from the nature of religious conflict to how non-violent economies might work and addresses such subjects as indigenous rights and the principles of peace pedagogy. Its approach is especially topical given the fear of terrorist activities following the recent attacks in the US.

"Eurasia: A New Peace Agenda" includes chapters from a distinguished group of Eurasian scholars, journalists, and diplomats. The volume is focused on a new peace agenda grounded in a dialogue among the Eurasia civilizations. Part I deals with the problems and prospects of such a dialogue and its consequences for world peace. Part II focuses on the old dilemmas and new challenges in Eurasian security. The nuclear arms race, religious resurgence, super-terrorism, militarism, imperialism, and confidence building are among the topics. Part III concentrates on globalization and regionalization as the two dominant Eurasian trends. The volume compares and contrasts regionalist trends in Europe, Asia, and North America. The competition and cooperation among different global forces led by the United States, Europe, and Asia for resources and identities are the main foci.

Amid the ongoing and volatile debate over the nature and potential of peace journalism, this volume presents visionary insights from some of the most prominent scholars in the field. The significant empirical studies included here will provide foundation data for communication studies. The contributors broaden the purview and terrain of peace journalism to include new media, and offers essays on the eff ects and the content of global communications. In sum, the thirteenth volume of Peace and Policy deepens our empirical knowledge of the nature and effects of conflict, while underscoring the increase in numbers of participants and breadth of communications.For the past half decade, these contributors have worked independently and collaboratively to increase systematic understanding of the value of peace journalism and communication to civil society. Th e group has contributed to a complex articulation of the various frames of conflict coverage. In so doing, they have clarified the structural, systemic and cultural aspects of global violence. In turn, this has helped create institutions, programs and strategies for enhancing constructive peace communication that will increase mutual understanding, cooperation, reconciliation and transform confl ict.Peace journalism has reframed understanding of confl ict from a tug-of-war between two parties in which one side's gain is the other's loss, to the terms of relationships between various sides. It considers the context and the need to identify a range of stakeholders broader than the sides directly engaged in violent confrontation. In sum, it leads to understanding of the distinction between stated demands and underlying objectives, so as to identify voices working for creative and non-violent solutions, and finding ways to transform and transcend the lines of confl ict.

From 1980 to the present, two bloody wars and the possibility of a third have characterized the Persian Gulf region. Emerging from a series of meetings of the International Commission for Security and Cooperation in West Asia, this volume consists of contributions from noted scholars and diplomats searching for the peaceful settlement of regional disputes and the establishment of a durable security regime. Peace scholars from Iran, Iraq and Kuwait edit the volume - the three countries that were at war in 1980-88 and 1990-91.

Amid the ongoing and volatile debate over the nature and potential of peace journalism, this volume presents visionary insights from some of the most prominent scholars in the field. The significant empirical studies included here will provide foundation data for communication studies. The contributors broaden the purview and terrain of peace journalism to include new media, and offers essays on the eff ects and the content of global communications. In sum, the thirteenth volume of "Peace and Policy" deepens our empirical knowledge of the nature and effects of conflict, while underscoring the increase in numbers of participants and breadth of communications.

For the past half decade, these contributors have worked independently and collaboratively to increase systematic understanding of the value of peace journalism and communication to civil society. Th e group has contributed to a complex articulation of the various frames of conflict coverage. In so doing, they have clarified the structural, systemic and cultural aspects of global violence. In turn, this has helped create institutions, programs and strategies for enhancing constructive peace communication that will increase mutual understanding, cooperation, reconciliation and transform confl ict.

Peace journalism has reframed understanding of confl ict from a tug-of-war between two parties in which one side's gain is the other's loss, to the terms of relationships between various sides. It considers the context and the need to identify a range of stakeholders broader than the sides directly engaged in violent confrontation. In sum, it leads to understanding of the distinction between stated demands and underlying objectives, so as to identify voices working for creative and non-violent solutions, and finding ways to transform and transcend the lines of confl ict.

Originally published in 1977. Covering a wide international field and with the emphasis on communications in developing countries, this book contains chapters by eminent contributors looking at questions of policy, governance and planning in the field of mass communications. It also considers the role of the media in national development, multi-media education and critical theoretical issues bearing on the impact of modernization on traditional cultures. A few selected countries are discussed in detail - Iran, Brazil, India and the People's Republic of Benin (then Dahomey) as well as the results of an international survey on the future of broadcasting. The book made recommendations for administrative reorganizations, network expansions and research requirements, some of which were implemented shortly afterwards.

Originally published in 1977. Covering a wide international field and with the emphasis on communications in developing countries, this book contains chapters by eminent contributors looking at questions of policy, governance and planning in the field of mass communications. It also considers the role of the media in national development, multi-media education and critical theoretical issues bearing on the impact of modernization on traditional cultures. A few selected countries are discussed in detail - Iran, Brazil, India and the People's Republic of Benin (then Dahomey) as well as the results of an international survey on the future of broadcasting. The book made recommendations for administrative reorganizations, network expansions and research requirements, some of which were implemented shortly afterwards.

Rethinking Civilization offers an alternative view of human civilization in a globalizing age. Majid Tehranian analyses the transition from nomadic, to agrarian, commercial, industrial, and digital civilizations and argues that the growing gaps among the five major civilizations have led to terror operating as a form of global communication. This new book explores the uneven pace of development of human societies, particularly in the last two centuries, and argues that this is leading to a global civil war. Taking a long-term historical perspective, and developing a model that explains how empires, resistance, and civilizations have evolved alongside major technological breakthroughs in history, Tehranian offers a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary analysis of the phenomenon. Seeking to counter the current rhetorical trends, Tehranian reconceptualizes "civilization" to make it a useful analytical rather than ideological category. defines the varieties of terrorism, including structural, nuclear, state, opposition, messianic, and anomic. addresses the contemporary problems of global governance and the evolution of international relations. traces the evolution of global communication from orality to literacy, print, electronic, and digital modes. forecasts the emerging problems of encounters among the five civilizations. This unique and original volume will be of great interest to students and researchers of globalization, international relations, peace studies and sociology.

Reflecting the profound changes that are taking place in the world system, this book charts a conceptual framework for understanding emerging patterns of global politics and communication. Tehranian begins by tracing the evolution of the world system from its agrarian origins into today's post-industrial, information-based "pancapitalism". He then draws out the implications of that evolution for global systems of domination, development, and discourse in the context of fragmentation. A study of the complexities of relations between the Islamic and Western worlds demonstrates how systemic distortions in cross-cultural communication have led to tragedies in world politics. The concluding chapter, addressing the pathology of physical and cultural violence, reflects on the possibility of transforming existing conflicts into creative tensions based on the acknowledgement of differences.

Democratizing Global Media explores the complex relationship between globalizing media and the spread of democracy around the world. An international, interdisciplinary group of journalists and scholars discusses key and often contentious issues such as the power of media, the benefits of media globalization, and the political role of media. More than a critique, Democratizing Global Media offers positive alternatives, from peace journalism to popular movements toward democratizing media and public communication.

This Lexington Books edition of Comparative Political Philosophy brings back into print a volume that was one of the first to move beyond a Eurocentric bias in the study of political philosophy and provide a well-balanced critique of the perilous transition from tradition to modernity. The book is evidence of the benefits to be reaped from comparison, from a reading of Aristotle together with the Arthashastra, of Mahatma Gandhi with Eric Voegelin, of Voltaire with Confucius. Focusing on key texts from Chinese, Indian, Western and Islamic political philosophy, chapter authors both describe the very different contexts from which philosophic traditions arose and discover basic tenets they have in common. In a new introduction, editors Anthony J. Parel and Ronald C. Keith discuss the changes in political contexts since the book's first publication, and they underscore the increasing importance of the comparative approach.

Rethinking Civilization offers an alternative view of human civilization in a globalizing age. Majid Tehranian analyses the transition from nomadic, to agrarian, commercial, industrial, and digital civilizations and argues that the growing gaps among the five major civilizations have led to terror operating as a form of global communication. This new book explores the uneven pace of development of human societies, particularly in the last two centuries, and argues that this is leading to a global civil war. Taking a long-term historical perspective, and developing a model that explains how empires, resistance, and civilizations have evolved alongside major technological breakthroughs in history, Tehranian offers a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary analysis of the phenomenon. Seeking to counter the current rhetorical trends, Tehranian reconceptualizes "civilization" to make it a useful analytical rather than ideological category. defines the varieties of terrorism, including structural, nuclear, state, opposition, messianic, and anomic. addresses the contemporary problems of global governance and the evolution of international relations. traces the evolution of global communication from orality to literacy, print, electronic, and digital modes. forecasts the emerging problems of encounters among the five civilizations. This unique and original volume will be of great interest to students and researchers of globalization, international relations, peace studies and sociology.