Chapter2: (Part 2) Approaches to Theorizing International Communication

Hegemony: this concept was stated by Gramscis who died in prison under the Fascist regime. He believed that the dominant social group in a community is the one who express its intellectual and moral direction over a society and manipulate the opinions toward its aim. He argued that the military forces are not as efficient as the ideological ones. The ideological means can be conclude in the religious institutions, schools, media.. He claimed that one of the important functions of a state is to raise the way citizens think to a level that fits into the state interest.

Critical Theory: explain the notion of commodities inspired from Marx and Sigmund. They argued that objects are commodified by acquiring an exchange value. In a capitalist society, cultural products are sold in media as commodities. Buyers buy them because of intrinsic and psychological values.

The Public Sphere: developed by Habermas. He argued that the “Bourgeois Public Sphere” emerged in an expanding capitalist society where entrepreneurs achieved a certain level of power to get autonomy away from state and church. They asked for the political representation to facilities the expansion of their business. In his reformulation to the notion of “Public Sphere” he emphasized on the role of freedom of press and the access to the printing facilities.