Intellectuals like to establish a number of fancy terms to describe concepts. The world of international politics is no exception. During our presentation, I spent a good amount of time describing the difference inbetween NETPOLITIK and REALPOLITIK (all caps used for emphasis). If you were thoroughly confused, consider this my apology, and my attempt to clear the differences up. I will also discuss other influential understandings of how governments interact internationally. (real quick, "politik" is the German work for politics)
So, let's begin with a couple of the less common views.
MEDIAPOLITIK:
Bascially, mediapolitik puts the media as the central player in international politics. The relationship between governments and the media creates an ever shifting balance of power that drives public opinion in foreign policy making. In all honesty, do we want the media to be able to drive policy making?
CYBERPOLITIK:
Cyberpolitik puts the emphasis on information power. It postulates that international politics is no longer a matter of states, but that raw power is fortified by information.
NOOPOLITIK:
The "noosphere" is the sphere of ideas. Noopolitik takes that idea and applies it to international politcs. It is more a matter of ideas and values (by state and non-state) actors than of raw power. It is a collection of mass and cyber media that drives "soft power" and thought leadership in policy making.
Though those three are helpful in our understanding of intergovernmental politics, the two most important views are REALPOLITIK and NETPOLITIK.
REALPOLITIK:
The great historical luminaries (Richelieu, Metternich, Bismark, and Kissinger) all used Realpolitik to understand international politics. As I mentioned in class, think of policy making as a massive, world-wide chess match between nation-states. Alliances, treaties, wars, and conflicts all greatly affect the balance of politiks, and the goal becomes to be the one who comes out on top of what is essentially a political brawl.
NETPOLITIK:
Netpolitik, on the other hand, accounts for the change brought by modern technology. The rules have changed. More than anything, politics are controlled by the narratives and participation of individuals in broad networks. The presence of online networks have totally changed the ability of a citizen of a single country have a international impact through their networks. They have become the organizing principle in the conduct of world affairs.
So think about it, how do you organize your world? Those same principles dominate on an international scale.
Check out this document for reference: http://pendientedemigracion.ucm.es/info/sdrelint/ficheros_materiales/materiales0415.pdf
Check out this document for reference: http://pendientedemigracion.ucm.es/info/sdrelint/ficheros_materiales/materiales0415.pdf
I'd like to think my worldview is influenced most by cyberpolitik. With regard to mediapolitik, how much do you think media influences policy, or rather, garners public support of public policy?
ReplyDeleteTo some extent or another, the effect of media on politics is a little bit intangible. Cyberpolitik is powerful, but has little influence on masses because few people have access to the huge amount of information that most governments have. Think about America today. If an influential member of the media does a piece on sweatshops in Asia, you would think that would effectively garner public outrage at the possibility that people are being mistreated to make clothing. That trickles down (in an ideal world) to public policy.
DeleteHow much do you think Netpolitik has changed world affairs? The use of social media helped organize the Arab spring protests in North Africa, but in Libya and Syria force of arms has decided the outcome of events.
ReplyDeleteRemember that the comparison here is between Realpolitik and Netpolitik. Neither really has much control in a civil war or really any other warfare. Still, however, Netpolitik has had a big impact in the grassroots movements that trigger these events.
DeleteI would like to think that the world at large is moving towards a balance between realpolitik and netpolitik. Where the governments of the world still try to maneuver and position to out wit the other through diplomacy and listen to the will of the people online.
ReplyDeleteI agree Scott. My point is to draw out the rapidly growing role of Netpolitik. I believe we will continue to see a shift in that direction as realpolitik is quickly becoming obsolete.
DeleteFirst of all, I would like to thank you for the huge amount of information you have included in the blog. I am sure the terms you defined are mentioned many times in a variety of settings and as educated college students we definitly need to be more aware of them. One thing that really caught my attention is the definition of Mediapolitik
ReplyDeleteI apologize but the site wouldn't allow me to post the whole comment all at once. Well as I was saying I have always thought about the extent to which the government uses the media to control public opinion and influence foreign policy decisions. I think that most of the decisions our government took in the past were approved with the help of propaganda (the media) and recently governments are using the internet to control the knowledge base of its citizens, because spreading information over the internet is free and most of us do not take the time to consider the sources of our information and that makes us as citizens more vulnerable to false information that is placed over the web to sway our opinions in certain directions.
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent point Rana. I think it is easy to forget that the government can just as easily use the internet to create and share information as we can. Then again, the internet is a powerful against the power of the media especially when it comes to false propaganda. The two go hand in hand.
ReplyDelete