Cosmopolitan Communications: Cultural Diversity in a Globalized World

Communication, Society and Politics

by Pippa Norris, Ronald Inglehart

Societies around the world have experienced a flood of information from diverse channels originating beyond local communities and even national borders, transmitted through the rapid expansion of cosmopolitan communications. For more than half a century, conventional interpretations, Norris and Inglehart argue, have commonly exaggerated the potential threats arising from this process. A series of fire-walls protect national cultures. This book develops a new theoretical framework for understanding cosmopolitan communications and uses it to identify the conditions under which global communications are most likely to endanger cultural diversity. The authors analyze empirical evidence from both the societal level and the individual level, examining the outlook and beliefs of people in a wide range of societies. The study draws on evidence from the World Values Survey, covering 90 societies in all major regions worldwide from 1981 to 2007. The conclusion considers the implications of their findings for cultural policies.

Genres: Sociology

446 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 2009

About the author

Pippa Norris is Associate Director (Research), and Lecturer, John F. Kennedy School of Government, at Harvard University in the USA.

Reviews

[Stephen Cranney · Rating 4 out of 5]

They quantitatively test a hypothesis that is often thrown around in the media and informal discussion: that globalization threatens indigenous cultures and threatens to McDonalize the world. They show that, while on the individual level there is a relationship between media exposure and the holding of certain attitudes, that globalization has not radically altered country-level social frameworks. While they argue a relevant point compellingly, like most books of this type it's very dry and not exactly an entertaining read (I read it for school), which I guess is besides the point for books like this.

[Qing Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

For second comp. A one that I may read again.