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Not by the Sword Alone: Soft Power, Mass Media, and the Production of State Sovereignty

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  • Warren, T. Camber

Abstract

Scholars of civil conflict have long recognized the importance of state strength in the suppression of nascent insurgencies. However, previous empirical investigations have generally focused on the material and coercive dimensions of state power, obscuring the critical role played by the generation of widespread voluntary compliance through processes of political communication, that is, the production of “soft power.” In contrast, in this article I focus on a factor—mass communication technology—that can enhance state capacity only by strengthening the state's ability to broadly and publicly disseminate political messages. I argue that the enhanced capacities for large-scale normative influence generated by mass communication technologies can be expected to produce substantial barriers to the mobilization of militarized challenges to state rule, by strengthening economies of scale in the marketplace of ideas. Utilizing newly compiled cross-national data on mass media accessibility in the post–World War II period, I show that densely constituted mass media systems dramatically reduce the probability of large-scale civil violence, thereby providing new evidence for the fundamental importance of nonmaterial state capacities in the suppression of internal armed conflicts.

Suggested Citation

  • Warren, T. Camber, 2014. "Not by the Sword Alone: Soft Power, Mass Media, and the Production of State Sovereignty," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(1), pages 111-141, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:intorg:v:68:y:2014:i:01:p:111-141_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Bharati, Tushar & Jetter, Michael & Malik, Muhammad Nauman, 2024. "Types of communications technology and civil conflict," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    2. Maura R. Cremin & Bogdan G. Popescu, 2022. "Sticks and Stones? Connecting Insurgent Propaganda with Violent Outcomes," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 66(3), pages 504-528, April.
    3. Ackermann, Klaus & Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell, 2021. "Mobile phone coverage and violent conflict," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 269-287.
    4. Stephen Stapleton & Andres Uribe & Austin L. Wright, 2022. "Televising Justice during War," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 66(3), pages 529-552, April.
    5. Zhang, Anlan & Xu, Yue & Robson, Matthew J., 2023. "The legitimacy defeat of Huawei in the media: Cause, context, and process," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(6).
    6. Sara M. T. Polo, 2020. "How Terrorism Spreads: Emulation and the Diffusion of Ethnic and Ethnoreligious Terrorism," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 64(10), pages 1916-1942, November.
    7. Bellemare, Marc F. & Masaki, Takaaki & Pepinsky, Thomas B., 2015. "Lagged Explanatory Variables and the Estimation of Causal Effects," MPRA Paper 62350, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 23 Feb 2015.

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