International communication is typically understood as dissemination of information across national borders. Photo: TUCHONG

The field of international communication studies has received extensive attention in recent years. Engaging in interdisciplinary research on international communication (IC), particularly through dialogue between IC and international relations (IR), can broaden the theoretical foundations and research perspectives of IC. The interconnectedness between IC theories and IR theories can be understood from three angles: information flow, power dynamics, and culture. 

Through the lens of information flow, IC is typically understood as the dissemination of information across national borders. Advocates of free information flow believe that information should circulate unimpeded around the world. They oppose cross-border regulation and censorship of media outlets and content by sovereign states. 

In the IR framework, the call for the free flow of information is underpinned by liberalism, which advocates for interdependence, cooperation, and order in international relations, with IC serving as the lubricant in such an international system. While this vision seems desirable, the reality is that unrestricted cross-border information flow has widened the North-South digital divide rather than narrowing it. In practice, multiple agents such as the state, the market, and society consistently intervene in the movement of information, and the balance of power among them constitutes a basic contradiction in IC. 

It is therefore necessary to introduce the power angle to understand IC and IR. Power is the core concept in the realist tradition of IR, which deems confrontation to be a fundamental feature of IR, with IC as a tool for gaming. The political economy of communication is akin to the realist school of IR in terms of theoretical logic, laying the foundations for media dependency theory, the critique of media imperialism, and the theory of globalized communication. 

The cultural angle for understanding IC and IR is typified by constructivism, which regards beliefs and culture as structural factors in international politics. Power not only enables the exertion of authority, but is also relevant to the formation of identity, interest, and meaning. The cultural approach to IC primarily considers power relations, sign competition, and narrative games in cross-border communication from a cultural or semiotic perspective. Cultural studies involves both the analysis of the production and reception of specific cultural goods and the overall interpretation of cultural globalization, leading to theories of cultural conflict, cultural integration, and cultural hybridization. 

The discussion above provides insights into new issues in the study of IC and platform geopolitics. 

First, the information diffusion and cooperation mechanisms for global digital platforms can be examined through the lens of information flow. Uneven movement of information has intensified the tension between cross-border information dissemination and regulation by sovereign states. In the age of globalization, it is unrealistic for countries to isolate themselves from the movement of information given potential economic benefits. Developing countries should strive to improve their national competitiveness and aim for greater discourse power in IC, while also strengthening cooperation between one another to foster an environment favorable to bidirectional or multidirectional information exchange between developing and developed countries. 

Second, the disparities and competition between governance mechanisms for digital platforms across countries can be analyzed from the power angle. IC is the extension of geopolitics, as it reflects the mutual influence of national power in the information arena and imbalances in the global political-economic structure. Institutional differences and power struggles between sovereign states amid the development of the information industry and globalization are important subjects in the field of information geopolitics. 

Third, the possibility of building a cultural community of global digital platforms can be explored from the cultural angle. IC represents cultural construction by transnational entities and pertains to cultural exchange, conflict, and integration. With the expansion of international migration, platform users with multiple cultural identities can confront and transcend national cultural differences to engage in content production and dissemination characterized by cosmopolitanism. 

Xu Guiquan is an associate professor from the School of Journalism and Communication at Sun Yat-sen University. 

Edited by WANG YOURAN