Markos Kounalakis: Global State-Media Networks & Power Transition: Journalism with Chinese Characteristics
China Central Television (CCTV) is the fastest growing global news and information network today. Contemporary academic literature and media analysts look at global state media networks dominantly as a function of a state's Public Diplomacy that manifest state "soft power." My project further explores this analysis and assumption and asks the following questions:
Why do states invest in Global State Media Networks? What is their expected Return on Investment?
Once global state media networks' roles are located, their power defined, and their practices understood, then the research will deal specifically with the case study of China. My hypothesis is that global state media networks are developed in order to achieve four specific goals: agenda setting, elite influence, informal diplomacy, and broader information gathering - stretching beyond the boundaries of soft power and public diplomacy.
Scott Nicholas Romaniuk: Targeted Killing and the Taboo of War Crime
The use of targeted killing (TK) has been an attractive policy option for the US, UK, Russia, and Israel over the past several decades. Despite the political fallout associated with its use (international reputation) and the legal implications, TK is used with greater frequency, in more places, and with less discretion. Although TK has successfully managed terrorism tactically and operationally, it’s strategic effects might be strongly disproportionate. Much of the current literature argues that it violates human rights, the laws of war, and critical political principles such as state sovereignty. Engaging with TK, I address the following research question: How (and to what degree) has the taboo on targeted killing been weakened/deconsolidated over time? The weakening of a TK taboo (advocating preemption and self-defense first strike) legitimizes it as a use of force or method of warfare reinforcing the idea that states are responsible for self-help, maintaining power, and protecting their national interests.
Chair: Erin Jenne