Propaganda, spin and lobbying are increasingly the topic of public and media debate. From the attempt to construct a 'threat' from Weapons of Mass Destruction, through the razzmatazz of political campaigning to the regular scandals about improper corporate influence on policy the relationship between communication, conflict and power is back on the academic research agenda.
The Department of Geography and Sociology at Strathclyde University is pleased to announce an international conference on Communication and conflict, to be held in Glasgow on 7-9 September 2007.
Participation
This call is a preliminary invitation to submit abstracts, panel and workshop proposals. In addition we are inviting expression of interest for participation and support from academic institutions, policy makers, media institutions and civil society organizations. Organisation can sponsor a particular session or support a particular stream of papers.
The conference will be an international gathering of leading experts and researchers in the area of propaganda, spin, lobbying, media management and investigative journalism. It will also feature hand on sessions on how to investigate propaganda and lobbying activities, led by Spinwatch.
Speakers include
John Pilger*
Col Sam Gardner(US Airforce - Retd)
Mark Curtis* (author of Unpeople and Web of Deceit)
Nancy Snow (University of California),
Prof. William Carroll (University of Victoria, British Columbia).
Eveline Lubbers (Spinwatch, Editor of Battling Big Business)
Andy Rowell (Spinwatch, author of Green Backlash and The Next Gulf?)
Prof. Edward S. Herman*, (co-author with Noam Chomsky of Manufacturing Consent)
Prof. Gerry Sussman (University of Oregon, Portland),
Olivier Hoedemann, (Corporate Europe Observatory, Amsterdam),
Prof. Alan Doig (Author of Sleaze),
Muhammed Idrees Ahmad (Spinwatch),
Nick Jones (former BBC journalist and author of books on spin doctors),
Greg Philo (Glasgow Media Group ),
Craig Holman* (Public Citizen, Washington DC),
Shelley Jofre (BBC Panorama, on investigating the pharmaceutical industry)
Dave Whyte (University of Stirling),
Prof. Sharon Beder(author of Free-Market Missionaries, Earthscan, London, 2006; Suiting Themselves: How Corporations Drive the Global Agenda, Earthscan, London, 2006.; Global Spin: The Corporate Assault on Environmentalism, Green Books, Devon, UK, 1997)
Mark Daly (BBC, who exposed racism in the police in The Secret Policeman)
John McArthur* (Harpers Magazine and author of The Selling of Free Trade and Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War)
Diane Farsetta (PR Watch )
William Dinan (Spinwatch, author of Open Scotland? and The Cutting Edge)
Prof. Dieter Plehwe, (Berlin editor of Neoliberal Hegemony)
* - Invited
Papers are welcome on all aspects of propaganda, spin, lobbying, public relations and other forms of communication management as well as on those forces in society which resist such trends whether at the level of politics and activism or at the level of journalism. We welcome papers and sessions on the following, but this list is not exhaustive.
* The PR industry
* Think tanks and policy communications
* the international political economy of corporate power
* global media management
* the global advertising, marketing, PR and opinion industries
* Propaganda and spin of all sorts
* Fake news and Video News Releases
* Science communications
In addition the conference specifically encourages participants who want to participate in the following major conference streams.
Investigative journalism and Investigative research
Investigative journalism has never been more necessary and - despite all the obstacles - it remains a potentially powerful force for transparency and accountability. This stream features investigative journalists and investigative researchers discussing their campaings and giving guidance on how to investigate important public issues.
This stream is supported by the Centre for Investigative Journalism at City University and by the Masters in Investigative Journalism at Strathclyde University.
Lobbying and transparency
Corporate lobbyists swarm to wherever political decision are made. From Washington DC to Brussels from London to Edinburgh lobbying consultancies, corporate front groups trade associations and corporate lobbyists are in action pursuing sectional interests.
The instinct of the lobbyists everywhere is to keep their role out of sight. But in recent years campaign to register lobbyists and open up the political process to scrutiny have taken hold. This stream will feature presentations on the activities of the lobbyists around the world as well as sessions on the campaigns for transparency being pursued by a myriad of non governmental organisations.
This stream supported by the Communication and Democracy working group of the PIRN.
Democracy Promotion
A rash of regime change across the former Soviet politics announced a new sort of democratic politics. The orange revolution in the Ukraine betokened a new form of democracy - mass peaceful action against autocrats. The role of Western agencies in such processes was rarely questioned. But in the occupation of Iraq the question of western interest is more obviously posed. There is now a very wide range of Western funded NGO's 'promoting democracy' all across the world. Increasingly these efforts are subject to criticism and controversy. This stream investigates the institutions of democracy promotion from the National Endowment for Democracy to the Westminster Foundation for Democracy as well as their activities from Central America to Iraq and the Far East.
The Israel Lobby
The Israel lobby in the United States has been the subject of much debate, especially over the last year, however, its influence in UK and Europe has been hitherto overlooked. This workshop will aim to shed light on the think tanks, front groups, funding organizations and individuals that constitute the Israel lobby (on both sides of the Atlantic). The workshop will also focus on the lobbying techniques employed by the lobby, and its recent encroachments on European politics.
Terrorology: a discipline in search of legitimacy?
Terror experts have been a permanent fixture on the media landscape for more than two decades. The terror experts offer doctrinally serviceable sound-bites that mainly reinforce establishment policies. But the crisis of official information shown up by the push for war in Iraq has undermined confidence in both terror experts and official sources. The terrorology strand will feature analysis of terrorology and the institutions that foster it as well as delving into its funding sources and the media use of 'terrorism knowledge'.
This stream is supported by the Consortium for Research on Terrorology and Political Violence (a project of NASPIR and the PIRN), and the Office of Muslim Affairs.
Propaganda, today and yesterday
Some baulk at the use of the term propaganda. Yet, the history of communications shows it was used quite unselfconsciously by its proponents even after the 1939-45 War. This stream calls for papers on the history and contemporary practice of propaganda. Is the term still relevant? What is the history of propaganda? How has it been used in specific circumstances? What is it like today in Iraq, Afghanistan etc? Papers on all forms of propaganda, psychological operations, information operations, public diplomacy and the like in war and peach are welcome.
Reporting conflict in the age of spin
The development of spin techniques in government and the political process has developed at great speed in the UK and US, though its penetration has been more varied elsewhere. This stream features speakers on spin and on the response to it by the media.
This session is supported by the Glasgow Media Group.
Transnational corporate lobby groups and Global Power
The neoliberal turn was put in place in part by the activities of market fundamentalist think tanks and by the emergence of global corporate lobby groups such as the International Chamber of Commerce, The Bilderberg Group, the Trilateral Commission, the World Economic forum and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. How did this come about? How do these groups operate and how do they interlock with the Transnational Corporations. Does it mean that global capital is now unchallenged? How do the global corporate elite relate to the neo-conservatives in the US?
Supported by Spinwatch and Corporate Europe Observatory.
Disease mongering, science and health
This stream takes as its theme the recently popular concept of Disease Mongering - that is the creation by drug companies and others of new diseases for which their newly developed drugs are suitable cures. The use of patient groups and the new politics of consumerism in health and medicine are also of interest.
Supported by the Science Communication and Management Working Group of the PIRN .
Fast Food and Fast Facts: Obesity and the Food industry
The food industry has come under attack for its role in the epidemic of obesity both in relation to advertising and marketing and in relation to its lobbying activities. This stream will examine the activities of the industry as it resists being identified as the New Tobacco.
Further Information
If in doubt about the suitability of your paper feel free to email David Miller @ [log in to unmask] email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
Supporters
Supporters of the conference so far include the Public Interest Research Network, Spinwatch, Variant Magazine, Scotland Against Criminalising Communities, Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, Corporate Europe Observatory, Glasgow Media Group.
Abstract deadline
The deadline for abstract submission is Friday May 4th. Online registration will be avaialable shortly. In the meantime suggestions for abstracts should be sent to [log in to unmask] email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
Costs
The conference fee will be in the region of £180 for academics or £70 a day. Final costings will be announced shortly
Lower fees are available for NGOs (£120 full fee or £50 per day)
Activist and student rates will also be available as will a number of free places.
The conference fee includes refreshments and lunch each day. The fee does not include accommodation.
We are also seeking volunteers to run sessions and help to ensure the conference runs smoothly. Please contact [log in to unmask] email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it if you can help.
Stalls will be welcome and publishers or others wishing to set up stalls should contact Lorraine Nelson .
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