COMMUNICATION POWER

Building on his previous work on the network society, Manuel Castells distils the implications of new communications platforms in relation to the exercise of power in this brilliant and penetrating analysis, with a new introduction to the 2013 edition. There are five extensive chapters: power in the network society, communication in the digital age, networks of minds and power, programming communication networks and finally reprogramming communication networks for social change. The core argument is that 'power relationships, the foundation of the institutions that organise society, are largely constructed in people's minds through communication processes. The shaping of minds is a more decisive and lasting form of domination than the submission of bodies by intimidation or violence.' (p. xix) This communication is mediated through various channels, and the advent of the Internet has deeply modified the ways in which power relationships operate, with the rise of what Castells calls mass self-communication involving self-generation, self-direction and self-selection of information. It is free communication and the culture of freedom generated by the Internet that most directly challenges institutionalised power relationships. In this respect, Castells postulates a dialectic between power and counter power in which forms and processes of communication are decisive in framing their interaction.

There is no doubt that he is correct in saying that the culture of the Internet is freedom, and with this access to information comes a trend towards openness and transparency. Although traditional forms of community are in decline, new forms are generated on the Internet to create what he calls networked individualism that gives everyone the opportunity to introduce new concerns and create new communities. Castells pays special attention to the rise of social network sites as a means of selling free expression and choosing forms of sociability. In his new introduction, he presents a fascinating analysis of WikiLeaks and the control of information. This initiative has provided 'an insider perspective of what governments and corporations actually do while hidden from the view of citizens and clients.' Then he makes the really crucial point that 'as power is based on the control of information, which requires secrecy, the assertion of free access to information as a constitutional right threatens the very roots of power in the commanding heights of society.' (p. xxxvii) Castells sees this as a decisive democratic practice and a new form of independent journalism, which governments have found deeply threatening, so they have acted together in a vigorous fashion (he discusses policies to control the Internet in Russia and China). To be sure, the practice of secrecy continues 'because it is at the heart of power' but powerful people are now under constant fear of being monitored by autonomous networks independent of their control.

Before considering this in more detail within the political context, it is worth conveying the substance of the third chapter, much of which is based on the work of Antonio Damasio, about the role of emotion and cognition in beliefs and politics. This involves the creation and manipulation of mental images in the brain, and we know that we tend to process events according to previous patterns. Decisions are made both as a result of framed reasoning and from more direct emotional motivations. Frames are neural networks of association accessible through metaphorical connections, so certain frames will activate specific neural networks. In this way, frames can both shape understanding and mobilise action according to the beliefs involved. People also tend to select information according to their cognitive frames. Framing the public mind is largely a media-driven process, which, politically, means highlighting certain aspects of the central issues in such a way as to promote a particular interpretation, evaluation or solution. Castells gives a telling illustration by using the manipulation of public opinion with respect to the Iraq war (The Waxman Report contains a searchable database of 237 misleading statements about the reasons for the US war in Iraq made by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell and Rice in 125 separate public appearances). He shows how different frames or narratives were used at different points in the campaign. These agenda-setting frames include the war on terror activating a fear frame, patriotism, self-defence and rescue, while the Pentagon simultaneously had 75 military analysts operating in the media to coordinate the message, many of whom were working with military contractors or lobbying for them.

The chapter on programming communication networks discusses media politics, scandal politics and the crisis of democracy. Castells reminds readers of his thesis that 'power relationships are largely based on the shaping of the human mind by the construction of meaning through image-making.' (p. 193) Ideas are 'images in our brain.' He has already established that negative images have a more powerful effect on voting intentions than positive images, hence character assassination is a potent weapon in the current era of personality politics, as has been apparent in the recent US Presidential campaign. Castells explains the process of political hit men digging up the dirt then testing the relative damage one can expect through polling companies. On this basis, an advert is created using the two or three most damaging items. This brings us to the politics of scandal, which is a good fit for the inherent role of the media in attracting audiences through broadcasting juicy information to unseat political figures (many cases are documented in an appendix). Scandal politics has the wider fallout of creating a crisis of political legitimacy through a decline of public trust in politics and political institutions. Castells concludes that 'the connection between exposure to political corruption and the decline of political trust can be directly related to the dominance of media politics and the politics of scandal in the conduct of public affairs' (p. 289, italics in the original)

If this is the downside, there is a strong upside to the advent of digital communication in the 'potential synergy between the rise of mass self-communication and the autonomous capacity of civil societies around the world to shape the process of social change.' (p. 303, italics in the original) The battle of images and frames now takes place in self-organising multimedia communication networks. Castells presents a lengthy analysis of the emergence of the environmental movement and critics of globalisation as forces in the media while also showing that global warming is a good media for attracting audiences through narratives that raise concern among citizens. The environmental movement has moved beyond reaching out to a mass audience towards stimulating mass citizen participation through the interactive capacity offered by the Internet. This also applies to many other causes championed by online campaigning groups that now have tens of millions of supporters. Further analysis of the digital success of the 2008 Obama campaign as another example of reprogramming communication networks.

In his conclusion, Castells rues the prevalence of political violence as a form of communication acting on our minds through images of death to instil fear and intimidation. In the US, the war on terror enabled the Patriot Act, and we are daily bombarded with images of violence perpetuating a culture of fear. In the recent US election, nine of the largest ten arms companies gave donations to the Clinton campaign, presumably in order to perpetuate business as usual with proxy wars and covert operations around the world. All this represents the continuing pursuit of narrow self-interest at the expense of the politics of the whole. Interestingly, the globalisation process itself is leading to a resurgence of nationalism, based as it is on the self-interest of corporations and their leaders.

Reading this book gives a vital insight into the nature of changing patterns of power and communication, and, more importantly into what we individually and collectively can do in order to shape a more positive future. The network itself is a metaphor of connectedness, which may enable the rising generation to think and act differently, maintaining a culture of freedom while coordinating for more general social and environmental improvement. And, in order for this to happen, the emotions of outrage and anger have to overcome fear in order to mobilise action for social change, which may well become self-sustaining through enthusiasm.