Media, War and Postmodernity [Paperback]

Media, War and Postmodernityinvestigates how conflict and international intervention have changed since the end of the Cold War, asking why Western military operations are now conducted as high-tech media spectacles, apparently more important for their propaganda value than for any strategic aims.

Discussing the humanitarian interventions of the 1990s and the War on Terror, the book analyzes the rise of a postmodern sensibility in domestic and international politics, and explores how the projection of power abroad is undermined by a lack of cohesion and purpose at home. Drawing together debates from a variety of disciplinary and theoretical perspectives, Philip Hammond argues that contemporary warfare may be understood as 'postmodern' in that it is driven by the collapse of grand narratives in Western societies and constitutes an attempt to recapture a sense of purpose and meaning.

Introduction: Postmodernism and 9/11  1. Postmodern War in a World without Meaning  2. The Humanitarian Spectacle  3. The Media War on Terrorism  4. Culture Wars and the Post-Vietnam Condition  5. Security and Vulnerability in the 'Risk Society'  6. Postmodern Empire and the 'Death of the Subject'.  Conclusion: Beyond Postmodernity

'Media, War and Postmodernityis an important book that explains how 'weak values' in the West have a tragic habit of provoking violence in the most unexpected of places.'Frank Furedi, The Spiked Review of Books

'An invaluable guide' - 7 Days

'Hammond provides an excellent discussion of  contemporary warfare...[and] makes a difficult subject accesible and engaging.  Would you recommend it?  Yes.' -Times Higher Educational Supplement

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