Peace and Communication

Abstract Current international debate on international communication issues as reflected in the drafting of media declarations is primarily based on recent studies about the flow of information. The background to these studies is described as well as their contribution to the debate. The paper discusses the problem that there is much work on the quantitative aspect of the flow but not enough qualitative work or theoretical understanding of the flow. Some attempts to summarize the findings are made. New areas for research such as transborder data flow are brought into the picture. As international policy recommendations, the paper concludes that flow studies should be extended to analyse how such crucial problems of mankind as disarmament, peace, development and human rights are affected by the national media and the international flow of information. The author's approach is to stress the demands of a truer and more perfect knowledge of each other's lives, stemming from UNESCO's constitution and reflected also in the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe. As a counterargument to the demand of free flow of 'all kinds of information', there is evidence which has led some scholars to conclude that 'the surest antidote for ignorance and deceit is the widest possible exchange of objectively realistic information - true information, not merely more information.' Therefore, the qualitative aspects of the contents of the flow become crucial for research.