HARVARD SYMPOSIUM: RESTLESS SEARCHLIGHT: THE MEDIA AND TERRORISM ~ BROWN Clausewitz in the Age of Al-Jazeera: Rethinking the Military-Media Relationship

Abstract The expansion of the number of news outlets over the past 20 years ensures that military action by Western countries is accompanied by massive continuous coverage and commentary. Most analysis of the relationship between war and the media focuses either on the contentious nature of the relationship between journalists and armed forces or on the disruptive impact of news coverage on military operations. This paper argues that the relationship between developments in the media and the military should be conceptualized in a more comprehensive way. Such an approach suggests that the impact of media developments on the conduct of military operations is more radical and than is normally suggested. The theoretical core of the paper is drawn from Clausewitz's argument that war is the continuation of politics. His analysis suggested that war must be understood as a process where the political environment within which conflict takes place shapes the dynamics of military action and where the consequences of that action affect the political environment. In consequence political change reshapes the nature of conflict. Evidence drawn from the Kosovo Campaign and the War on Terrorism is used to explore these relationships in action