Information to users

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Though the principles have remained constant, the world in which they are being put into practice has changed
dramatically in the past half century, the past decade and even the past year. It is becoming increasingly
interdependent. Yet, as the global environment and context have changed, the practices or policies used to implement these principles have not changed very much.
How have US foreign policymakers put these principles
into practice and how have these practices affected US
international information relations? This research hopes to provide answer the following questions:
• 1) under what conditions has US foreign policymaking in the area of information and communications evolved;
• 2) what is current US foreign information policy and what factors have influenced its making; and
• 3) what issues might be the most influential in future information policymaking?
Information and Policy Making
The analysis of information or communications policy is becoming increasingly relevant to the United States. In fact, there are those who believe that there should have been an emphasis in this area long ago.
I remain concerned that the foreign policy community
has not paid sufficient attention to these new
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[information and communications] technologies and their
implications for our foreign policy. . . . Thus far our approach to these issues all too often has led us to
deal with each problem in isolation from the other. Yet the salient characteristics of the information age are
that all the component factors are interrelated and
involve international consideration - from the computer and telecommunications sectors, to the financial and
trade sectors, to the news media and education
communities, and to the foreign policy and national
security communities.2
Maybe this inattention is understandable. Research in
communication theory tells us that specifying the impact of information and communication on other societal phenomenon is difficult. In fact, to better understand the relationship of information and communication processes to society,
research must be done within an environmental or situational context.
US policy makers need to know the differing uses of the word 'information" and make sense of the hidden nature of information issues in general, since they are often
2 Fascell, Dante B. 'International Communications Policy:
Preparing for the Future" (Washington, D.C.: Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, October 8, 1985) Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 8-9.
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perceived to be underlying or unifying characteristics of a phenomenon rather than overt issues for policy discussion. Communication policies exist in every society, although they might appear in hidden and scattered condition and not clearly articulated and harmonized. They might be
of a very general nature, and present themselves as
desirable goals and principles, or they might, in
practice, be more specific and perceptive. They might
exist or be formulated in many levels. They might be
incorporated in the Constitution or legislation of a
country, in the general national policies, in the
instructions given to administrative instances, in the
codes of professional ethics and in the by-laws and
regulations of certain communications institutions.3