Information to users

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historical discussion on the flow of information and how that information is used by governments, international
organizations and other types of groups. There are two areas of relevance: 1) the relationship of information to politics and 2) the nature of information itself.
Information and politics. Information has been
politically relevant for centuries. In a broadly historical overview, Harold Innis emphasized that the ability to
control information and communications processes is vital to those seeking to attain and maintain political dominance.7 Unfortunately, scholars such as Innis, who analyze the
historical breadth and impact of communications, are few. The relevance of these processes has not been as visible to policy makers as other issues - such as military, economic and social issues - have been. Innis describes 'monopolies of knowledge" which 'developed and declined partly in
relation to the medium of communication on which they were built."8 For Innis, this implies that there is an abstract concept of 'knowledge" or information which, when used in the right way, can contribute to dominant status.
7 Harold Innis applied the idea of the importance of
communication specifically to the construction of empires and, thus, implies that the control of communication is extremely
relevant in the political arena. See Harold Adams Innis. Empire and Communications (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1972) . 8 Innis, Empire and Communications, p. 166.