Domestic Politics and the Politics of Satellite Telecommunications

ISBN-13: 9783639143317 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 216 str.

Judith A. Duncker

Opis

In September of 1988, the government of Jamaica heralded its official entry into the information industry with the establishment of the US$2 million Jamaica Digiport International facility. The significance of this announcement was only surpassed by the states decision to close the domestic sector to competition simultaneously as the global satellite regime and the global market embarked on its own course of liberalization of the sector. This study identifies two powerful sectoral characteristics which facilitated this apparent contradiction. The first was compelling domestic interests in the sector that led to its closing. The second characteristics was the global monopoly Intelsat system. Intelsats structure and the role played by signatories within the system therefore functioned to protect the status quo of the single global system and to bar the entry of other firms whose activities did not enhance Intelsats investment goals. Intelsats leadership served as gatekeeper - preserving the monopoly status quo resulting in increased dominance of the local telecommunications on the domestic politics.

O autorze

Dr. Judith A. Duncker a visiting professor in the undergraduate program at Lehman College of the City University of New York (CUNY) where she teach courses in International Politics and International Political Economy. She also teaches graduate and undergraduate seminars in Modernization and Development and US Foreign Policy.