Satellite Communications, Globalization, and the Cold War

The concept of globalization encompasses a number of different meanings that reflect the diminishing importance of national boundaries and the rise of worldwide social and economic processes. Analysts of globalization have focused on such issues as the growth of transnational companies, the expansion of international trade, and the increased tension between metropolitan and local practices and cultures. A crucial element in this process of transformation has been the development and implementation of global communication technologies. The communications satellite, an essential instrument of globalization, was first developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The popular media theorist Marshall McLuhan articulated his concept of the "global village" during the 1960s partly in response to the potential he perceived in this new technology. Satellites, in conjunction with telephone technology and, especially, broadcasting, created possibilities for global communications, education, and propaganda. 1 [End Page 315]