The CNN Effect and Google Maps

Without a doubt, modern communications technology has complicated the ability of nation-states to formulate policy "in a bubble" so to speak. The fact that the public at large is privy to a wide swath of information often necessitates a certain course of action or policy on the part of the government, as public opinion can not be ignored in most situations. Take, for example, the recent "Invasion" of Costa Rica by Nicaragua.

Although the details were muddled in the initial reports, it appears that the Nicaraguan movement was directed towards a small island that was already owned by Nicaragua. The controversy started when the Nicaraguan troops removed a Costa Rican flag (on Costa Rican soil), and then justified their actions by pointing out Google's map of the Rican/Nicaraguan border, which was off by a few miles in Nicaragua's favor. The problem inherent in this situation should be obvious.

The fact that the Nicaraguan military was quoting Google, an international NGO, instead of their own cartographical services, indicates that in this media climate, there is a palpable shift in the balance of power between international media/information services and nation-states. While it is believed that the Nicaraguan commander was purposefully using the Google Map data as an excuse for his actions, the above point still stands; even if the commander was only trying to cover his tracks at the last minute, the fact that he chose Google as his "higher power" is indicative of the power that the corporation and others like it hold in the political world today.

Simon Cottle, in his article "Global Crises in the News" talks at great length about the power of the media regarding framing crises (or in some cases creating them). Sympathetic and emotionally couched reports have the power to shape public opinion, which in turn dictates official response. In the case of the Nicaraguan invasion, however, the relationship between official sources and media sources is turned on its head: rather than governmental sources reacting to the interaction between the public and the media, they tried to immediately take control of the power of the media, bypassing public opinion entirely. Of course, this failed for obvious reasons. Really, though, governments reach out to information NGOs like Google all the time, whether through business deals or data-mining. In many ways, media and information NGOs are better equipped than governmental organizations, in that they are not bound by the same regulations and restrictions inherent in international sovereignty laws.