WIKILEAKS: õiguserikkuja või õigusemõistja poliitilise kommunikatsiooni maailmas?
Date
2012
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tartu Ülikool
Abstract
Bachelor thesis of Laura Remmel Wikileaks: Law-breaker or Justice-maker in the World of
Political Communication, supervised by Professor Marju Lauristin at Tartu University. The purpose
of the thesis was to clarify the phenomena and the impact of Wikileaks in the international political
communication. Wikileaks is a nonprofit media organization and a relay in the global movement
impacting political reality, politicians and their image in the political communication. Relying on
Erving Goffman, Joshua Meyrowitz, Manuel Castells, Paolo Mancini, Yochai Benkler, Christian
Fuchs, and others, the author argues that the globalizing informational network society is
challenging political communication, especially concerning politicians' image-making. First part of
the work concludes that there is a need for integration and integrity developing more trustworthy
and transparent political communication in the contemporary world. Second part of the work
describes the purpose and certain questions and material of the research as well as the method of
qualitative content analysis used in the work, and the hypothesis that Wikileaks is going to become
a new means in the contemporary political communication in order to make the world more just and
transparent as well as the politicians and people in power to integrate with integrity. Third part of
the research studies hundreds of articles concerning Wikileaks and published by the largest Estonian
newspaper Postimees online version in 2010 and 2011. It appears that there are four types of
attitudes toward Wikileaks and its possible impact on the global political communication. Both
extremely and critically positive attitudes view Wikileaks usually as a generator of new
opportunities for shaping the development of contemporary political communication. Extremely or
critically negative attitudes mostly point out some threats coming along with the world of politics
and political communication after Wikileaks. Fourth part of the work presents the results of expert
interviews made with Estonian specialists in politics, diplomacy, political communication, PR and
journalism. It appears that all except the professional politicians and diplomats affirm that
Wikileaks may really become a new means in the contemporary political communication in order to
make the world more just and transparent as well as the politicians and people in power to integrate
with integrity. The last, fifth part of the research sums up the conclusions drawn from the newspaper
articles' and expert interviews' qualitative content analysis supporting the hypothesis of the current
research. In the very last chapter the author is discussing the results of her study in the perspective
of researchers like Castells, Goffman, Meyrowitz, Mancini, Benkler, Fuchs, and others. She
concludes that in the global informational network society Wikileaks is challenging both the current
political communication practices and a growing need for politicians' integrity.