Foreign Policy and the Media: The US in the Eyes of the Indonesian Press.

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Author: Wijayanto
• Date: 01 August 2017

Foreign Policy and the Media: The US in the Eyes of the Indonesian Press. By Jarno S. Lang. London: Palgrave MacMillan, 2016. Hardcover: 255pp.

How does the Indonesian public perceive America and its foreign policy? Why were public perceptions of the United States more negative under President George W. Bush than during the administration of President Barack Obama? This book tries to answer these questions by using the lens of the media. Using constructivism, Jarno S. Lang defines power as not merely material factors such as the economy or the military, but also non-material factors, such as the ability to intervene and hinder the reproduction of identities of another actor. It is in this context that, he argues, the media can play a role in "influencing the political decision-making process by affecting public opinion and decision maker's choices" (p. 12).

This book is arguably a pioneer in the field of media studies. While most media studies in Indonesia mainly discuss the media within the context of domestic politics or the dynamics within the newsroom itself--such as the issue of self-censorship--Lang takes a step further...