ThebattleforheartsandmindsintheMiddleEastisbeingfoughtnotonthestreetsofBaghdad,butonthenewscastsandtalkshowsofAlJazeera.ThefutureofChinaisbeingshapednotbyCommunistPartybureaucrats,butbybloggersworkingquietlyincybercafes.ThenextattacksbyalQaedawillemergenotfromOsamabinLaden’scave,butfromcellsaroundtheworldconnectedbytheInternet.Intheseandmanyotherinstances,traditionalwaysofreshapingglobalpoliticshavebeensupersededbytheinfluenceofnewmedia--satellitetelevision,theInternet,andotherhigh-techtools.Whatisinvolvedismorethanarefinementofestablishedpractices.Weareseeingacomprehensivereconnectingoftheglobalvillageandareshapingofhowtheworldworks.AlJazeeraisaparadigmofnewmedia’sinfluence.Tenyearsago,therewasmuchtalkabout“theCNNeffect,“thetheorythatnewscoverage--especiallygrippingvisualstorytelling--wasinfluencingforeignpolicythroughouttheworld.Today,“theAlJazeeraeffect“takesthatasignificantstepfurther.Theconceptencompassestheuseofnewmediaastoolsineveryaspectofglobalaffairs,rangingfromdemocratizationtoterrorism,andincludingtheconceptof“virtualstates.““Themedia“arenolongerjustthemedia.Theyhavealargerpopularbasethaneverbeforeand,asaresult,haveunprecedentedimpactoninternationalpolitics.Themediacanbetoolsofconflictandinstrumentsofpeace;theycanmaketraditionalbordersirrelevantandunifypeoplesscatteredacrosstheglobe.Thisphenomenon,theAlJazeeraeffect,isreshapingtheworld.
