Three Challenges for Communication and Global Social Change

The field of communication and social change is periodically subjected to new questions and directions. Because the field has historically straddled academia and the aid industry, theoretical debates and programmatic directions were symptomatic of shifts in both settings. The current situation is no exception. Recent debates in communication scholarship and trends in global aid have set novel questions and priorities. The purpose of this article is to discuss three challenges that need attention: the fragmentation of the field, the paucity of research on policy advocacy, and the links between participation and aid effectiveness. Addressing these challenges is necessary to produce crisp theoretical propositions about the linkages between communication and social change and engage in current debates in global aid.