Communication is war by other means: Towards a war-centric communication theory for the 21(st) century

The September 11 (2001) Jihadists attack on the West and the subsequent wars on terrorism indicate that war may be a permanent condition of life in the contemporary world. This implies that to understand contemporary society, culture and communication, requires an understanding of war because war could provide a perspective through which to understand the contemporary world. This article critically explores the link between war and communication, traces the contours of a Western tradition of philosophical thought that considers war to be an integral and formative aspect of human identity, and proposes a war-centric perspective as foundation for a communication theory for the postmodern world.