Cultural Chauvinism Intercultural Communication and the Politics of Superiority

This book explores the concept of cultural chauvinism as the sense of superiority that ethnic or national groups have of themselves relative to others, particularly in the context of international relations. Minabere Ibelema shows the various ways that academics, statesmen, and especially journalists, express their cultural groups’ sense of superiority over others. The analysis pivots around the notion of “Western values” given its centrality in international relations and diplomacy. To the West, this stands for an array of largely positive political and civic values; to a significant portion of the global community, it embodiesdegeneracies. Ibelema argues that often the most routine expressions go under the radar, even in this age of hypersensitivity. This book throws a unique light on global relations and will be of particular interest to scholars in international relations, communication studies and journalism studies.

1. Many Faces of Cultural Chauvinism 2. Democracy is Western 3. All Things Modern Are Western 4.All Things Nefarious Are Non-Western 5. The Hell of War Is Non-Western 6. All Things Decadent Are Western 7. Immodest Dressers and Desecraters 8. Contention Not Confucian 9. As Democracies Turn 10. Dark History of Distinctions 11. Who Civilized the Greeks That Civilized the West? 12. Convergence 13. Onward From the Bridgehead 14. Cultural Humility Postscript: An Oreo and Mozart

Minabere Ibelema (Ph.D., Ohio State University) is a retired professor of communication studies. His book The African Press, Civic Cynicism, and Democracy won the U.S. Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi Award for Research in Journalism.