Defence and the Media in Time of Limited War

Publication and Context

First Published in 2004. Events in the Gulf Crisis of 1990–91 have highlighted the importance of the increasingly complex and difficult relations between Defence and the Media in time of War – especially in time of limited conflict when the well-being – let alone the security – of the home nation may not be affected.

This problem has become especially acute given the growth of the new high technology media and its global spread and immediacy.

The question of how to reconcile the competing demands for secrecy on the one hand and the public's right to know on the other is fast emerging as a major question of our times.

Conference Details

In Brisbane during 3–5 April 1991, there was held what is believed to be the first ever International Conference on the topic of Defence and the Media in Time of Limited Conflict to look at this and other issues stemming from the problem.

Jointly funded by the Queensland University of Technology and the Australian Department of Defence, the three-day Conference was a major success, attracting 160 delegates from Great Britain, the United States, Zambia, Papua New Guinea, Brunei, New Zealand, France, Indonesia and, of course, Australia.

Content and Focus

This volume publishes nearly all the papers delivered at this conference whose main focus was on post-1945 limited wars especially Vietnam, Northern Ireland, the Falklands, Grenada and the Gulf; all of which receive detailed analysis.