Question

What is different in this new 'multi-polar world' about information and its manipulation compared to, for example, the cold war period, where two 'empires' were locked in an uneasy tension and where stereotypes of 'east' and 'west', communist/socialist and capitalist prevailed? Do we still think in these terms at all?

Answer 1

The multi polar world of today has more dominance of information and communication technologies and internet based specialized technologies, making spread of information to be more fast, available and more opinionated by the people of the these nations, in comparison to the cold war period. Though, the information and briefings with the help of social media, digital media and online surveys, still sway the information and try to influence the thinking, mindset and behavior of the people. It is clearly observed against candidate Hillary Clinton during the last presidential election in the USA . So, new aspects of sharing and spreading of information were not dominant in the past, but manipulation and code worded information were also prevalent in cold war period.

These days, the nations cooperate more with each other even if they were happened to be socialist or capitalists mindset in the past. For example, many east European nations have been applying for EU membership and some of them have succeeded as well such as Bulgaria, Poland, Romania and Hungary. So, competitors of the past are now becoming the strategic partners of today. But, the past mindset is not completely vanished as these nations were first to transform  into free market economy and economic reforms. Further, Russia is still viewed with a sense of suspicion and doubt. Hence, the past mindset has not changed completely, though it has eased out a lot, today.