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THE CNN EFFECT AND WAR
The second and more prevalent media effect in relation to diplo-
macy is the propaganda effect. As mentioned earlier, the propaganda
effect is not a CNN effect because it relates to the propagation of offi-
cial government policy through the media. This, in essence, is oppo-
site to a CNN effect, which claims media influence on government
policy. As the earlier example from James Baker demonstrated, media
was utilized to embellish the government’s official policy. It was,
therefore, a propagandist act.
Foreign Policy and the CNN Effect
Although diplomacy was a prominent area in debates over the CNN
effect in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, most of the literature
since then has focused on the alleged influences of media on foreign
policy. The following section begins by providing a brief review of for-
eign policy theory over the second half of the twentieth century, mak-
ing three important distinctions. The first of these is between policy
formulation and implementation; the second distinguishes process
and substance; the third differentiates strategic and tactical aspects of
foreign policy. It then reviews how different CNN effects and other
media effects outlined previously are likely to influence foreign policy.
Finally, this section revisits foreign policy in the context of a third-
party military intervention to assess when different media effects are
likely to influence a policy as it shifts from a policy of nonintervention
to one in support of military intervention.
Formulation versus Implementation
Foreign policy theorizing, in an idealized scenario, can be used to dis-
tinguish policy formulation or decision-making from implementation.
There is much debate in the foreign policy literature as to the nature
of the decision-making process and the importance of structures, insti-
tutions, and individuals and their relationship to each other. Realism
assumes that state behavior is determined by the pursuit of national
interests and security, bounded by power relative to other states. 53
Neorealists, likewise, believe that all states, regardless of domestic fac-
tors, follow signals sent by the international system, under the general
conditions of anarchy. 54 Rational actor theories, which are similar to
realism in highlighting the importance of structure, assume that
foreign policy outcomes are the result of choosing the best option
based on a prescribed set of criteria (although not necessarily national
interests or security). Such models, like realism, assume unitary
governmental decision-making with a high degree of control over