Strategic Communication, Manufacturing of Narratives and India–ASEAN Relations: A Critical Study of the Framework of ASEAN Media

About the Book

In a world where perception dictates power, the book Strategic Communication, Manufacturing of Narratives and India–ASEAN Relations uncovers the hidden architecture of influence shaping Southeast Asia. This critical study deconstructs how ASEAN media “re-presents” India, revealing a systemic “visibility without intimacy” that reduces a complex civilization to a mere geopolitical utility. By exposing the “information colonialism” of Western wire services and the calculated editorial logics of regional states, the work challenges the very foundations of contemporary diplomacy. It is an essential roadmap for understanding the battle for narrative autonomy in the Southeast Asia.

Author The Author

Dr. Om Prakash Das is a Research Fellow at the Southeast Asia and Oceania Centre of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. His research primarily focuses on Southeast Asia, with particular emphasis on Myanmar. In addition, Dr. Das’s work engages with issues related to the Information Ecosystem, International & Strategic Communication and Misinformation. He has published extensively in academic journals and policy-oriented platforms, including the occasional paper How ASEAN Media Portrays India and the Hindi monograph म्यांमार: तलाश एक समावेशी राजनीतिक तंत्र की. Dr. Das holds a Ph.D. and an M.Phil. in Media Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University. He has also completed a postgraduate diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. With more than eighteen years of professional experience in television journalism and reporting from over ten countries, Dr. Das consistently integrates rigorous academic inquiry with substantial practical expertise in his research and writing.

Contents
	Introduction
1	Strategic Communication and the Manufacturing of Narratives
	• Changing Dynamics of Strategic Communication
	• Strategic Communication: It Works in a System!
	• Manufacturing of Narratives
2	Strategic Communication and News Media
	• Strategic Communication, Media System and Values
	• Role of Media in Shaping International Narratives
	• Media’s Centrality in State Strategic Communication and Information Environments
	• Strategic Communication in the Digital World: A Disruption
3	Strategic Communication, Structural Imperatives and the Political Economy of Media
	• The Contested Information Landscape in Geopolitics
	• Media Systems and the Politics of Strategic Messaging
	• The Nexus: Political Economy of Media’s Influence on Strategic Communication Efficacy
	• Technological Transformation and the Evolving Geopolitical Information Environment
	• Regulatory Frameworks, Censorship and the Battle for Information Control
4	Strategic Communication and the Dynamics of News Media
	• Understanding the ‘Sources of News’
	• The Interplay of News and Source: A Critical Relationship
	• Navigating the Global Information Landscape
	• Western News Agencies and Structural Imperatives
	• Reporting Patterns and Framing of the Global South
	• Consequences of Western News Subscription in Developing Countries
5	Framework of ASEAN Media: Political Economy Perspective
	• Media in Indonesia
	• Media in Malaysia
	• Media in Thailand
	• Media in Singapore
	• Media in the Philippines
6	India in ASEAN Media: Study of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines
	• India in ASEAN Media: Study of Indonesia
	• India in ASEAN Media: Study of Malaysia
	• India in ASEAN Media: Study of Thailand
	• India in ASEAN Media: Study of Singapore
	• India in ASEAN Media: Study of the Philippines
7	Decoding India’s News Coverage in ASEAN Media: Framing of the Narrative
	• India’s Portrayal, News Sentiment and the Manufacturing of Narrative
	• Interpreting Projected Sentiment
	• Deconstructing Sentiment Polarity
	• Structural Asymmetries in the Communication Ecosystem
	• Strategic Divergences in Narrative Framing and News Dissemination
8	Curated Narratives: External Dependency and the Strategic Framing of India’s Image in Southeast Asia
	• Implications for Epistemic Sovereignty, Credibility and Strategy
	• News Sourcing and Prioritisation within Bilateral Frameworks
	• Statecraft and Media Governance: Ownership, Regulation and Strategic Communication
	• Structural Constraints and India’s Framing in Southeast Asian Media
	• Normative Logics of ASEAN News Frameworks
9	India’s Media Portrayal through Strategic Communication Framework
	• Contextualising India’s Media Portrayal in ASEAN
	• Strategic Narratives and Media’s Discursive Role
	• Structural Realities and Media Ecosystem
	• A Dichotomy of Perception
	• India’s Media Ecosystem and Institutional Limits
10	Conclusion and Recommendations
	• Editorial Logics and Foreign Policy Alignment