The communicative state of states

This chapter offers a brief overview of communication systems around the world, situating the three regions and seven countries of the Peoples' Internet study on a technological and institutional map of the world. It reviews and relates two key strands of previous research on communication systems as technological and institutional structures. The chapter presents the data sets and analytical approaches to arrive at an overview of current global infrastructures of communication. The interpretation of findings on their uses and users, as well as an evaluation of their implications for social participation and human quality of life, depends on contexts. The chapter also presents the findings from the empirical analyses and considers their implications for further research and policy debate. It summarizes the current state of communication systems, noting, as well, ongoing geopolitical contestations of what communication systems could be and ought to become. All technologically mediated communication depends crucially on material and immaterial resources – wealth and knowledge.