Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Institutionalization and Implosion of Communication for Development and Social Change in Spain: A Case Study

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of Communication for Development and Social Change

  • 2047 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter offers an overview of the institutionalization of the academic field of communication for development and social change (CDSC) in Spain in the twenty-first century, following a period of neglect and marginalization. The ongoing expansion of this field in the Spanish context is understood as a process of implosion, i.e., an inward collapse deriving from the inconsistencies and weaknesses of its tardy and hasty institutionalization.

A triple methodological approach has been implemented in this case study: (a) an historiographical analysis of the field of the CDSC in Spain, (b) a bibliometric analysis of the papers published on this subject in the main Spanish journals between 2000 and 2015, and (c) four significant and relevant Spanish case studies in this regard.

The results of this research basically point to (1) a late consolidation of the field in Spain, which has led to its implosion during its expansion and institutionalization stage (2011–to date); (2) a marginal production of scientific papers in comparison with the general academic production in the field of communication in Spain; (3) a certain subsidiarity in other more closely related fields (e.g., education for development) which has covered existing gaps and lacunas; (4) the fundamental role played by Spanish community radio; and (5) the potential of virtual communication spaces such as those deriving from the experience of the “Indignados” or 15-M movement (2011).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 449.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 549.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Acosta A (2011) Buen Vivir: Today’s tomorrow. Development 54(4):441–447

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baran P (1957) The political economy of growth. Monthly Review Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Barbas Á, Postill J (2017) Communication activism as a School of Politics: lessons from Spain’s indignados movement. J Commun 67(5):646–664

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beltrán LR (1980) A farewell to Aristotle: horizontal communication. Communication 5(1):5–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Cardoso FH, Faletto E (1979) Dependency and development in Latin America. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Castoriadis C (1987) The imaginary institution of society. MIT Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Coldevin G (1986) Evaluation in rural development communications. A case study from West Africa. Media Educ Dev 19(3):112–118

    Google Scholar 

  • Coldevin G (2008) Making a difference through development communication: some evidence-based results from FAO field projects. In: Servaes J (ed) Communication for development and social change. Sage, London, pp 232–253

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • De Certeau M (1984) The practice of everyday life. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Díaz Bordenave J (1976) Communication of agricultural innovations in Latin-America: need for new models. Commun Res 3(2):135–154

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenhardt KM (1989) Building theories from case study research. Acad Manag Rev 14(4):532–550

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Enghel F (2011) Communication, development and social change: future alternatives. Presented at the ICA congress, 26–30 May 2011, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Erlandson D (1993) Doing naturalistic inquiry: a guide to methods. Sage, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Erro J (2003) Comunicación, desarrollo y ONGD. Hegoa. Bilbao, España

    Google Scholar 

  • Erro J (2004) El trabajo de comunicación en las ONGD del País Vasco. Hegoa. Bilbao, España

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire P (1970) Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Gumucio-Dagron A (2001) Making waves. Stories of participatory communication for social change. The Rockefeller Foundation, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Gumucio-Dagron A, Tufte T (eds) (2006) Communication for social change anthology: historical and contemporary readings. Communication for Social Change Consortium, South Orange

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamelink C (2000) The ethics of cyberspace. Sage, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Jiménez M, Arriola J (2016) Cómo se concibe el desarrollo económico y social en los textos de C4D en España. Communication presented at the international conference on regional science, “Treinta años de integración en Europa desde la perspectiva regional: balance y nuevos retos”, 16–18 Nov 2016 (Santiago de Compostela, Spain) [How economic and social development are conceived in C4D texts in Spain]

    Google Scholar 

  • Latouche S (2010) Farewell to growth. Polity Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Lennie J, Tacchi J (2013) Evaluating communication for development. A framework for social change. Routledge, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lie R, Servaes J (2015) Disciplines in the field of communication for development and social change. Commun Theory 25(2):244–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marí VM (2005) Communication, networks and social change. In: Gumucio-Dagron A, Tufte T (eds) Communication for social change anthology. Historical and contemporary readings. Communication for Social Change Consortium, South Orange, pp 1009–1014

    Google Scholar 

  • Marí, V and Ceballos G (2015) Bibliometric analysis of the articles published in ‘communication, development and social change’ in the top ten journals of communication in Spain. Cuadernos.info 37:201–212

    Google Scholar 

  • Martínez-Nicolás M, Saperas E (2016) Research focus and methodological features in the recent Spanish communication studies (2008–2014): an analysis of the papers published in Spanish specialized journals. Rev Lat Comun Soc 71:1365–1384

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald K, Tipton T (1993) Using documents. Sage, London

    Google Scholar 

  • McQuail D (1994) Mass communication theory. An introduction. Sage, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills W (1959) The sociological imagination. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Rist G (2008) The history of development: from western origins to global faith. Zed Books, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruiz Olabuénaga, José e ispizua, María Antonia (1989) La decodificación de la vida cotidiana: Métodos de Investigación Cualitativa. Bilbao: Publicaciones Universidad de Deusto

    Google Scholar 

  • Sáez VMM (2016) Communication, development, and social change in Spain: a field between institutionalization and implosion. Int Commun Gaz 78(5):469–486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Servaes J (2002) Approaches to development communication. UNESCO, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Servaes (2008) (ed.) Communication for development and social change. Sage, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Servaes J, Polk E, Shi S, Reilly D, Yakupitijage T (2012) Towards a framework of sustainability indicators for “communication for development and social change” projects. Int Commun Gaz 74(2):99–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snow DA, Trom D (2002) The case study and the study of social movements. In: Klandermans B, Straggenborg S (eds) Methods of social movement research. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, pp 146–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Stake RE (1995) The art of case study research. Sage, Thousand Oaks

    Google Scholar 

  • Tufte T (2017) Communication and social change. A citizen perspective. Polity Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Valles Martínez MS (1999) Técnicas cualitativas de investigación social: reflexión metodológica y práctica profesional. Síntesis, Madrid

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkins KG, Enghe F (2013) The privatization of development through global communication industries: living proof? Media Cult Soc 35(2):165–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yin RK (2009) Case study research: design and methods. Sage, London

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This chapter forms part of the R&D project “Evaluación y monitorización de la Comunicación para el Desarrollo y el Cambio Social en España” (MINECO, España) (CSO2014-52005-R) (2015-2017), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competition.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Communication and Social Sciences, Universidad de Cádiz, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain

    Víctor Manuel Marí Sáez

Authors
  1. Víctor Manuel Marí Sáez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Víctor Manuel Marí Sáez .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Media and Communication, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Jan Servaes

List of Pertinent Authors and Universities Publishing Papers on CDSC in the Top Ten Spanish Journals During the Period 2000–2015

List of Pertinent Authors and Universities Publishing Papers on CDSC in the Top Ten Spanish Journals During the Period 2000–2015

Journal

Author

University

Vol.

Year

1. Revista Comunicar

Thomas Tufte

University of Copenhagen, Denmark

26

2006

2. Revista Comunicar

Alejandro Barranquero Carretero

University of Malaga (UMA)

29

2007

3. Revista Comunicar

Sherri H. Culver, Thomas Jacobson

University of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

39

2012

4. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social

Francisco Sierra Caballero

University of Seville (US)

26

2000

5. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social

Chiara Sáez Baeza

Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)

64

2009

6. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social

Txema Ramírez de la Piscina Martínez

University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)

65

2010

7. Telos. Cuadernos de Comunicación en Innovación

José Marques de Melo

Methodist University of São Paulo, Brazil

51

2002

8. Telos. Cuadernos de Comunicación en Innovación

Luis Ramiro Beltrán Salmón

Researcher, Bolivia

72

2007

9. Telos. Cuadernos de Comunicación en Innovación

Manuel Chaparro Escudero

University of Malaga (UMA)

74

2008

10. Telos. Cuadernos de Comunicación en Innovación

Manuel Chaparro Escudero

University of Malaga (UMA)

81

2009

11. Telos. Cuadernos de Comunicación en Innovación

Manuel Chaparro Escudero

University of Malaga (UMA)

94

2013

12. Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación

Jan Servaes

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA

17

2012

13. Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación

Ana Fernández Viso

Institute of Communication – Autonomous University of Barcelona (InCom-UAB)

17

2012

14. Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación

Alejandro Barranquero Carretero

Charles III University (UC3M), Madrid

17

2012

15. Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación

Raquel Martínez-Gómez, Pinar Agudiez Calvo

Complutense University of Madrid (UCM)

17

2012

16. Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación

María Cruz Alvarado López

University of Valladolid (UVa)

17

2012

17. Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación

Eloísa Nos, Luís Amador Iranzo Montés, Alessandra Farné

Institute of Social Development and Peace (IUDESP) – Jaume I University (UJI), Castellón

17

2012

18. Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación

Julio César Herrero, Ana Toledo Chávarri

Camilo José Cela University (UCJC), Madrid

17

2012

19. Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación

Isidoro Arroyo

Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC), Madrid

18

2013

20. Revista de Estudios en Comunicación ZER

Víctor Marí

University of Cadiz (UCA)

22

2007

21. Revista Ámbitos

Francisco Collado Campaña

Pablo de Olavide University (UPO), Seville

17

2008

22. Revista Comunicación Sociedad

Summer Harlow, Dustin Harp

University of Texas at Austin, School of Journalism; University of Texas at Arlington, Department of Communication

26

2013

23. Revista Estudio del Mensaje Periodístico

María José Gámez Fuentes, Eloísa Nos Aldás

Jaume I University (UJI), Castellón

18

2012

24. Revista Estudio del Mensaje Periodístico

Concepción Travesedo de Castilla

University of Malaga (UMA)

19

2013

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Marí Sáez, V.M. (2020). Institutionalization and Implosion of Communication for Development and Social Change in Spain: A Case Study. In: Servaes, J. (eds) Handbook of Communication for Development and Social Change. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2014-3_65

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation