The origins of airpower in Palestine can be traced back to the interwar British Mandate. Understanding the development of airpower in Palestine is not only crucial for historians but also for scholars of media and communications as it reveals how modern communication technologies, often idealised through a Habermasian lens of dialogue and democracy, emerged from projects rooted in colonial governance and violence.
The dominant historical narrative often portrays communication networks as fostering democracy, freedom, and public discourse. These accounts, particularly those focused on the US and UK, tend to isolate the domestic histories of communication networks from their colonial functions. They emphasize their role in shaping public spheres at home while overlooking their use as instruments of empire. Our project challenges this narrative by investigating the colonial foundations and evolution of communication infrastructures, focusing on their entanglement with militarization, domination, and violence.
The origins of airpower in Palestine can be traced back to the interwar British Mandate. Understanding the development of airpower in Palestine is not only crucial for historians but also for scholars of media and communications as it reveals how modern communication technologies, often idealised through a Habermasian lens of dialogue and democracy, emerged from projects rooted in colonial governance and violence.
The dominant historical narrative often portrays communication networks as fostering democracy, freedom, and public discourse. These accounts, particularly those focused on the US and UK, tend to isolate the domestic histories of communication networks from their colonial functions. They emphasize their role in shaping public spheres at home while overlooking their use as instruments of empire. Our project challenges this narrative by investigating the colonial foundations and evolution of communication infrastructures, focusing on their entanglement with militarization, domination, and violence.