Abstract
Convergence is not only a widely used buzzword in the communications sector but also a helpful analytical concept. It represents a central developmental trend, comparable to liberalization and globalization, that shapes the course and transformation of European communications policy. At the same time, the analysis of European communications policy informs the understanding of convergence and its implications, in particular regarding an emerging common governance pattern for convergent markets. Moreover, embedded in a combined framework of co-evolution and complexity perspectives, the convergence concept also makes it possible to draw some general basic guidelines regarding future policies in convergent and increasingly complex communication environments. Such an analytical framework compensates for deficits in the convergence concept, which is strong in the analysis of the ‘old’ converging parts but weak in the explanation of the emerging ‘new’ forms triggered by the convergence process.
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Latzer, M. (2014). Convergence, Co-evolution and Complexity in European Communications Policy. In: Donders, K., Pauwels, C., Loisen, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of European Media Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137032195_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137032195_3
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