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Introduction
David Miller is Professor of Sociology at the University of Bath. His research interests mainly revolve around the role of communication in the constitution and reproduction of power relations.
Additional affiliations
June 2004 - December 2011
Publications
Publications (63)
Update on the OPCW's investigation of the Douma incident includes details of scientific and procedural irregularities
In this article, we propose a sociological model for the assessment of ethics in research on conflict and terrorism. We move beyond the rather narrow, procedural approaches that currently dominate contemporary discussion, seeking to broaden ethical considerations to include questions of social power, academic freedom, and the politics of knowledge...
Briefing Note Detailing Fraud at the OPCW During the Douma alleged chemical weapon attack investigation.
This article calls for more understanding of the ethical challenges and dilemmas that arise as a result of state involvement in academic research on ‘terrorism’ and ‘extremism’. It suggests that researchers and research institutions need to be more attentive to the possibilities of co-option, compromise, conflict of interests and other ethical issu...
Briefing note from the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media
For many scholars the issues of propaganda and deception have been largely taboo subjects. There is only fleeting attention to deception from political scientists whilst communication scholars pay minimal attention to the issue of propaganda. And yet we live in an age in which debates about deception and propaganda are prevalent. Recent angst over...
Briefing Note regarding the Integrity Initiative
A core problem of the contemporary fake news phenomenon is that professional persuaders and influencers have engaged in propaganda for so long that many people
no longer trust mainstream news to communicate truthful and accurate information. We
therefore need professional persuaders and influencers to develop less propagandistic modes of persuasion...
In 2013, illegal drug use was responsible for 1.8% of years of life lost in the European Union, alcohol was responsible for 8.2% and tobacco for 18.2%, imposing economic burdens in excess of 2.5% of GDP. No single European country has optimal governance structures for reducing the harm done by nicotine, illegal drugs and alcohol, and existing ones...
This chapter provides an introduction to propaganda in relation to war and conflict. We start by outlining the importance of these activities to the contemporary generation of policymakers and noting also the relevance and significance of deception as a political strategy. We then map three distinct areas in which propaganda plays a key role in con...
In this concluding chapter we return to the sociological imagination and consider the practical effects of changes in the role and status of sociology and how the discipline has been affected by the political economy of higher education. We look in turn at the marketisation of the academy, and at the threat these changes pose to job security and st...
In the light of broad trends to hold lobbyists accountable by voluntary or mandatory means this practice piece reviews the United Kingdom experience of lobbying self-regulation. It suggests that there are key problems with the hitherto default self-regulatory model, and that the status quo is likely to change. Over the last few years, and spanning...
The articles in this special issue are drawn from papers presented at a conference held to mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The conference, entitled A Decade of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism since 9/11: Taking Stock and New Directions in Research and Policy, was organised by the Critical Studies on Terrorism Working Group of...
Chapter 5 in Des Freedman and Daya Kishan Thussu (2012) (Eds) Media and Terrorism: Global Perspectives, Sage.
This article presents some of the findings of research on issues surrounding teaching terrorism and political violence at UK higher education institutions. It reports the results of a survey of UK institutions of higher education on their responses to government and other pressures in relation to terrorism. The data show a minority of universities...
This paper introduces this themed issue of Critical Social Policy on the question of corporate power. Corporate power is recognized as an important agent in social policy making and delivery. However, to date there has been comparatively little attention to the crucial role that lobbying and corporate ‘spin’ play in helping to shape policy making c...
This article examines two industry sectors — those making and selling fast food and alcoholic beverages or associated products. We examine their role in influencing policy and decision making on the regulation of their products for health reasons. We argue that the food and alcohol industries engage in a very wide range of tactics and strategies to...
In this paper the authors draw upon the tradition of Power Structure Research to analyse the increased interpenetration of the military and the social sciences, particularly the recruitment of anthropologists and the adoption and adaptation of counterinsurgency strategies. It is argued that such actors should be understood not as disinterested ‘exp...
The Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC) is an “independent, non-profit organisation”1 that says it carries out “balanced, calm and thoughtful”2 research on lifestyle issues such as drinking, diet, and pharmaceuticals. However, it may be perceived that the company acts more like a public relations agency for the corporations that fund its activitie...
Academic writing on ‘terrorism’ and the availability to the mainstream media and policy-makers of terror ‘experts’ have increased exponentially since 11 September 2001. This paper examines the rise of terror expertise and its use in one particular public arena – the mainstream news media. Using a combination of citation analysis and media analysis,...
Corrupting the rules of the game: lobbying and regulatory and policy capture. The author shows how it was possible that lobbying became a major practice in the last years. He sees a direct link between the rise of lobbying and the rise o neoliberal thought. Furthermore he shows the different channels which are used by lobbyists to steer politics. H...
Of all the nations of Western Europe lobbying is the most developed in Britain. For this reason the story of how lobbying has infiltrated the corridors of power in the UK is of particular interest. This paper examines the rise and contemporary practice of lobbying in the UK. The industry today faces a number of challenges not least of which are que...
This paper provides a critique of attempts in the field of political communication to explain apparent voter apathy and declining electoral turnout. The response of many commentators is either to blame the media for the problem or to see the media as the solution to any problem that might exist. First, the paper examines the ‘blame the media’ schoo...
Universities and the academic community have been largely silenced as a source of dissent and independent critical thought. Why has this happened? What can we do about it? The rot set in with the release of the free market in Britain throughout the 1980s; publicly owned assets were privatised, unions attacked and the financial markets were deregula...
Public relations is politically and economically more important than ever. This article charts the growth of the PR industry in Britain since 1979. It sets out the major reasons for its growth and outlines some of the political and economic impacts of the expansion on the PR consultancy sector in Britain. In particular it focuses on the `tilt to th...
This article examines the role of definitional struggles in the science policy interface using the example of the cattle disease bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease in the UK. A central contention is that an explicit focus on definition illuminates the processes by which scientific judgements are made, promoted, communicated,...
This article examines British television news coverage of the Irish peace process from its public emergence in 1993 up to mid-1994. The analysis is undertaken in the context of the promotional strategies of the protagonists—especially those of the British government—and assesses their significance for understanding the role of the media in relation...
In 1993 a paper in the prestigious scientific journal Science announced the discovery of a linkage between genetics and male homosexuality. The linkage was promptly dubbed the `gay gene' by the media, and the paper was widely reported. This article examines the reporting of the `gay gene' in the British press and television news, and compares it wi...
L'article analyse la notion d'information primaire et identifie trois limites majeures potentielles a la credibilite des sources officielles : la division au sein des organisations (division personnelle, professionnelle et politique), leurs differents niveaux de cooperation et de competition, l'impact des valeurs nouvelles. Etude du cas particulier...
Academic writing on 'terrorism' and the availability to the mainstream media and policy makers of terror 'experts' have increased exponentially since 11 September 2001. This paper examines the rise of terror expertise and its use in one particular public arena – that of the mainstream news media. Using a combination of citation analysis and media a...
2001, Open Scotland? Journalists, Spin Doctors and Lobbyists, ISBN 1902930282, pb, £14.99, Polygon at Edinburgh, 312pp Most Ministers of my acquaintance spend much of their time in an honourable lather of indecision. They fret privately about the consequences of their announcements, their expenditure choices. They worry about the wording. They agon...
Embedded journalists are the greatest PR coup of this war. Dreamt up by the Pentagon and Donald Rumsfeld the 'embeds', as they are now routinely described, are almost completely controlled by the military. Embeds as is now well known agree to give up most of their autonomy in exchange for access to the fighting on military terms. They also gain the...
The situation in relation to freedom of expression in Northern Ireland has improved markedly as a result of the peace process. The most obvious sign of this is the lifting of the broadcasting ban on Sinn Fein and ten other organisations after the first IRA ceasefire in 1994. But there have been marked improvements elsewhere as well. One of the key...
