Vertical Communication in Hierarchical Societies : The Khmer Rouge Model

Sammanfattning: This project employs qualitative content analysis (QCA) and secondary data to examine howNyamnjoh’s (2016, p. 25-29) analysis of vertical communication processes in hierarchical societies explains the social hierarchy and communication processes that manifested in Democratic Kampuchea (DK) under the rule of the Khmer Rouge (KR) between 1975-1979. This study argues that although Nyamnjoh’s analysis does not capture the complexity ofDemocratic Kampuchea’s (DK) social hierarchy and communication processes in terms of the outright replacement of one hierarchy by another, the negotiation of meaning, and the circularity of power, it is still effective in explaining the power dynamics, representation practices, andsocial communication processes of the Khmer Rouge (KR) leadership in Democratic Kampuchea (DK) and similar contexts of vertical communication processes in hierarchical societies.