Political communication of the Lao PDR’s government on the political role of women as expressed via Mae Ying Lao newspaper and Sao Lao magazine during 1975 – 2010

Abstract

Communication is an important instrument that government organizations employ to generate political gains and substantiate political legitimacy. Throughout history, political communication has evolved in different percepts and methods, depending on their corresponding eras. In each period, the definition of values which passed on from leaders to followers took different metaphors, depending on the social context of each period. Customs, traditions, social practices, and the political regime of the period were the factors that characterized such value. In the case of Laos (Lao People's Democratic Republic), during the past 50 years, political change has greatly affected traditional beliefs, especially the relationship between genders and their roles in society. The government of Lao PDR has established and defined the roles of women and men through political communication, from the national level to the regional, provincial, city, and local levels. Such political communication was based on the Totalitarian Theory which has been adopted by the communist socialist regimes in Laos and Vietnam. The Communist Party of these countries regulates the communication mechanism in order to ensure that the state’s interests were appropriately addressed. Therefore, the political communication of the Lao PDR on the political role of women has been orchestrated to convey the anticipated developmental success by utilizing the nation-building concept which stated that the nation was mutually created through cooperation between women and men. The emphasis was placed on gender roles in various sectors, from the inception of the communist regime in 1975 until the present day.