The emergence of radio introduced profound changes in public communication, changing patterns of information dissemination at local, national and international levels. In the case of the Imperial nations this role was extended overseas with radio becoming the most important medium for uniting the home countries with the expats living in the far reaches of the empires, though not unproblematically.
A growing body of literature on the history of imperial and colonial broadcasting, as well as of sound, have been contributing to the understanding of the role of radio technologies, broadcasting and music in the 20th century in forging audible and sonorous empires. However, the ways in which different imperial countries used radio to create a sense of nation and colonial identities among those living in different geographies remains an open question. On the other hand, in the last decades works dealing with the media during decolonization have called attention to the significant role played by the audio medium in promoting independence from colonial powers and giving visibility to forms of culture that would become part of national identities of the new-born countries. What research has also revealed is that much is still to be understood about the relation between radio and decolonization practices and processes. Thus, this special issue seeks to publish manuscripts dealing with how broadcasting was incorporated and appropriated within different colonial and decolonial settings.
