戰爭傳播不致於為學者所忽略，只是僅擁有「邊緣」處境。為了縱貫歷史的演變，本研究採用文獻分析法，從「克力斯瑪（charisma）」、「傳播科技」及「媒體在戰爭的角色」三層面分別切入，以期明瞭西方戰爭傳播大略的歷史過程。克力斯瑪如亞歷山大、漢尼拔、凱撒、拿破崙、亨利．都鐸、亨利八世、俾斯麥、希特勒等人，是人類社會的偶發，但這樣的英雄式權威，往往是腥風血雨的時代，更是探論戰爭傳播的重要因素。從傳播科技進展來作探討，媒體的形式雖隨科技發展而變化，則可劃分為平面媒體戰爭、廣播戰爭、電視戰爭、衛星與有線電視戰爭，以及電視直播戰爭與網際網路戰爭等5個階段。從西方媒體在戰爭過程中所扮演的角色，以及其與政府或軍隊的關係來看，則可見到8種類型：（一）媒體是戰爭中的缺席者；（二）媒體作為戰爭報導的批評者；（三）媒體在戰爭中介入軍事決策；（四）媒體是革命的工具；（五）媒體被政府用作戰爭宣傳的工具；（六）媒體作為民意引導者與塑造者；（七）媒體成為外交談判與危機處理的輔助管道；（八）媒體成為軍隊中的一部分。其中除第一種外，其它7種類型均可明顯見到傳播對戰爭的重要價值。

Warfare communication is not neglected by scholars, but marginalized. From a holistic historical perspective, this research adopts a document analysis approach and goes through three facets from “charisma,” “communication technology,” to “the role the media play in the war.”Charisma is a fortuity in human society, but heroic authority usually happens in a bloody era and is an important factor in discussing warfare communication. Along with the development of communication technology, the war of the media can be divided into five phases：war of the print media, war of broadcasting, war of television, war of satellite, and war of cable television.There are eight types of the role that western media play in the process of war: 1.bystanders of war 2.critics in the warfare report 3.interveners in the warfare decision 4.tools of revolution 5.propagandistic tools for war by government 6. guides or molders of public opinion 7.supplementary channels of diplomatic negotiation and crisis management 8.part of the army. Except for the first type, the other seven types clearly manifest the importance of communication during the war.