Examining the evolution of national Arab media and its interplay with political change, particularly in emerging democracies in the context of the Arab uprisings, this research addresses the role played by traditional national media in consolidating emerging democracies or in exacerbating their fragility within new political contexts. Also analyzed are the ways journalists report about politics and transformations of these media industries, drawing on the international experiences of media in transitional societies
The Tunisian political transition has succeeded in building a working, yet fragile governance beyond ideological and political divides. Political debate across media platforms has become open and dynamic, but the media–politics nexus thrives within a complex system of clientelism forged on shifting alliances between politicians and business tycoons, including recapture by agents of the former regime. The media–politics interplay is taking competitive and antagonistic forms, effectively exacerbating polarized conflicts. This paper reflects on the notions of hybrid media systems, agonistic pluralism, and civic culture, based on data collected in a focus group conducted in Tunis in May 2019 that brought together representatives from media, politics, and civil society complemented by interviews with leading journalists and media stakeholders. This paper argues that the relationship between media and politics is interdependent and marked by confrontation and adaption; the uncertainty of the transition is leading to a complex and volatile power struggle in which neither media nor politics have the upper hand in defining the terms of the game. This ambivalent relationship, taking place within a new system of clientelism, has had a mixed outcome on the process of democratic consolidation.
Independent news websites and press played a vital role in creating spaces of contention in the context of the Moroccan pro-democracy movement of 2011. This article looks at the role of this press in disseminating alternative narratives in the hybrid media and political environment that followed the pro-democracy movement. Based on extensive interviews with journalists, this article examines journalists' practices in countering hegemonic media and political discourse, to understand how they contribute to—or hinder—the formation of counter publics under tough repression. The article uses the critical frameworks of dominant and counter-publics and Judith Butler's concept of silencing.
The blood of Egyptian Copts on the streets of central Cairo on 9 October 2011 could be accurately described as the first major set-back for the Arab Spring. Preserving the rights of minorities as full citizens in the face of long-standing persecution and neglect is a pressing challenge for the Arab revolutions. However, the dilemma of the rights of Christian minorities within the Arab world is a historical one, deeply rooted in a complex interplay of social, economic and political factors predating the Arab Spring and its unpredicted implications. The growing signs of a radical Islam empowered by the loosening grip of Arab dictatorships raise concerns that go beyond the question of security and political representation for minorities. There is a bitter race between, on the one hand, secular forces weakened both by the absence of any previous organisational cadres and by the misuse of secularism by nationalist Arab regimes and, on the other, religious forces that are pushing forcefully for further overlap between religion and the state. As the results of the first free elections in Tunisia demonstrate the popularity of Islamism in the midst of entrenched secular countries, it is clear that the battle between the two trends is an unequal one.
Intro -- Acknowledgements -- 1. Introduction. The Arab Uprisings: Micro-Dynamics of Activism and Revolt between Change and Continuity-Fatima El-Issawi and Francesco Cavatorta -- Contents -- Part 1: Paths to Success, Paths to Failure: Democratic Transitions after the Arab Uprisings -- 2. The Democratic Transition in Tunisia: Three Keys to Understanding a Success Story-Nidhal Mekki -- 3. Post-2013 Egypt: On Delegitimising Democratic Demands-Amr Hamzawy -- 4. Syria: Causes and Consequences of the Popular Uprising-Salam Kawakibi -- 5. Libya: The Altered Resource Competition-Amir Magdy Kamel -- 6. The Moroccan Spring is Back: The Rif Hirak-Maati Monjib -- 7. Algeria -- or, The Limits of the Democratic Facade-Lahouari Addi -- Part 2: Dynamics of Change and Dynamics of Continuity: Social Transformations after the Uprisings -- 8. Guardians of Change-George Joffé -- 9. Politics: The Mainstream, the Marginal and the Alternative-Sarah Yerkes -- 10. Youth Activism and the Politics of 'Mediapreneurship': The Effects of Political Efficacy and Empowerment on Mediated Norm Conveyance in Tunisia and Morocco-Roxane Farmanfarmaian -- 11. Judicial Activism, Women's Rights and Cultural Change in Post-Uprising Tunisia-Amel Mili -- 12. The Secular-Islamist Divide in Tunisia: Myth or Reality?-Alessandra Bonci -- Contributors.
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