"This paper focuses on post-September 11, 2001 media assistance in Afghanistan at the confluence of the development and defense sectors, otherwise known as the security-development nexus. It is out of this nexus that a burgeoning press-state system developed amid an ongoing conflict between the Gove
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rnment of Afghanistan and an insurgency. What role then has the new media environment played in the campaign to win “hearts and minds” in Afghanistan since 2001 and how has this environment been shaped by the media assistance effort? This paper suggests the media assistance effort has created a new battlefield between the state and the insurgency, one in which both sides are making an argument to the people as the legitimate governing authority of the country. The argument is addressed from the state’s perspective by a qualitative review of two case studies. The first case analyzes the rise of a free and independent press over the past 15 years, which reveals a still-professionalizing media industry under threat from the insurgency, corrupt government officials, and economic pressures. The second case analyzes the role of the Government Media and Information Center (GMIC) and the network of small, regional media and information centers across the country. The GMIC network, despite unreliable funding and an evolving mission, has achieved mixed results in providing a credible voice of the government in the battle for the narrative against the Taliban. Together, the two cases reveal a successful intervention of media assistance, but an uncertain future for both sides of the press-state system." (Abstract)
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"Why has the US so dramatically failed in Afghanistan since 2001? Dominant explanations have ignored the bureaucratic divisions and personality conflicts inside the US state. This book rectifies this weakness in commentary on Afghanistan by exploring the significant role of these divisions in the US
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’s difficulties in the country that meant the battle was virtually lost before it even began. The main objective of the book is to deepen readers’ understanding of the impact of bureaucratic politics on nation-building in Afghanistan, focusing primarily on the Bush administration. It rejects the ‘rational actor’ model, according to which the US functions as a coherent, monolithic agent. Instead, internal divisions within the foreign policy bureaucracy are explored, to build up a picture of the internal tensions and contradictions that bedevilled US nation-building efforts. The book also contributes to the vexed issue of whether or not the US should engage in nation-building at all, and if so under what conditions." (Publisher description)
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"Kefa Hamidi hat unter den weiterhin komplizierten Bedingungen in Afghanistan fast 200 Journalistinnen und Journalisten zu ihrem beruflichen Rollenselbstverständnis befragt und die Ergebnisse mit Befragungen aus Industrie- und Entwicklungsländern verglichen. Zudem hat er afghanische Medien daraufh
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in analysiert, inwiefern dieses Selbstverständnis in die Realität umgesetzt wird. Gerahmt werden die Ergebnisse von einer umfangreichen Bestandsaufnahme des afghanischen Gesellschafts- und Mediensystems, das stark von religiösen Werten geprägt ist." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Afghan journalists face threats from all sides: government officials exploiting weak legal protections to intimidate reporters and editors to compel them not to cover controversial topics; the Taliban and other insurgent groups using threats and violence to compel reporting they consider favorable;
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and police and justice officials letting threats, assaults, and even murders go uninvestigated and unprosecuted. Most of the threats come from individuals acting on behalf of powerful government officials or influential local actors, including militia leaders and so-called warlords. Violent attacks on journalists that go uninvestigated and unpunished reflect wider impunity and failure to establish the rule of law in Afghanistan. Afghan journalists often respond to the dangers with self-censorship. Many steer clear of reporting on sensitive issues—including corruption, land grabbing, violence against women, and human rights abuses—as a means to minimize safety risks. Kabul-based editors often avoid assigning stories that could put their reporters at significant risk. Editors and journalists told Human Rights Watch that self-censorship has become a survival mechanism for them. Those outside of the country’s main cities are especially vulnerable to reprisals from powerful individuals and groups because they are more exposed: they lack the protection provided by a larger Afghan media and international presence. The cultural and social conservatism of the provinces also contributes to the difficulty of reporting on controversial issues outside of the capital. The Taliban and other insurgent groups remain a potent source of intimidation and violence against journalists and media outlets. When the insurgency first emerged in 2002, journalists were among its early targets because the insurgents treated journalists as extensions of the Afghan government or Western military forces. However, in recent years, the Taliban and other insurgent groups have used the media as a propaganda platform, and actively court the press in their campaign against the government, including by pressuring reporters to cover their statements or not write articles deemed critical, sometimes with threats of violence. Female journalists in Afghanistan face particularly formidable challenges. In addition to the dangers facing all journalists, they must contend with social and cultural restrictions arising from being Afghan women in the workplace, which limit their mobility in urban as well as rural areas, and increase their vulnerability to sexual violence." (Summary, page 1-2)
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"Over the last decade, Afghanistan has experienced the rise of a robust media sector. Programming fills the airwaves with everything from news to comedy, open debate to open audition, soap operas to police dramas to ABCs. Journalists, however, operate in a climate of fear and insecurity, under threa
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ts of reprisal and violence, with insufficient state support for freedom of the press. The National Unity Government’s pledge to promote good governance and fight corruption cannot succeed absent a free and independent media. President Ghani and CEO Abdullah’s campaign pledges to support freedom of speech and press freedom must be backed up by actions, including passage of a mass media law that protects freedom of speech and the personal safety of journalists." (Summary)
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"The Afghan media scene has experienced tremendous growth in the post-Taliban period, buoyed by international involvement and the passage of a series of laws lending some protection to journalists. Though Reporters Without Borders listed Afghanistan’s media environment 128 out of 179 countries in
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2014, 80.1% of Afghan adults overall say that they are satisfied with information provided by the media, including 34.0% who say they are “very satisfied." (Page 1)
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"Television remains the most popular medium in all provinces surveyed and among the different groups of respondents. It is also the most preferred source of information, followed by Radio. A great majority of the population watches TV on a daily basis. More than half of the population spends between
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1-2 hours a day in front of a television. Women are more likely to watch television on a daily basis, while men are more likely to spend more time in front of a television at one time. The use of internet is increasingly becoming popular in Afghanistan. It is a close second to television, but internet users are spending fewer hours a day online. Women politicians are found to be the most frequent users of internet. With television and internet dominating media use habits, radio is found to be falling in popularity among the population [...] When respondents were asked to rank the most important issue that women face in Afghanistan, discrimination (70%), male dominance (70%) and gender abuse (65%) were among the top five. While there was no differences among respondents on the importance of security; access to education (80%) and lack of family support (64%) ranked among the top five most important issues for women." (Executive summary)
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"In 2014, competition in the Afghan media sector has increased in order to attract diminishing advertising revenue. This has led to increased professionalization and a certain degree of segmentation with the introduction of specialist, niche channels. The pace of development of new outlets has slowe
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d, reflecting the challenging environment, and increasing competition: There is now an average of three TV channels created each year as opposed to the average of nine in 2010. The programming scene looks much like that of 2010, filled with news programming, drama series, entertainment programs and political debate, with the exception of the introduction of a significant level of sports programming. Production remains split between national production of a number of key genres, with a high level of internationally procured series, and movies, done so by a variety of means, largely illegal. Whilst there is an increasing desire for internal production, financial, social and political constraints continue to make this difficult. Among media users in the sample, 62% turn their TV on, and 32% turn their radio on at some point during the day, compared to 63% and 39% respectively last year." (Executive summary)
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"This volume explores the way governments endeavoured to build and maintain public support for the war in Afghanistan, combining new insights on the effects of strategic narratives with an exhaustive series of case studies. In contemporary wars, with public opinion impacting heavily on outcomes, str
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ategic narratives provide a grid for interpreting the why, what and how of the conflict. This book asks how public support for the deployment of military troops to Afghanistan was garnered, sustained or lost in thirteen contributing nations. Public attitudes in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe towards the use of military force were greatly shaped by the cohesiveness and content of the strategic narratives employed by national policy-makers. Assessing the ability of countries to craft a successful strategic narrative, the book addresses the following key areas: 1) how governments employ strategic narratives to gain public support; 2) how strategic narratives develop during the course of the conflict; 3) how these narratives are disseminated, framed and perceived through various media outlets; 4) how domestic audiences respond to strategic narratives; 5) how this interplay is conditioned by both events on the ground, in Afghanistan, and by structural elements of the domestic political systems." (Publisher description)
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"Afghanistan once housed tourists from around the world intrigued by the Silk Road stories, the poetic and mystic culture, the majestic landscape and the hospitable people. Their experience in Afghanistan was frequently captured through journalism and photojournalism of the early 1900s. However, Afg
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hanistan’s very own media culture was born during this same time with Seraj-ul-Akhbar being the country’s first newspaper, published on 11 January 1906." (Abstract)
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"Afghanistan had the highest rate of suffering in the world for 2013 and 2014. Those with a post-secondary education are the most avid media users for news overall. Highly educated Afghans were more likely to use TV, radio, Internet, SMS, and social media on a daily basis for news than other segment
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s of the population. Radio remains important but TV is the most popular platform and new media is still nascent. TV is dominant in the North due to availability of electricity." (Key takeaways, page 40)
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"From Tehran to Tahrir Square to Gezi Park-to mention only three key sites of protest made prominent in 2013-social media has been lauded as one of the key factors enabling popular uprisings and social movements. This has provided further hype for new or digital media, which were already being toute
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d as a tool for social change, liberation, and the representation of marginalized or oppressed voices. In this essay, I argue not against new media per se but against technological determinism and fetishism. I argue that the transformative or repressive potential of different media changes dramatically across different sites of research and depends on the sociopolitical realities of the region being studied, including factors such as censorship, access, and infrastructure. Drawing on my research in Afghanistan, Iran, and Tajikistan, among other neighboring countries, I show the striking differences in the degree of effectiveness and ineffectiveness of different media in bringing about social change in those respective countries as well as regionally. Comparatively speaking, I focus on television and social media's catalytic role in stirring popular uprisings and the subsequent backlash and attack on those media. I also examine the gendered dimensions and dangers of media use and activism. In the case of Afghanistan, I consider the impact of international and transnational funding of media and human rights efforts. I conclude that in order for international interventions into local social movements to succeed, international experts in development, human rights, and media must take the lead from local residents and contexts, technologically and culturally, and work collaboratively with them." (Abstract)
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"Examines how policymakers, the donor community, and the private sector have prioritized and sequenced ICT initiatives in the aftermath of conflict. Case studies look at countries at different stages of post-conflict reconstruction in Afghanistan, Liberia, Rwanda and Timor-Leste, and postrevolution
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in Tunisia. In addition, the report proposes a conceptual framework to understand how ICTs can contribute to improving service delivery and assisting with nation-building. The opening of the report gives an overview of the relationship between conflict, reconstruction, and the role of ICTs. It builds on experience within the Bank as well as on a wide range of practitioner, academic, and other literature. The second seeks to establish a framework for understanding the ways in which ICTs interact with societies in transition from violence to stability, and for leveraging their potential to further that transition. The roots of this lie in understanding two fields of study, policy and practice: analysis of conflict and post-conflict reconstruction, and analysis of ICTs and the development of an information society. three then analyses the relationship between these two fields and proposes a framework for analysis and policy development. The fourth makes a number of recommendations to the World Bank Group, to other donors and development actors, as well as to the governments of countries emerging from violent conflict, and suggests areas for further research." (Back cover)
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"The promotion of gender equality among journalists is a key objective of the SAMSN gender project going forward in 2014. The roundtables and the gender networking conference discussed strategies and campaigns that could address the issues faced by women in South Asia. The conference also put forwar
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d a common Gender Charter, from a charter adopted in Sri Lanka in 2006 that can clearly set out minimum standards, principles and actions needed to underpin gender equity in media and outline a practical program of action to support the achievement of equality in media workplaces, journalist organisations and the media itself." (Conclusion)
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"The ICT sector is one of few undeniable success stories in Afghanistan’s development over the past 12 years. In 2002, telecommunications services were virtually non-existent, restricted to a very small number of fixed-line connections and satellite communications were unaffordable to the general
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public. In 2014, four GSM operators and two fixed-line and code CDMA operators provide affordable access to telecommunications to 88% of the population, and about 3 million Afghans are connected to the Internet. This has been achieved thanks to commitments of national and international investors as well as a good public and private governance of the sector creating an enabling environment, including but not limited to policies, laws, and a transparent licensing regime." (Abstract)
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"Farida Nekzad leitet die Nachrichtenagentur Wakht in Afghanistan. Im Message-Interview erklärt sie, unter welchen Gefahr Journalistinnen in ihrem Land arbeiten und welche Medien Warlords bevorzugen." (Einleitung)
"This dissertation is a study about the growth and development of media in Afghanistan and its role and contribution to national and international collective efforts to build a modern, stable and democratic Afghanistan in the last decade. In pursuing my dissertation, I have examined the Afghan media
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landscape by focusing on the regulatory environment, the type and breadth of broadcast and print media, the role of donors and foreign aid and the extent to which media has a played a role in fostering democracy in the country. The dissertation concludes with analyzing the future of Afghan media and freedom of expression following the departure of foreign forces and international community at the end of 2014 and their impact on sustainability of media in light of support they have received from the outside world. The dissertation concludes that, while there are challenges ahead, Afghan media has benefited from a decade of foreign assistance, has contributed to fostering democracy in Afghanistan and can stand on its own with the decline of foreign aid to Afghanistan in the future." (Abstract)
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"This article analyzes the framing of Norwegian media coverage of the war against terror in Afghanistan with special emphasis on the coverage of the Norwegian military presence in Afghanistan. Norwegian forces became involved in a military intervention for the first time since the Second World War w
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hen ex-Yugoslavia was attacked in April 1999. At that time, Norway provided military support for the invasion and placed fighter planes and Norwegian pilots at the disposal of NATO. The war in Afghanistan represented an additional dimension, with Norwegian ground forces taking part in the hunt for al-Qaida fighters in the mountains of Afghanistan. The purpose of this article is to give a picture of Norwegian media coverage of the war in Afghanistan, with a special emphasis on the coverage of Norway's role in the conflict. As a small country with traditionally close relations to US, Norway had to balance, like many other small countries, between the need to uphold its traditional policy of complying with international law, and the desire to avoid provoking the USA with criticism and actions that could be regarded as disloyal and thus harm the bilateral relationship. This dilemma must also be seen as a problem for the mainstream media, which traditionally has been loyal to Norwegian security policy. Two main issues are discussed: 1. How was the start of the war covered in the media in October 2001? 2. In what context was the Norwegian military presence covered? The two newspapers analyzed are Aftenposten and VG. The choice of these two newspapers was made to include Norway's largest and potentially most influential morning paper (Aftenposten) and its largest tabloid, as well as largest newspaper (VG). Quantitative as well as qualitative methods are used to analyze the coverage. Both Aftenposten's and VG's coverage on the first day of the war in Afghanistan are dominated by pro-US framing and the use of Western sources. The pro-US framing is more obvious in Aftenposten than in VG. The editorial in VG was more unconditionally supportive than the editorial in Aftenposten. VG is also much clearer in its framing of Norway as a potential victim of future acts of terror. Norway's role as a potential military actor in the region is at this stage virtually absent in both newspapers. The legal aspects are mentioned in the two newspapers, though in a very superficial manner. Neither of the newspapers focuses on potential "hidden agendas" in their news coverage. No issue is made of the USA's potential global interests or the issue of controlling oil flows from the region. Aftenposten, in its coverage of an attack on a wedding party, treats this incident as "collateral damage" and in no way links it to Norway's military presence. Norway is simply a "loyal ally" receiving praise from the US for doing a "good job"." (Abstract)
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"Understanding how the British media has framed British aid efforts to Afghanistan is imperative to successfully campaign for continued public support for the long term development of the country. This is especially important given the scheduled troop withdrawal in 2014, which many commentators have
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cautioned is likely to result in a decrease in media interest on Afghanistan. This report investigates Afghanistan in the British print media from December 2008 to November 2013. Specifically, it focuses on the British print media’s portrayal of British aid efforts in Afghanistan in 2013. The report aims to provide the British and Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group (BAAG) with an understanding of the amount of coverage Afghanistan has received, how the British print media has framed British aid efforts in Afghanistan in 2013, the obstacles and influences that journalists face in reporting on Afghanistan, and how journalists perceive this narrative to unfold given the political developments ahead. The findings of this report are drawn from a Nexis UK search, a content analysis and interviews conducted with key journalists reporting on Afghanistan." (Executive summary)
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"Seit einigen Jahren zeigt das afghanische Fernsehen zahlreiche Krimis und Dokumentationen von Gerichtsprozessen. Sie werden von Afghanen produziert, aber aus dem Ausland finanziert, unter anderem von der Europäischen Kommission, den Vereinten Nationen und der US-amerikanischen Entwicklungsagentur
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USAID. Gegenwärtig laufen insgesamt sechs derartige Fernsehserien und vier Radioprogramme. Obwohl sie ernsthafte Absichten verfolgen, werden sie ohne viel Aufwand hergestellt; die Kampfszenen etwa werden in den Straßen von Kabul improvisiert. In Afghanistan galten in den vergangen zwanzig Jahren mindestens drei völlig unterschiedliche Rechtsordnungen; die staatlichen Behörden genießen wenig Vertrauen und nur wenige Leute wissen, wie eine moderne Justiz funktioniert. Deshalb sind diese Krimiserien hilfreich: Sie vermitteln wertvolle Informationen über die Funktionsweise von Gerichten, und sie machen den Afghanen bewusst, dass alle Bürger vor dem Gesetz gleich behandelt werden müssen. Der Erfolg dieser Produktionen stellt einige im Westen verbreitete Vorstellungen über Aufbau- und Entwicklungshilfe in Afghanistan und anderen kriegsgeschädigten Ländern in Frage. Zwar ist es nicht neu, Radio- und Fernsehsendungen in den Dienst der Entwicklungspolitik zu stellen. Das Kinderhilfswerk UNICEF verknüpft schon seit langem Aufklärung und Unterhaltung in seiner Arbeit: In Indien finanziert es Hörspiele, die zur Verbesserung der Gesundheit von Müttern und Kindern beitragen sollen; in Afrika unterstützt es mobile Kinos, die nach einem kurzen informativen Vorspann populäre Filme zeigen. In der Praxis spielen solche Projekte bei Impfkampagnen, in der Bildungsarbeit und bei der Verbesserung der Hygiene eine wichtige Rolle. Doch viele Organisationen, die mit öffentlichen Mitteln arbeiten, scheuen sich bisher, mit Hilfe von Unterhaltungssendungen Aufklärung zu betreiben." (Einleitung)
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