"This article develops the argument that blasphemy trials occupy a pivotal role in ‘religion-making’ in post-1998 Indonesia. Examining a blasphemy trial on the island of Lombok in 2010, I argue that the process of democratisation has given civilian actors more opportunity to engage Indonesia’s
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blasphemy law, a process analysed in terms of ‘lawfare’. Examining the interplay of legal regulation and the campaign against ‘deviant’ religion launched by conservative Muslim groups, the article tracks the affective consequences of this regulation, showing how the blasphemy law inspires civilians to investigate suspected cases of heresy. While blasphemy trials purportedly protect religion from insult and foster religious order, this article argues that religion lawfare breeds suspicion and divisions among citizens." (Abstract)
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"The insights in this study identify that we should not only deal with the whistleblowing concerns much further upstream, but we should also support whistleblowers much earlier in the process by ensuring that not only is the concern dealt with but that the individual who raised it is provided with t
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he necessary support and protection from the outset before any detrimental treatment or retaliatory action can take place. All of the whistleblowers interviewed for this study suggested that they had wanted their concern to be addressed and for it to be the end of the matter. Unfortunately, a chain of events, often led by retaliatory practices by their organisations, meant that the whistleblowers suffered, and continue to suffer unnecessarily. This highlights that whilst it is extremely important for states, and the European Union as a whole, to consider the implementation of whistleblower protection laws, we must not lose sight of the fact that we also need to educate and support organisations and society as a whole to treat whistleblowers better in the first place, thus removing the need for individuals to have to make a choice between not raising the concern and years of life-changing psychosocial, physical and familial consequences. For some jurisdictions and some organisations, supporting and handling whistleblowers from the outset of them raising their concerns will require a substantial shift in understanding towards a more inclusive and accepting response towards whistleblowers. Civil society and other actors working on whistleblowing can support this process by actively engaging with stakeholders at multiple levels. The below table provides an illustration of the different suggested levels, potential stakeholders and several examples of engagement and technical assistance." (Conclusion)
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"This report looks at media practices and regulatory tools that are available to address hate speech and racism in the media, with a focus on eight countries, namely Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia. The first part looks at regulatory approaches to addressing these pro
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blems. It, in turn, is broken down into two main sections, one looking at legal regimes, including systems of media regulation, and the second looking at self-regulatory practices in the media and how they deal with racist speech. The second part outlines international standards in this area and, based on these and the legal frameworks and experiences in the region, offers a set of recommendations for better practice directions in this area." (Executive summary, page 3)
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"The present paper builds on the findings of the previous MedMedia report (Dabbous 2015) by tracking the legal changes that occurred between early 2015 and early 2018. Whenever there are recent legal changes related to broadcasting in general, such changes are mentioned and evaluated. The objective
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is to provide a critical overview of the state of public service broadcasting and the new regulatory reforms introduced since early 2015, in order to assess the impact of the Arab Spring (directly or indirectly) on the nature and performance of the public broadcasting sector in the Southern Mediterranean region, and the extent to which the wheels that were set in motion in 2011 have resulted in an improved and more democratic public broadcasting sector in these countries – one in which the notion of “the public” is supposed to be at the core of the reform endeavor. The structure of the paper follows largely that of the 2015 MedMedia report on public service broadcasting, covering legal reform in each of the Arab countries in the South Mediterranean separately. However, only 5 of the original 8 countries included in the 2015 report are the focus of the present update: Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, and Morocco." (Page 3)
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"Countries emerging from violent conflict face difficult challenges about what the role of media should be in political transitions, particularly when attempting to build a new state and balance a difficult legacy. Media, Conflict, and the State in Africa discusses how ideas, institutions and intere
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sts have shaped media systems in some of Africa's most complex state and nation-building projects. This timely book comes at a turbulent moment in global politics as waves of populist protests gain traction, and concerns continue to grow about fake news, social media echo chambers, and the increasing role of both traditional and new media in waging wars or influencing elections. Focusing on comparative cases from a historical perspective and the choices and ideas that informed the approaches of some of Africa's leaders, including guerrilla commanders Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, Nicole Stremlau offers a unique political insight into the development of contemporary media systems in Africa." (Publisher description)
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"Over the years, Pakistan's notorious blasphemy laws have been a central instrument for the persecution of religious minorities. While these laws are colonial in origin, they exist today within the context of a general Islamisation of laws, which combined with the state's inability to hold a monopol
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y over violence have contributed to growing anarchy in the country. This paper traces the evolution of Pakistan's religious nationalism, presents debates around the blasphemy laws and their implementation, and considers the possibilities for reform." (Abstract)
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"This book examines the media reform processes and re-democratization projects of Ghana and Nigeria’s emerging democracies. It evaluates and critiques these reform processes, arguing that because of dependency approaches resulting from the transplanting of policy framework from the West into these
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emerging democracies, the policy goals and objectives of the reforms have not been achieved. Consequently, the inherent socio-cultural, economic and political factors, coupled with the historical antecedents of these countries, have also affected the reform process. Drawing from policy documents, analyses and interviews, Ufuoma Akpojivi argues that the lack of citizens’ active participation in policy processes has led to neo-liberalization and the continued universalization of Western ideologies such as democracy, media freedom and independence. Akpojivi posits that the recognition of socio-cultural, political and economic factors inherent to these emerging democracies, coupled with the communal participation of citizens, will facilitate true media reform processes and development of these countries." (Publisher description)
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"The Handbook of Privacy Studies is the first book in the world that brings together several disciplinary perspectives on privacy, such as the legal, ethical, medical, informatics and anthropological perspective. Privacy is in the news almost every day: mass surveillance by intelligence agencies, th
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e use of social media data for commercial profit and political microtargeting, password hacks and identity theft, new data protection regimes, questionable reuse of medical data, and concerns about how algorithms shape the way we think and decide. This book offers interdisciplinary background information about these developments and how to understand and properly evaluate them. The book is set up for use in interdisciplinary educational programmes. Each chapter provides a structured analysis of the role of privacy within that discipline, its characteristics, themes anddebates, as well as current challenges. Disciplinary approaches are presented in such a way that students and researchers from every scientific background can follow the argumentation and enrich their own understanding of privacy issues." (Publisher description)
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"Como parte de sus objetivos y tareas principales, el Observatorio Latinoamericano de Regulación Medios y Convergencia (OBSERVACOM) realiza un monitoreo sistemático de las regulaciones y políticas públicas de los países de la región respecto al acceso, la diversidad y el pluralismo en materia
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de medios de comunicación y libertad de expresión, prestando una especial atención a la situación de la radio y televisión comunitaria. Como una de los resultados de este trabajo hemos realizado el siguiente informe comparado de la legislación existente en la materia, con el objetivo de analizar la compatibilidad de los marcos normativos latinoamericanos con los estándares sobre libertad de expresión aprobados por los órganos del Sistema Interamericano de Derechos Humanos. A continuación, compartimos con ustedes los principales hallazgos de la investigación, esperando sea un aporte útil para el desarrollo de sus funciones." (Página 3)
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"This book is the first to incorporate current academic literature on European, transnational, and international media law into a comprehensive overview intended primarily for students. It introduces the legal framework for globalised communication via mass media, and considers the transformative ef
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fect globalisation has had on domestic media law. Engaging case examples at the beginning of each chapter and questions at the end give students a clearer idea of legal problems and encourage them to think critically. A wide variety of topics - including media economics, media technology, and social norms concerning media publications - are discussed in relation to media law, and numerous references to case law and suggestions for further reading allow students to conduct independent research easily." (Back cover)
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"Nonfiction authors often use existing materials in their works: A historian excerpts a soldier’s letters to a loved one; an art critic reproduces a telling detail in a painting; a scientist quotes from a well-known article. Readers of nonfiction works expect new writing to reference and incorpora
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te other works; indeed, the quality and integrity of nonfiction works frequently depend on the author’s skillful use of such materials. Although drawing from other works is common, it can often seem difficult to know when (and how much) unlicensed copying is permissible and whether certain unlicensed uses of another’s work put you at risk of copyright infringement. Sometimes, authors need to seek permission or pay for a license to use copyrighted materials. An author may even need a license to use her own works because she signed over her copyrights to her publisher. But not always. In some situations, unlicensed use may be legally permitted by virtue of the “fair use” doctrine, a well-known (but oft-misunderstood) limitation to copyright in the United States. Fair use is a powerful tool, but unfortunately many nonfiction authors find it tricky to know when to rely on fair use and when to seek permission. That’s where this guide comes in. In addition to providing background information on copyright law and fair use, this guide identifies three common situations that nonfiction authors encounter when incorporating existing materials into their works and then discusses general fair use principles and limitations that apply in these situations. This guidance is based on broadly shared norms found in the leading fair use statements of best practices, as well as existing case law." (Introduction)
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"The tension between blasphemy laws and the freedom of expression in modern times is a key area of debate within legal academia and beyond. With contributions by leading scholars, this volume compares blasphemy laws within a number of Western liberal democracies and debates the legitimacy of these l
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aws in the twenty- first century. Including comprehensive and up-to-date comparative country studies, this book considers the formulation of blasphemy bans, relevant jurisprudential interpretations, the effect on society, and the ensuing convictions and penalties where applicable. It provides a useful historical analysis by discussing the legal-political rationales behind the recent abolition of blasphemy laws in some Western states. Contributors also consider the challenges to the tenability of blasphemy laws in a selection of well- balanced theoretical chapters. This book is essential reading for scholars working within the fields of human rights law, philosophy and sociology of religion and comparative politics." (Publisher description)
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"What does it mean to support local media? How should we define local media in the first place? Christopher Ali delves into our ideas about localism and their far-reaching repercussions for the discourse of federal media policy and regulation. His critique focuses on the new interest in localism amo
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ng regulators in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. As he shows, the many different and often contradictory meanings of localism complicate efforts to study local voices. At the same time, market factors and regulators' unwillingness to critically examine local media blunt challenges to the status quo. Ali argues that reconciling the places where we live with the spaces we inhabit will point regulators toward effective policies that strengthens local media." (Publisher description)
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"This article presents and makes a case for the audience-Centred approach to media policymaking and research, and situates this discussion within the South African revision of the regulatory mechanism for the press. In South Africa the press accountability mechanism, the Press Council of South Afric
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a, has been subject to a near constant process of review and restructuring since 2010. This article discusses and contextualises these various South African reviews, with particular emphasis on the Press Freedom Commission, and weighs them against the audience-Centred approach to media policymaking which adopts a ground-up public-focused method in keeping with the principles of a participatory democracy. The findings indicate that however well intentioned, the various different attempts to review and restructure the press accountability system for South Africa fell short of substantive and meaningful audience or public participation, and resultantly the value and richness of public input and participation, which may have infused the process of policymaking with audience ownership, was lost." (Abstract)
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"Blasphemy is a serious wrongdoing in all monotheistic world religions. Blasphemy prohibitions have been brought into being and enforced so as to protect the dominant religion specifically. Religions as such, however, are not protected by international human rights law. Human rights law protects and
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empowers people: every person has the right to freedom of religion or belief. Human rights law does not recognise a right to have one's religion or belief at all times exempted from criticism, ridicule or insult, or a right, in other words, to respect for one's religious feelings. The right to freedom of expression is not an absolute right as it carries with it special duties and responsibilities. This right can be restricted on the basis of certain grounds for limitation; however, the interest of ‘religion as such is not among those grounds. In this article it is argued that contrary to popular belief the two rights, though very much interdependent, do not in abstracto ‘clash’. Moreover, with a view toward optimally guaranteeing human rights law in actual practice, the two rights do as a rule not need to be balanced – for it is precisely when the two rights are balanced without a legal necessity to do so that human rights law is undermined. The broader intent of this article is to present a human rights-based assessment of blasphemy prohibitions and counter-defamation (of religions) initiatives. Rather than focussing on strategies to counter defamation of religions, we should concentrate on and deal with practices that actually threaten individual human rights; that is to say, we should more effectively tackle the issue of advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence." (Abstract)
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"In Latin America, the role of the media in democratic societies has recently become the subject of public debates, struggles and political mobilizations that have denaturalized the existing media order and established a distinct policy agenda oriented towards media democratization. This region-wide
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trend – a counter-tendency to the globally dominant market-driven orientation of media and telecommunication policies – requires explanation. This article stresses that it cannot be attributed to a spontaneous reaction to market concentration or media elitism, just as it cannot be reduced to a top-down process driven by populist leaders seeking to control the media. Drawing on social movement literature, the article traces four interacting processes – domestic network mobilization, reframing processes, transnational activism and changes in political elite alignments – that have brought about the unprecedented politicization of the Latin American media order." (Abstract)
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