"Cet ouvrage analyse le contenu des débats télévisés régulièrement organisés au Cameroun, de 2017 à 2020, à la faveur de la libéralisation politique, du moins en principe, et de celle, subséquente, du secteur médiatique, en particulier la télévision. Il se dégage de cette analyse que
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les échanges, souvent discourtois, acerbes, voire haineux, entre les participants, tournent essentiellement autour du pouvoir conçu comme une question de vie ou de mort. Ils reflètent ou révèlent, en tout cas, le degré zéro, c'est-à-dire nul, du jeu politique, dans un pays géoculturellement en mosaïque, fragile et laborieusement engagé dans le processus de construction d'un impérieux consensus national." (Dos de couverture)
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"Various terms are in use to describe violent, bullying, demeaning, or otherwise antagonistic expressions on social media platforms. Hate speech is common, but also not limited to the online world. While it does signal that these expressions are speech acts, and therefore, as we maintain, performati
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ve, the reference to ‘hate’ does not always seem justified. While many different motivations and affects can be involved, and hatred on the part of the sender is surely one of them, other motivations exist too (as considered for instance in chapters two, three and seven). The term is thus both too broad and too narrow in its seeming attribution of motives. Feminist scholar Emma Jane has introduced the term ‘e-bile’, which is useful, but particularly designed for the specific category of misogynist and objectifying comments addressed to women online. We propose online vitriol as a term to think about this phenomenon, because it stresses both the violent and the uncontrollable aspects of the phenomenon and its typical excesses, such as shitstorms, and speech acts that silence, threaten, or harm others [...] Online vitriol seems to be a particular product of the Web 2.0, the ‘participatory’ or ‘social web’ that has evolved since the early twenty-first century, and that revolves around ‘user-generated content’ and conceives of the web as a space of interaction, rather than a collection of static sites where one can read information. The term ‘Web 2.0’ was coined in 1999 by Darcy DiNucci in an article prophetically titled ‘Fragmented Future’. Fragmentation does indeed seem to be one of the key aims and effects of online vitriol enabled by the interactive structure of social media platforms. In recent years particularly, online vitriol has come to serve political powerplay, with actors often operating from a stance of victimhood and supposed powerlessness, while at the same time attracting considerable attention, visibility and influence." (Pages 13-14)
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"In 2019, the European Union adopted the “Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law” (Whistleblower Protection Directive). EU Member States are required to transpose the provisions of th
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e Directive into national law by 17 December 2021. This is an opportunity for all EU countries to bring their national legal framework on whistleblower protection in line with international standards and best practice. The Directive contains many advanced provisions, such as the obligations for a wide range of entities to establish internal whistleblowing mechanisms, to follow up on reports and to keep the whistleblower informed. However, it also has some significant gaps [...] It is important therefore that EU Member States adopt national legislation on whistleblower protection that not only meets the minimum standards of the Directive but that also goes beyond the Directive, to meet international standards and best practice. As such, this methodology is designed to enable assessment of national legislation on whistleblower protection against both the minimum standards set by the EU Directive and best practice." (Introduction, page 3)
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"Political posters, banners, and similar objects are extremely common in China. This article uses political design from contemporary China, particularly emphasising the government’s Chinese Dream campaign, to analyze what at first appears to be a paradox. The subjects of the campaigns and the lang
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uage they use are mandated by the central government and promoted through central and local publicity departments. But the graphic aspects of these campaigns, such as the choice of colours, images, layout, and typeface, are much less strictly controlled, and are decided by local governments or authorities. This makes political design in China decentralized. Decentralized design is inconsistent with the principles of global marketing and with the PRC’s reliance on set forms of political discourse, both of which rely on the assumption that uniformity will lead to more effective communication of messages and persuasion of the public. Evidence from local design campaigns indeed shows that Chinese political posters are often designed hastily and without expertise, resulting in strange and unpersuasive images. Despite this, this article shows that decentralized design is not paradoxical. This is largely because the Chinese party-state uses propaganda as a method of “signalling” its overall power, more than as a tool of indoctrination or persuasion about particular topics." (Abstract)
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"Political divisions, the economic downturn after 2006, and technological disruptions have enabled Thai authorities to limit public space for political discussion and expression. People in Thailand have turned to social media instead. At present, the hashtag (#) is a growing tool for all kinds of po
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litical expression, intruding even into the taboo issue of the monarchy. Facebook, YouTube, Line and Twitter are popular platforms for netizens to publicize their political views. Authorities under Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha have moved aggressively to put restrictions on these channels. Netizens in the country are now seeking new platforms for political expression." (Executive summary)
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"The study of public opinion in nondemocratic states has found that people often say they support democracy, yet they show little demand for democratization or regime change. Given this paradox, recent scholarship has shown that these attitudes exist because people who live under the rule of non-dem
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ocratic regimes often misunderstand what democracy is. Individuals in these societies often think that authoritarian ways of governance are fundamental aspects of democracy. In another strain of literature, research has shown that the internet can alter demands for democracy and increase protest activity in non-democracies. Given these findings, this study investigates what impact the internet has on understanding democracy in non-democracies. Using World Values Survey data and employing two different styles of empirical modelling, the study finds that consuming information from the internet leads to a better understanding of essential elements of democracy. The findings also show that the effects are more pronounced in autocracies than they are in illiberal regimes." (Abstract)
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"This report analyses a persistent, large-scale influence campaign linked to Chinese state actors on Twitter and Facebook. This activity largely targeted Chinese-speaking audiences outside of the Chinese mainland (where Twitter is blocked) with the intention of influencing perceptions on key issues,
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including the Hong Kong protests, exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui and, to a lesser extent Covid-19 and Taiwan. Extrapolating from the takedown dataset, to which we had advanced access, given to us by Twitter, we have identified that this operation continues and has pivoted to try to weaponise the US Government’s response to current domestic protests and create the perception of a moral equivalence with the suppression of protests in Hong Kong." (https://www.aspi.org.au)
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"This report finds that the potential of ICTs to enable stronger governance, efective public service delivery and better government services is there. In all countries that are part of this study, critical foundational infrastructure is in place [...] But there’s still a lot to be unlocked. Increa
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sed internet connectivity, the availability of mobile devices and online services and access to information are creating a greater demand from users to their governments. International donors similarly focus on the delivery of ‘digital aid’, using ICTs to provide international assistance more eficiently and efectively [...] The report reaches five main conclusions for the implementation of e-government and digital government initiatives, and it concludes with four recommendations for future programming of international support in the area of ICTs and e-government." (Summary)
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"Concerns surrounding the threats that digital platforms pose to the functioning of Western liberal democracies have grown since the 2016 U.S. election. Yet despite a preponderance of academic work in this area, the precise nature of these threats, empirical solutions for their redress, and their re
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lationship to the wider digital political economy remain undertheorized. This article addresses these gaps with a semisystematic literature review that identifies and defines four prominent threats—fake news, filter bubbles/echo chambers, online hate speech, and surveillance—and constructs a typology of “workable solutions” for combating these threats that highlights the tendency to silo technical, regulatory, or culturally embedded approaches." (Abstract)
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"Entgrenzt, entfesselt, entgleist? Im digitalen Zeitalter ist Kommunikation prinzipiell schrankenlos, die Anlässe für Debatten sind unübersehbar – und die Art und Weise, wie in der (Netz)öffentlichkeit weniger mit- als vor allem übereinander gesprochen wird, oftmals weit jenseits überkommene
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r Standards. Konflikte auszutragen sei in offenen Gesellschaften unabdingbar, und zugleich, so Bernhard Pörksen und Friedemann Schulz von Thun, stelle sie das vor neue Herausforderungen. Wie, so fragen die Autoren, lässt sich den vielen vergifteten Auseinandersetzungen begegnen, die Vorbehalte vor Inhalte setzen und in der Herabwürdigung von Menschen oder im Erobern von Deutungshoheiten dem Zusammenhalt und der Offenheit unserer Gesellschaft schaden? Wo liegen die Grenzen des Erträglichen? Um welche Art von Kommunikation geht es? Mit wem kann oder muss man, nicht mehr oder immer noch, reden, und wenn ja, wie? Dialogisch leuchten der Medienwissenschaftler Pörksen und der Psychologe Schulz von Thun das Bewusstsein um die Macht der Kommunikation mit ihren Untiefen, ihrem Potenzial für Kränkungen und Missverständnisse aus. Der Anspruch bestehe darin, den Dialog gleichermaßen authentisch und wertschätzend, ebenso reflektiert und situationsgerecht wie der Wahrheit verpflichtet zu führen." (Buchrücken)
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"[...] Integrity Action has been exploring this question through conversations with civil society representatives, government, researchers, and citizens. During 2020 we interviewed 25 figures from sectors including social accountability, open government, and civic tech, and combined this with feedba
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ck from CSOs, government officials and citizens taking part in some of our projects. The majority of the contributors were from the Global South. We combined this with a literature review covering around 200 shortlisted research, policy and evaluation reports from a variety of fields. We were not only asking how citizen-centred accountability (CCA) mechanisms can be made to last, but also asking more broadly whether and when sustainability should be pursued, and what sustainability looks like in social accountability. In addition, we explored particular issues of relevance to sustained impact, including incentives for key stakeholders, the importance (or otherwise) of independence from the service provider, the use of technology, and inclusion. The purpose of this note is to begin to break down and make sense of some of the different perspectives on sustainability we have encountered though these discussions, as the first of a number of contributions on the topic over the coming months. Together, these contributions aim to offer a range of insights for different stakeholders: for donors thinking about long term funding horizons and different models they might want to support; for practitioners thinking about the kinds of questions to consider when designing CCA programmes and mechanisms; and for academics and experts, as a modest contribution to our collective understanding of the value of CCA more generally." (Page 1)
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"[...] this study provides an extensive overview of conceptualizations and operationalizations of media diversity in different fields using a systematic literature review (1999–2018). This showed a lack of theorizing and linking of conceptual with empirical work in media diversity research. Based
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on this, we develop a framework on how to move forward: Regarding conceptualization, we call for focusing on different places in the journalistic information chain instead of the classical exposure-supply distinction. Methodologically, automated approaches (e.g., analyzing digital traces) and qualitative approaches (e.g., capturing perceptions of diversity) should receive more attention. For analysis, matters of balance and disparity need to be stressed more, especially discussing possible limits to diversity. Overall, research into media diversity thus needs to be addressed in interdisciplinary collaboration." (Abstract)
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