"This article focuses on AKTrolls, defined as pro-government political trolls in Turkey, while attempting to draw implications about political trolling in the country in general. It examines their methods and effects, and it interrogates whether (and how) Turkish authorities have attempted to shape
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or counter politically motivated social media content production through trolling after the Gezi Park Protests that took place in 2013. My findings are based on an ethnographic study that included participant observation and in-depth interviews in a setting that is under-studied and about which reliable sources are difficult to find. The study demonstrates political trolling activity in Turkey is more decentralized and less institutionalized than generally thought, and is based more on ad hoc decisions by a larger public. However, I argue here that AKTrolls do have impact on reducing discourses on social media that are critical of the government, by engaging in surveillance, among other practices." (Abstract)
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"As a part of Russian soft (or coercive) power disinformation and propaganda have become key elements in an updated Russian security policy since 2012/13. For Russian leadership disinformation and propaganda have become key instruments to impact domestic debates in EU member states and in the neighb
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ourhood of the EU. This policy aims to weaken cohesion in the EU and its image in the neighbourhood and has become so successful because of the shrinking self-confidence of Western democracies. This study analyses Russia‘s communication strategy with regard to its influence in Serbia and Estonia. What are the tools that are used? What are the aims behind disinformation and fake news stories? It shows that a formerly reactive response from a perceived position of weakness has turned into a well-executed communication strategy that makes use of vulnerabilities to sow discord. National elites in the target countries play a key role for the success or failure of this policy." (Abstract)
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"The Russian state media failed to provide sufficient information about political alternatives to incumbent Vladimir Putin ahead of the 18 March presidential election. Coverage on nationwide private channels was similarly limited. For the 2018 presidential election, a strong and independent media pr
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oviding unbiased coverage of the political situation in the country, thereby enabling the electorate to make an informed choice, were significantly lacking. Alexey Navalny, who was barred from running as a candidate, called for a boycott of the election. His political position was largely ignored by most of the monitored broadcast media, with the exception of TV Dozhd and Radio Ekho Moskvy. The nature of the election process, whereby the incumbent refrained in most respects from conventional campaign discourse, including non-participation in public debates, and the only real opponent was barred from running as a candidate, did not provide basic conditions necessary for a normal democratic election. First Channel, Russia 1, NTV and Ren TV, offered viewers an extremely limited range of political viewpoints. They presented only the official Kremlin position, and failed to offer any independent or alternative views, or any critical reporting challenging the performance of the authorities." (Executive summary)
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"In Latin America, several countries’ laws permit the president to commandeer all radio and television broadcasts. Initially contemplated for use in rare circumstances such as national emergencies, a few leaders in the region, beginning with Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, have taken advantage of thes
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e laws to create an unprecedented media bully pulpit that has been an essential part of their populist politics. This report explores how these obligatory presidential broadcasts have become a routine occurrence in Venezuela, Argentina, and Ecuador with troubling implications for public debate. The report also surveys the legal and regulatory frameworks across the region for lessons on how presidential communication authority can be restricted to prevent this kind of abuse in the future." (Key findings)
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"Desde su primera edición en el año 2005, la presente obra ha servido como guía práctica para acompañar a los candidatos y sus asesores durante todo el proceso electoral y hoy en día sigue ofreciendo valiosas herramientas tanto tradicionales como también relacionadas con las nuevas tecnologí
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as. Pero una cosa es ganar unas elecciones y otra cosa muy diferente es gobernar. Por eso, Carlos Andrés Pérez dedica la segunda parte de su libro a la manera como ejercer el poder de una forma responsable, o sea, cómo cambiar de la comunicación de campaña a la comunicación de gobierno. Tanto el candidato como el gobernante deben ser contundentes, generar credibilidad y confianza. En esta séptima edición Carlos Andrés Pérez nos sorprende con una nueva faceta de la comunicación política para llegar mejor al público, el Storytelling. Un nuevo nombre para un concepto muy antiguo, que se remonta a tiempos bíblicos, y consiste en contar historias y experiencias personales, en vez de abrumar a la gente con tantas cifras y teorías abstractas." (Prólogo, página 15-16)
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"In the recent years, we have witnessed several protests, initiatives and social uprisings in the SEE region, through which the citizens demanded for government accountability, suggested better policy solutions and promoted better citizen participation. Regional research “Communicating citizens' p
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rotests, requiring public accountability: Case study from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia” examines the communication practices during these social movements/ initiatives that took place in period 2011–2015, ranging in focus from environmental issues, through education reforms, to wide socio-economic issues. The aim of the research is to understand how the government officials responded to the calls to accountability, what were the practices of citizens/activist in terms of promotion of the movement and its goals, and which role did the mainstream media took when reporting on the protests and social mobilization. Study volume contains an overview of the major results of the research in three countries, and three separate country reports. The study finds that response to protests by both media and the government was rather systemic, with both failing to act in the public interest and to promote government accountability. Protests that included less criticism of the government structures received fairer media treatment, while the more anti-government ones attracted more controversial media converge (ranging from pro-government, more balanced, to supportive of protests) and framing that involved strategies of delegitimization of protests (mainly in BiH and Macedonia). But importantly, even when particular media provided fair representation of protesters (mainly case of dismantling chemical weapons in Albania), the media reports were superficial, lacking in-depth insights and analyses and substantial demands for government accountability." (Publisher description)
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"Die Fallanalyse hat gezeigt, dass eine Erzählung vom Krieg 1992-93 propagiert wird, die einer abchasischen Version des Narrationsschemas 'Die Vertreibung von fremden Feinden' entspricht. Ein zentrales Element der Erzählung ist zudem, so ergab die Interpretation, eine betont positive Darstellung d
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es Kriegsalltags. Durch sie wird einerseits das bereits existierende Bild der heldenhaften Soldaten gestützt. Andererseits wird der Nachkriegsgeneration 20 Jahre nach Kriegsende eine gewissermaßen harmlose Version des Kriegsgeschehens angeboten, mittels Film und Konzerten werden begleitend affektive Erlebnisse ermöglicht. So soll die Identifikation der Nachgeborenen mit diesem Teil des abchasischen Gründungsmythos, den sie selbst nicht erlebt haben, angeregt werden." (Seite 37)
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"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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"Polens regierende Partei hat Ende 2015 im Eilverfahren den Rundfunkrat entmachtet. Anschließend begann die PiS, wichtige Posten im öffentlichen Rundfunk neu zu besetzen. Kritiker in Polen und anderen EU-Staaten sprechen vom „Ende eines unabhängigen öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunks in Polen“
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. Politisch unabhängig war der öffentlich-rechtliche Rundfunk in Polen allerdings auch bisher nicht. Seit zehn Jahren hat jede polnische Regierung den rechtlichen Rahmen bis aufs Äußerste strapaziert, um im Rundfunk eigene Leute unterzubringen. Die neue Regierung hat den Rahmen der Verfassung nun gesprengt." (Abstract)
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"Die Partei Recht und Gerechtigkeit (PiS) änderte nach ihrem Sieg bei den polnischen Parlamentswahlen im Herbst 2015 innerhalb weniger Wochen das Mediengesetz und besetzte die Spitzenpositionen im öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunk neu. Neues Personal gibt es auch bei den Nachrichtensendungen, die be
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reits auf Parteilinie gebracht sind. Die Regierung weist alle Kritik zurück und spricht von einer Entpolitisierung. Die Fakten sprechen eine andere Sprache." (Abstract)
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"The Ethiopian government, led by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), has developed one of the most restrictive systems for the regulation of new media in Africa. So far, most discussion has focused on the measures employed by the EPRDF to prevent the Internet and mobile p
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hones from becoming tools for opposition forces to challenge the regime. Much less attention has been paid to the strategies pursued in order to make new media work in support of the government's ambiguous but ambitious attempt to make Ethiopia a developmental state. Examining the period between 1991 and 2012, this article explores how the EPRDF gradually moved from a simple strategy of information control towards incorporating new media into its state- and nation-building efforts through large-scale projects such as Woredanet and Schoolnet. Larger trends at the international level, including the securitization of development and the growing significance of China in Africa, have legitimated the use of the media to serve development outcomes, and have facilitated the spread of the kind of ‘developmental media system’ that has emerged in Ethiopia. The article concludes that only by engaging with these systems on their own terms and “going with the grain” can we develop a better understanding of how they work and how to change them." (Abstract)
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