"This working paper discusses the status of the internet in Syria. Syrian authorities show a large amount of distrust vis-à-vis the new technology and there is much state control. The list of banned sites is long, varied and flexible. Website bans are about muzzling free expression and controlling
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access to information. Syrians are arrested because of their beliefs they express on the Web. Is there a future for the use of internet as a tool of expression in Syria? Syrians try to find their way beyond the arbitrary restrictions of the regime. Some IT specialists have managed to bypass bans by using special software. Despite its precarious state, the internet in Syria remains an option for expressing political, cultural and social protest. The political opposition has used the internet to circulate its bulletins and statements – relatively efficiently, too, within the limits of what is possible." (www.search4dev.nl)
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"This working paper is about the private media in Syria. A new publishing law was passed in 2001, which allowed the private sector to re-enter the media industry, having been banned from it since 1963. The relatively high number of approved publications since 2001 provides the Ministry of Informatio
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n with an argument in its favour, which it uses every time the media situation in Syria is discussed. However, even though the new law does not impose censorship as a prerequisite, it does remain very repressive and contains an arsenal of restrictions that complicate the work of journalists. It also affects all other forms of publication in Syria and entering the country from abroad, as well as printing presses, with sanctions ranging from fines to imprisonment. In appearance, there are many indicators of an increased openness, but closer scrutiny of the way that the media actually function gives a better understanding of this distinctively Syrian “static reform." (http://www.search4dev.nl)
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"Depuis les années 1990, la généralisation des télévisions satellitaires et l’avènement d’Internet ont bouleversé le paysage médiatique et contribué à une modification profonde du rapport entre les populations et l’information. Désormais acteurs politiques à part entière, les méd
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ias entretiennent des liens à la fois conflictuels et ambigus avec les différents pouvoirs – politique, judiciaire, religieux, financier… – et pèsent directement sur les relations internationales. Interrogeant l’histoire, multipliant les approches et les exemples – de l’Italie au Liban, de l’analyse de la sociologie du Web au traitement médiatique du conflit israélo-palestinien –, sondant l’évolution des imaginaires politiques et religieux, cet ouvrage se propose de mieux situer la place et le rôle des médias dans les sociétés méditerranéennes, et singulièrement dans les pays arabes. Loin des amalgames et des raccourcis abusifs, ce livre offre des éléments précieux pour appréhender une réalité nouvelle et complexe." (Description de la maison d'édition)
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