"Contributors to the volume explore various questions concerning the opportunities and constraints for governance associated with the startling growth in digital technologies in the Global South. In areas of limited statehood, places where the reach of the state is limited and weak, can mobile phone
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s, geographical information systems, and other digital technologies help fill the governance vacuum? In general, Livingston and Walter-Drop conclude with the contributors that where missing governance is information-based (bits), digital technology has a tremendous impact. Yet a major constraint is found in its ability to fill the governance vacuum concerning the provision of material collective goods (atoms)." (Abstract)
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"This article presents the findings of a detailed analysis of Russian media coverage of the conflict. Focusing on three prominent Russian newspapers and comparing them with three Western counterparts, particular emphasis is placed on their reporting of regime violence, the nature and actions of the
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opposition, and Russia’s own role in the conflict. In so doing, a clear picture emerges of how starkly different the Syrian conflict appears to a Russian audience." (Abstract)
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"Campaigns and movements targeting corruption often face decentralized targets rather than an identifiable dictator or external government, and can be found both in undemocratic and democratic systems. Graft and abuse are manifested in a systemic manner rather than a hodgepodge collection of illicit
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transactions. Consequently, this research brings to light new applications of civil resistance beyond the more commonly known cases against occupations, such as the Indian independence movement, and authoritarian regimes from Chile to Poland. It also expands our understanding about the dynamics of how people collectively wield nonviolent power for the common good. The focus of this research is on citizen agency: what civic actors and regular people—organized together and exerting their collective power—are doing to curb corruption as they define and experience it. Hence, the analytical framework is based on the skills, strategies, objectives, and demands of such initiatives, rather than on the phenomenon of corruption itself, which has been judiciously studied for more than two decades by scholars and practitioners from the anticorruption and development realms. I selected cases that met the following criteria: they were “popular” initiatives. They were civilian-based, involved grassroots participation, and were led and implemented by individuals from the civic realm, rather than governments or external actors, such as donors, development institutions, and international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs); they were nonviolent. They did not threaten or use violence to further their aims; they involved some degree of organization and planning, which varied depending on the scope—objectives, geographical range, duration—of the civic initiative; multiple nonviolent actions were employed (thus, instances of one-off demonstrations or spontaneous protests were not considered); objectives and demands were articulated; the civic initiative was sustained over a period of time." (Introduction, pages 2-3)
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"Examining the opportunities presented by the real-time generation of new, relatively unregulated content online, Uncommon Grounds evaluates the prominent role that new media has come to play in artistic practices – and social movements – in the Arab world today. Analysing alternative forms of c
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reating, broadcasting, publishing, distributing and consuming digital images, this book also enquires into a broader global concern: does new media offer a ‘democratisation’ of – and a productive engagement with – visual culture, or merely capitalise upon the effect of immediacy at the expense of depth? Featuring full-colour artists’ inserts, this is the first book to extensively explore the degree to which the grassroots popularity of Twitter and Facebook has been co-opted into mainstream media, institutional and curatorial characterisations of ‘revolution’ – and whether artists should be wary of perpetuating the rhetoric and spectacle surrounding political events." (Publisher description)
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"Im Kontext einer nord-süd-politisch relevanten Information interessiert besonders die Frage der Repräsentation, der Klischeebildung, der Ermächtigung. Ein Foto kann empathisch aufmerksam machen oder zur Schau stellen, aber auch Nähe erzeugen, berühren. Nicht immer folgt auf eine gute Absicht e
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ine gute Praxis. Entwürdigende Fotografie ist, wenn Menschen stilisiert oder als Platzhalter eingesetzt werden. Das kommt in der Fair-Trade-Werbung vor (S.25). Oder wenn sie – wie häufig in der Spendenwerbefotografie von Hilfswerken – viktimisiert werden. Das Foto einer Person kann etwas sehr Privates weltweit und öffentlich kundtun. So zum Beispiel das Foto eines Mädchens ohne Kleider, das – mit Entsetzen im Gesicht – vor dem Napalmangriff südvietnamesischer Flieger weg- und einem Pressefotografen entgegenläuft. Und damit den Augen von Millionen BetrachterInnen in der westlichen Welt, nachdem das Bild mit der Vergabe des World Press Photo Awards 1972 schließlich zum Symbol für die Grausamkeit des Vietnamkrieges wurde. Ein Foto kann Gewalt sichtbar machen. So vermag ein Bild von Gefangenen die Willkür ihrer Peiniger ausdrücken. Der Blick in eine Fabrikhalle mit einem Nähmaschinenpark kann den vernichtenden Charakter eines Systems darstellen. Ein Foto kann vom unmenschlichen Grauen erzählen. Oder es kann Verstoßene rehabilitieren; etwa wenn Personen ihre Versehrungen zeigen (S.17) und dabei Momente des Vertrauens und des Glücks zum Ausdruck bringen. Ein Foto kann Zuversicht schaffen. Der abgelichtete Moment eines Handschlages – wie zwischen Nelson Mandela und F.W. De Klerk – hat ein Zeitalter der Hoffnung auf das Ende der Apartheid eingeläutet. Ein Foto kann ermächtigen. Die Porträts von Trans-Personen der Aktivistin Zanele Muholi sind wie eine Ausstellung der Existenz des Schönen, der Liebe und des Menschseins gegen eine homophobe Stimmung (S.30). Die Kraft eines Fotos im emanzipatorischen Sinn – liegt oft in der Irritation. Ein kleiner Zweifel, ein kurzer Knacks im herrschenden Diskurs. Fotografie kann – das klingt schlicht – Sichtbarkeit schaffen. Die Fotos der Gruppe Lampedusa in Hamburg Professions (S.31), erinnern daran, dass hierzulande viele Menschen eine Vorliebe dafür hegen, sich über ihren Beruf in Wert zu setzten, anderen diese Repräsentation aber gerne aberkennen." (Editorial)
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"Im Mittelpunkt dieses Bandes steht die Thematisierung des Islam im zeitgenössischen Spielfilm: konkret das Aufeinanderprallen von islamischer und westlicher Kultur, sowohl im arabischen Raum, in der Türkei oder im Nahen Osten als auch in Westeuropa. Im Zentrum steht damit auch das Spannungsfeld z
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wischen Islam und Moderne beziehungsweise die Frage nach der Artikulation muslimischer Identität im europäischen Kontext. Wie wird der Islam im Film thematisiert und wie kommen Muslime heute im Kino vor? Welcher Blick bestimmt die filmische Auseinandersetzung mit dieser Weltreligion? Welche Bilder sind überhaupt angemessen? Wie werden die tatsächlichen Konflikte angesprochen? Welche Rolle spielt dabei die Religion? Und was bedeutet das für die Beziehungen des Islam zu den anderen Religionen, insbesondere zum Christentum? Die jeweiligen Fragen werden sowohl aus kultur- beziehungsweise religionswissenschaftlicher als auch aus theologischer Sicht bearbeitet." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Media Evolution on the Eve of the Arab Spring brings together some of the most celebrated and respected names in Arab media research to reflect on the communication conditions that preceded and made the Arab uprisings possible." (Publisher description)
"The key finding of this rapid assessment is that displaced people in northern Iraq live in an information vacuum which is hindering their ability to cope with the catastrophe in which they find themselves. This vacuum has two main origins: lack of access to reliable news and information from the lo
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cal media, particularly satellite TV and radio, and lack of access to information about existing and planned aid services. Access to communication channels is clearly regarded as a key priority by those affected." (Exeuctive summary)
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"Masudul Biswas and Carrie Sipes perform a comparative content analysis of Twitter and Facebook posts from a sample of Syrian and Libyan activist groups. By considering online content in the context of post-revolution Libya and the continuing upheaval in Syria, the authors shed new light on online a
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ctivist agenda-setting. They find that while social media is used as a tool to maintain and expand momentum during revolution, in a post-revolution climate the same media serves as a venue for idea-sharing and political discourse." (www.arabmediasociety.com)
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"Focusing on Kurdish television broadcasts in Europe, this article sheds light on how minority broadcasting interrelates with national and intergovernmental political agendas and issues of national security. Drawing from a thorough analysis of policy and diplomatic documents, press articles, academi
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c literature and two expert interviews and focusing on three Kurdish TV channels in Europe, Med-TV, Medya-TV and Roj-TV, it describes how the contrast between Turkish and European media freedoms and minority rights has driven Kurdish broadcasting to develop in Europe, rather than in Turkey. It reveals how, in an effort to obstruct these broadcasting activities, Turkey’s diplomatic undertakings have been able to sway opinions in several countries and get them to endorse more restrictive media policies." (Abstract)
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"The Mapping Digital Media research confirms that digital television and the internet have had a radical impact on media businesses, journalists, and citizens at large. As might be expected, platforms distributing journalism have proliferated, media companies are revamping their operations, and citi
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zens have access to a cornucopia of news and information sources. Other findings were less foreseeable: digitization has brought no pressure to reform state broadcasters, less than one-third of countries found that digital media have helped to expand the social impact of investigative journalism, and digitization has not significantly affected total news diversity. The Global Findings reveal other common themes across the world: Governments and politicians have too much influence over who owns, operates, and regulates the media. Many media markets are rife with monopolistic, corrupt, or untransparent practices. It’s not clear where many governments and other bodies get their evidence for changes or updates to laws and policies on media and communication. Media and journalism online offer hope of new, independent sources of information, but are also a new battleground for censorship and surveillance. Data about the media worldwide are still uneven, unstandardized, and unreliable, and are often proprietary rather than freely accessible." (Website Open Society Foundations)
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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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"This publication covers attitudes toward, and behavior pertaining to, entertainment media among residents in Qatar [...] These results suggest notable differences among the nationalities living in Qatar with regard to their attitudes, preferences and behaviors related to entertainment media. In man
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y respects, the opinions and habits of Qatari nationals and Arab expatriates mirror those of their Arab neighbors. For example, they show a strong respect for Arab culture that they wish to see reflected in their entertainment choices, and they support government regulation and censorship of entertainment media. In other respects, nationals in Qatar report different behaviors and interests than others in the region. More Qataris, for example, use Instagram than Facebook, whereas other nationals in the study prefer Facebook. Qataris enjoy religious content and are less interested than other nationals in locally-produced entertainment (perhaps reflecting relatively little material produced in Qatar rather than disdain for material produced there)." (Summary)
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"This paper addresses the way the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is presented in the EU media and vice versa, in a time in which perceptions and misperceptions could influence negatively the consistent flows of international investments that are instrumental to the diversification of the Gulf
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economies as well as to the ailing of the European ones. The authors compare the most common stereotypes structuring the public discourse with the views of some journalists from Europe and the GCC countries gathered through a small but targeted survey and a subsequent focus group. The findings show a limited degree of familiarity and interaction, but at the same time having a sort of latent interest, especially with regard to politics and economics. They also uncover a different degree of technical skills and underscore a different level of diversification in sources. In the conclusion, the authors develop some policy-oriented recommendations to bridge this communication gap among media members and foster more accurate and comprehensive reporting, oriented at preparing the ground for mutually beneficial interregional cooperation." (www.sharaka.eu)
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"Self-censorship habits are entrenched in the practices of Egyptian journalists, who largely perceive their role as servants of political masters. Even though the debate on reforming media was high on the agenda during the time of the revolution, this subservient perception did not change. Journalis
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ts were still struggling to cope with a new environment where they could operate without instructions. The deep political polarization between pro-Islamists and pro-liberals under the Brotherhood rule transformed media into the favourite platform for political spin. The newfound liberty was translated into a chaotic expression of unfounded views and rumours [...] Egyptian media reform requires a complex operation involving both legal reform and institutional review of media practices and professional standards." (Executive summary)
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