"In this report, Human Rights Watch documents 33 cases between 2016 and 2020 in which authorities in areas controlled by the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have arrested, brought charges against, and sentenced journalists, activists, and other dissenting voices under
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these legal provisions. Thirteen of these cases involved individuals covering or supporting protest activities. Seven cases involved individuals writing in mainstream or social media about state corruption, a major concern motivating protesters in 2019 and 2020. Iraq’s parliament should amend laws and penal code articles that limit free speech in ways that are inconsistent with international law. Iraqi federal authorities and the Kurdistan Regional Government should direct security forces to end intimidation, harassment, and assault as well as arrests of journalists and others for exercising their right to free expression." (Back cover)
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"The paper argues that journalists' perceptions of their role in challenging corruption and developing democracy will give us some insight into Iraq's "crisis of democracy". The theory of democratic participation focuses on the centrality of media and communication institutions, founded on the princ
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iple of social responsibility and particularly prevalent in capitalist countries. "Democratic participation" reflects the definition of freedom from the democratic and parliamentary systems that have become influential in this age (Wolinetz 2012). This argument is considered by a free press as a failure due to its subordination to a centralized government and owners of capital. Building from corruption reports, public opinion polls, and popular demonstrations, this study will reveal journalists' perceptions of their roles in covering corruption and democracy, investigating whether corrupt political parties and corrupt capitalists control the political system. Democracy in Iraq has created new uncertainties, especially as it is a society without experience with political pluralism. The political transition created civil violence and civil war in 2006." (Theoretical framework, page 2-3)
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"Fundamentally, this paper argues that the lack of political will combined with the failure of state-building processes to develop the frameworks and institutions to support independent media is maintaining a media landscape that reflects the key political challenges of Iraq. The politics of success
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ive Iraqi governments continues to affect the functioning and the perception of the media, leaving them unable to provide content that can support democratic and transparent political processes. Attempts at media reform or support for sustainable, relevant, independent media platforms must take into account the wider context of Iraq and its political structures as well as the existing conditions of corruption and fragility. They also require much deeper consultation with local media stakeholders combined with a greater coordination with global initiatives to support the development of independent media." (Conclusion)
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"Die vorliegende Studie untersucht, welche Rolle Massenmedien in der politischen Transformation im Irak nach 2003 gespielt haben. Dabei diskutiert Anja Wollenberg zunächst, ob und in welcher Weise politischer Wettbewerb, Partizipation, Kritik und Kontrolle von irakischen Rundfunkmedien ermöglicht
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und mobilisiert wurden. Die Untersuchung von klassisch-demokratischen Kernfunktionen wird erweitert um die Frage nach den spezifischen Merkmalen von Öffentlichkeit im Kontext von fragiler Staatlichkeit. Das Spannungsverhältnis zwischen Stabilisierung und Demokratisierung sowie die Überlagerung alter und neuer Verhaltensmuster in der journalistischen Praxis rücken damit in den Fokus der Untersuchung." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"2018: Irakische Christen kehren in ihre Dörfer zurück, aus denen der „Islamische Staat“ sie vier Jahre vorher vertrieben hatte. Hundert Jahre zuvor hatten Christen in der Region schon einmal alles neu aufbauen müssen. Während des Ersten Weltkriegs waren in Anatolien Hunderttausende vertrieb
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en und ermordet worden. Was ist in den hundert Jahren seit dem Ende des Osmanischen Reichs passiert? Wie wirkte sich der Aufbau unabhängiger arabischer Staaten aus, wie die jüdische Einwanderung und die Gründung Israels? Welche Rolle spielt der Libanon als christlich geprägter Staat? Wie ging die laizistische Türkei mit Christen um? Welche Folgen hatte der Sturz Saddam Husseins für die irakischen Christen? Wie sehen Christen die Revolution in Ägypten, und welche Auswirkungen hat der Bürgerkrieg in Syrien für sie? Das Buch beschreibt den Weg der Christen im Nahen Osten zwischen Integration, gesellschaftlicher Teilhabe, Abgrenzung und Auswanderung sowie die Herausforderungen, vor denen sie heute stehen." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Les médias reflètent-ils les sociétés telles qu’elles sont aujourd’hui ou bien ne reflètent-ils que les tendances majoritaires ? Comment mettre en lumière les différences et les particularismes sans encourager le communautarisme et contribuer aux divisions ? Le rôle des médias est-il d
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e rapporter les faits ou de contribuer activement à une certaine vision de la société ? Les critères professionnels du journalisme sont-ils suffisants pour éviter les discours de haine et les messages exacerbant les tensions communautaires ? Lancé par CFI et le centre SKeyes pour la liberté de la presse et de la culture (de la Fondation Samir Kassir), le projet Naseej – qui signifie « tissage » en arabe – s’appuie sur les médias pour restaurer et maintenir un débat équilibré autour de ces questions. En examinant ce que les médias libanais, syriens et irakiens publient et diffusent, le langage utilisé, les concepts promus, les groupes qui y sont représentés et ceux qui ne le sont pas, Naseej tente de promouvoir une vision inclusive du journalisme. L’objet n’est pas de demander aux journalistes de restaurer la paix ou d’éviter les conflits, mais de contribuer à l’émergence de conditions plus propices au dialogue à travers une meilleure qualité d’information vérifiée et professionnelle, évitant les généralisations et les stéréotypes. Il n’est pas de demander aux médias d’accorder un traitement privilégié aux minorités face à la majorité, mais de mettre en lumière les difficultés auxquelles font face les citoyens, tous les citoyens, quelles que soient leurs appartenances. Ce livret présente la synthèse d’une étude, réalisée en octobre 2017, sur la couverture médiatique de la diversité dans les médias irakiens, libanais et syriens, réalisée par la Fondation Adyan et la Fondation Samir Kassir." (Introduction)
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"Roots of the New Arab Film deals with the generation of filmmakers from across North Africa and the Middle East who created an international awareness of Arab film from the mid-1980s onwards. These seminal filmmakers experienced the moment of national independence first-hand in their youth and reta
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ined a deep attachment to their homeland. Although these aspiring filmmakers had to seek their training abroad, they witnessed a time of filmic revival in Europe - Fellini and Antonioni in Italy, the French New Wave, and British Free Cinema. Returning home, these filmmakers brought a unique insider/outsider perspective to bear on local developments in society since independence, including the divide between urban and rural communities, the continuing power of traditional values and the status of women in a changing society. As they made their first films back home, the feelings of participation in a worldwide movement of new, independent filmmaking was palpable." (Publisher description)
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"La propagande de guerre de l'EI adopte les codes des genres cinématographiques afin de fictionnaliser le fait guerrier et dissimuler l'fenvers du décors. Cette fantasmagorie surréaliste fonctionne selon un double regime de fascination et de stimulation des pulsions de mort qui ont pour effet de
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susciter des vocations djihadistes. Le pan institutionnel de la propagande de l'EI se presente plutot comme un discours rationnel en adoptant le reportage comme régime d'fecriture de la vérité. Cette caution de transparence d'fun Etat-providence, équitable et qui offre toutes les bonnes conditions de vie masque l'entreprise totalitaire et les exactions institutionnalisees de l'EI et le présente comme un espace citoyen et familial. Ces deux genres de mises en scene sont sous-tendues par des protocoles de desinformation singuliers qui confortent leur efficacité. D'abord, le jeux avec l'énonciation qui ne permet pas de déceler un message clair et principal dans les vidéos de l'EI participe de l'ambigüité foncière de son discours et permet de l'interpréter de plusieurs manières possibles. Ensuite, l'estompage des temporalités et la confusion géographique décontextualisent le propos et rendent possible la désinformation des recepteurs. En outre, la production de normes différenciées du djhad classique presente l'EI comme une nouvelle utopie et rend son idéologie extensible a de nouveaux publics. Enfin, l'association inextricable de registres disparates : le religieux et le politique, le transcendant et l'immanent, le réel et le discours sur le rél, le personnel et le collectif, etc. favorise l'identification d'un nombre plus grand de récepteurs au discours de l'EI. Tous ces procédés permettent à l'organisation de proposer des réponses adaptées à des publics dissemblables et ainsi recruter massivement. La désinformation est constitutive de tout discours de propagande mais la caractéristique inédite de celui de l'EI c'est cette hybridation des niveaux de significations hétérogènes qui rend son efficacité redoutable et qui nécessite, de ce fait, de l'examiner dans une recherche plus approfondie." (Conclusion)
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"In this moment of unprecedented humanitarian crises, the representations of global disasters are increasingly common media themes around the world. The Routledge Companion to Media and Humanitarian Action explores the interconnections between media, old and new, and the humanitarian challenges that
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have come to define the twenty-first century. Contributors, including media professionals and experts in humanitarian affairs, grapple with what kinds of media language, discourse, terms, and campaigns can offer enough context and background knowledge to nurture informed global citizens. Case studies of media practices, content analysis and evaluation of media coverage, and representations of humanitarian emergencies and affairs offer further insight into the ways in which strategic communications are designed and implemented in field of humanitarian action." (Publisher description)
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"This study shows that the use of media in Iraq is only partly based on ethno-sectarian patterns, and that the majority of media users are not naively susceptible to the views of individual media offerings. There are broadcasters that explicitly appeal to ethno-denominational target groups, and ther
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e are user groups that follow only one broadcaster in a monothematic fashion. However, the majority of the public seems to be interested in the interpretations of reality by different camps and therefore receives and compares different media offerings. As a result, it is possible that biased reporting achieves the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of gaining more support in the public for certain positions, the partisan channel loses its credibility and thus its effectiveness, as well. From this standpoint, a departure from partisan and biased reporting would be in the interest of both media users, a majority of whom are critical of biased reporting, and media producers, who would also strengthen their position in the public by attaining greater credibility. One could object here that the results of the study are based on the self-assessments and self-perception of the respondents, and therefore do not reflect real behavior but social expectations. Conversely, however, this would mean that the majority of the respondents perceive anti-sectarian use of the media as a social expectation they would like to fulfill. This too would only reinforce the conclusions stated here." (Final remarks, page 21)
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"The research documents how, despite immense ongoing challenges, in Afghanistan, Iraq, Nepal and Pakistan, some important advances have been made to develop joint structures and innovative approaches to defend the practice of journalism. It examines the long road Colombia has followed in the establi
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shment of its protection programme, and looks at what organisations and bodies working on the ground in Indonesia and the Philippines struggle against, and what they have achieved using the resources available to them." (Back cover)
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