Media politics and democracy in Palestine: political culture, pluralism, and the Palestinian authority

This book examines the Palestinian process of state formation and the prospects for democracy in a future Palestinian state through a discussion of the roles played by the diverse civil institutions that exist outside the framework of the dominant Palestinian Authority political and social structure and, specifically, the various publications that each institution or movement produces.

In opposition to the PA, liberal as well as Islamic social forces promote policies of protest and resistance, through media tools, against the authoritarian policies of the PA. The media is viewed as a public sphere in which these forces compete. Media institutions play an important role in setting the parameters of communication in processes of state building: promoting public debate and forming public spheres influence the modes of state–civil society relations. Combining concepts of political communication with social movement theory, the author examines the extent to which public opinion plays a role in determining the character of the political regime. The rising tension between the Palestinian Authority’s attempts to deepen its control over society and the reaction to this development by opposition groups informs the analysis of each civil institution: the role of NGOs, the Islamic movement, the women’s movement and Palestinian feminism, and the liberal-democratic intellectual elite, are all assessed through their media institutions and communication policies, to reveal the character of the emerging Palestinian public sphere. The book also develops the concept of a “media regime” in Palestinian areas, and includes models of communication and media theory, along with Palestinian case studies, that will prove invaluable to both students of the Middle East and media studies scholars.