Within the broader donor-led governance agenda, assistance to independent media ? or ?media development, ? as it is commonly known ? is an ill-understood area. This handbook is designed for those who may be interested in media development programs, but are unclear about the whys, hows, and whens.

This book examines the effects of media interventions in the global South, and argues for a more adaptive and context-sensitive media development. The work investigates media development as part of statebuilding and the effects that Western-led media has in, and on, a newly built state. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, including interviews, observations and social surveys, it analyses the effect media interventions has on global South countries, from the population’s point of view. The findings show that in practice media development can be alien to the societies in which a free press is implemented, which can lead to unintended and negative consequences for social relations in a country. While the book uses South Sudan as a case study, it also presents different perspectives and shows that local views on the media are different from those of Western experts and policymakers. Therefore, the book advocates taking local views seriously and an adaptive media development that is sensitive to the context in which it is set up. This book will be of much interest to students of statebuilding, media studies, development studies and international relations in general.

This book investigates the role of media and communication in processes of democratization in different political and cultural contexts. Struggles for democratic change are periods of intense contest over the transformation of citizenship and the reconfiguration of political power. These democratization conflicts are played out within an increasingly complex media ecology where traditional modes of communication merge with new digital networks, thus bringing about multiple platforms for journalists and political actors to promote and contest competing definitions of reality. The volume draws on extensive case study research in South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and Serbia to highlight the ambivalent role of the media as force for democratic change, citizen empowerment, and accountability, as well as driver of polarization, radicalization and manipulation.

The last quarter of a century has seen an unprecedented wave of democratization around the globe. In these transitions from authoritarian rule to a more democratic order, the media have played a key role both by facilitating, but frequently also inhibiting, democratic practices to take root. This book provides an accessible and systematic introduction to the media in transitional democracies. It analyses the problems that occur when transforming the media into independent institutions that are able to inform citizens and hold governments to account. The book covers the following topics: normative conceptions of media and democracy; the role of the past in the transition process; the internet as a new space for democratic change; the persistence of political interference in emerging democracies; the interlocking power of media markets and political ownership; the challenges to journalistic professionalism in post-authoritarian contexts; the role of the media in divided societies; The book takes a global view by exploring the interplay of political and media transitions in different pathways of democratization that have taken place in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia. It will be of interest to advanced students and scholars who want a better understanding of the media outside established Western democracies. The book will also be of great value to policymakers and activists who are involved in strengthening the media in transitional democracies.

The Arab Spring did not arise out of nowhere. It was the physical manifestation of more than a decade of new media diffusion, use, and experimentation that empowered ordinary people during their everyday lives. In this book, Billie Jeanne Brownlee offers a refreshing insight into the way new media can facilitate a culture of resistance and dissent in authoritarian states. Investigating the root causes of the Syrian uprising of 2011, New Media and Revolution shows how acts of online resistance prepared the ground for better-organised street mobilisation. The book interprets the uprising not as the start of Syria's social mobilisation but as a shift from online to offline contestation, and from localised and hidden practices of digital dissent to tangible mass street protests. Brownlee goes beyond the common dichotomy that frames new media as either a deus ex machina or a means of expression to demonstrate that, in Syria, media was a nontraditional institution that enabled resistance to digitally manifest and gestate below, within, and parallel to formal institutions of power. To refute the idea that the population of Syria was largely apathetic and apolitical prior to the uprising, Brownlee explains that social media and technology created camouflaged geographies and spaces where individuals could protest without being detected. Challenging the myth of authoritarian stability, New Media and Revolution uncovers the dynamics of grassroots resistance blossoming under the radar of ordinary politics.

Good governance is not a fundamental right under the Constitution of India. Did the makers of the Constitution presume that the framework and the institutional structure designed by them would ensure that the people got social, economic, and political justice, liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship, and equality of status and of opportunity? Why is Satyam missing from mainstream Indian activities, although the National motto Satyameva Jayate is ubiquitous as part of the National Symbol, appearing in all national documents, including in currency notes? The perceived charm of the office of the District Officer is a major factor in attracting some of the brightest and most diligent among the Indian youth to the Indian Administrative Service. But should young graduates spend their energy in the prime of their youth on preparation for the Civil Services Examination, the chances of success being statistically low? Should professionally qualified persons attempt to join the Civil Services, with the risk of becoming professionally unfit with the passage of time if they do not succeed? These questions are only incidental. The book discusses key governance issues from an unbiased perspective.

How does the nexus between security, human rights and good governance play out in the sustainable development context? Based on state-of-the-field, interdisciplinary research with a global perspective, Leaving no one behind, leaving no one unaccountable offers the first comprehensive account of the role of ombuds institutions in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, launched by the United Nations in 2015. With their unique position in-between three branches of power, the mandate to oversee public administration (including the security sector) and protect human rights, ombuds institutions are well-placed to play an important role in national efforts to fulfil the SDGs. The book takes the specific angle by looking at SDG-16, devoted to effective, accountable and inclusive institutions, through the lens of security sector governance. It brings granular analysis of all SDG 16 targets, demonstrating how ombuds institutions could contribute to achieving each of them. The book develops an innovative conceptual framework, by looking at both implementation and accountability. The former is captured under the title of ‘leaving no one behind’ and the latter under ‘leaving no one unaccountable’. Leaving no one behind is a central credo of the 2030 Agenda. It is highly relevant for SDG-16, as well as security sector governance, due to the centrality of the principles of responsiveness, inclusiveness and participation. The book attests that for a number of the SDG 16 targets, ombuds institutions should primarily serve as accountability mechanisms. It argues they should work with, pressure, and make public administration accountable, in cases when the administration as the primary duty-bearer fails to protect the rights of citizens and when their actions fall short of the standards needed to achieve the SDGs. As this book demonstrates, many SDG 16 targets are rather vague, and limited guidance exists on how to measure and achieve them, especially in fragile contexts. It thus provides guidance and recommendations to ombuds institutions and other actors on how to best support each other in achieving SDG-16. Leaving no one behind, leaving no one unaccountable is a key resource for scholars, policymakers and activists concerned with effective, accountable and inclusive institutions, and those interested in political science, security studies, human rights and development studies.