10. Name: Marie Elizabeth Smith Title: U.S. Democracy Promotion and Al Jazeera: A View into Arab
Reactions and Opposing Movements Institution: University of California Country: United States Date: 2005 Language: English Abstract:
The promotion of democracy in the Arab world has become a central pillar in American Middle East foreign policy. This study questions the theoretical and historical knowledge around this issue, trying to understand how the U.S. advocacy of democracy is being received. The underlying assumption of U.S. policy is that democracy moderates some of the anti-American sentiments from the region and undermines terrorist activities and support. Using aspects of social movement theory, this thesis examines Arab reactions to America’s public promotion of democracy. This study argues that America’s campaign has in fact been counterproductive, as it has polarized the political discourse, a result, which weakens potential sources of internal pressure and distorts understandings of democracy. The researcher argues that this situation facilitates states maintenance of the status quo. It does this through framing the message as inherently American and spurring opposing movements. Using Al Jazeera data derived from the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS), the researcher recorded the connotations associated with each articulation of the word ‘democracy’ to create a sample of competing frames to observe opposing movement developments and frame contest trends.
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