55. Name: Fouad Touzani Title: Al Jazeera and the Democratic Transition in the Arab World: Empowering Arab Civil Society and Compensating for the Decline of Political Parties Institution: Central European University Country: Hungary Date: 2009 Language: English Abstract: This thesis argues that Al Jazeera can be an important contributor to the democratic transition in the region. However, this argument remains contrary to that of the democratic transition theory. Democratic transition theorists highlight the important role of elites within political parties and civil society organizations in the democratization process. In contrast, these theories tend to downplay the role of the media, claiming that it is very likely to be controlled and influenced by governments and lobbies. The thesis draws a picture of dysfunctional Arab political parties and a fledgling Arab civil society with a little or no potential contribution in the democratic transition. In so saying, using a combination of content and discourse analyses of Al Jazeera’s website and broadcasts as well as cross-national surveys and short case studies, the thesis shows Al Jazeera’s strong potential in recompensing the role of these two players through empowering Arab civil society and indirectly performing some of the functions of the declining Arab political parties. This thesis also concludes that Al Jazeera network can be a strong player in the democratic transition throughout the region.
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