Media, War and Terrorism: Responses from the Middle East and Asia(Politics in Asia)

Media, War and Terrorism analyses, for the first time, responses to the events of 9/11 and it's repercussions from the point of view of Asian and Middle Eastern countries. Perhaps controversially, the contributors argue that while the US, and to an extent European, media seems largely unified in their coverage and silence in public debate of the events surrounding the attacks on the World Trade Centre, there exists open, critical debate in other parts of the world. By examining the use of media as an instrument of warfare and analyzing the construction of public opinion in mediated electronic warfare, this book clearly shows the difference in perspectives between public opinion in the US and the rest of the world. Moving away from popular assumptions that societies in the West are democratic and progressive and those in the Middle East and Asia are either authoritarian or under-developed, this examination of the media in those countries suggests the exact opposite. In combining an examination of the general, theoretical issues concerning the use of the media as an instrument of warfare with rich, geographically diverse case studies, the editors are able to provide a diverse and intriguing analysis of the impact and inter-connectedness of national and global medias. Bringing together contributions from academics, journalists and media practioners from all over the world, Media, War and Terrorism is an essential read for all of those seeking an informed, non-Western perspective on the events following 9/11.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. War Propaganda and the Liberal Public Sphere 3. The West and the Rest: A Drama in Two Acts and an Epilogue 4. Television in America from 9/11 and America's Continuing 'War on Terror': Single Theme, Multiple Media Lenses 5. The Middle East's Democracy Deficit and the Expanding Public Sphere 6. Political Islam in Iran and the Emergence of a Religious Public Sphere: The Impact of September 11 7. September 11 and After: Pressure for Regulation and Self-Regulation in the Indian Media 8. The Jewish Hand: The Response of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind 9. The WTC Tragedy and the US Attack on Afghanistan: The Press Joins in Beating the War Drums 10. War, Words and Images 11. When Osama and Friends Came A-Calling: The Political Deployment of the Overdetermined Image of Osama ben Laden in the Contestation for Islamic Symbols in Malaysia 12. Some 'Muslims' Within: Watching Television in Britain After September 11

About the Author :
Peter Van der Veer is Professor of Comparative Religion and Director of the Research Center of Religion and Society at the University of Amsterdam. Shoma Munshi is Assistant Director at the Center for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania.