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31. The Socio-political Construction of 'Honor' in the Patriarchal Society of Pakistan

Author:
Farwa Qazalbash, Muhammad Islam, and Irshad Ullah
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
This study aims to analyze how the notion of „honor‟ is usually constructed in Pakistani society. Using the script of an Oscar-winning documentary by Sharemeen Obaid Chinoy, A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, the researchers have investigated how various socio-political norms, linguistic tools, and strategies have been used to construct the issue of honor killing in a typical Pakistani patriarchal society. A set of tools offered by Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) practitioners (e.g. Fairclough, 1992, Van Dijk, 2006, Gee, 2011 and Reisigl and Wodak, 2000) helped the researchers to find that the concept of „honor‟, as social actors of the documentary view it, does not seem to be rooted in moral or religious codes rather it is a metaphor for political and social approval. Interestingly, only women are objectified as the carriers of this concept. They are conceived as the agents of disrespect or the violators of „honor‟ if an untoward incident happens. These attitudes clearly comment on the political power struggle between genders, which need in-depth investigations in Pakistani society. The analytical framework of this study may be used to analyze media discourse and discriminatory socio-political norms/attitudes in South Asian societies.
Topic:
Women, Media, Gender Based Violence, and Violence
Political Geography:
Pakistan, South Asia, and Punjab

32. Impact of Political Environment on Media Freedom in Pakistan

Author:
Atif Ashraf and Ghulam Shabbir
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
This study has been conducted to determine editorial independence of broadcast journalists in current political environment of Pakistan. Journalists from top news channels were approached to explore the political pressures that bar journalists to conduct their professional duties freely. Survey was conducted to asnalyse the level of media freedom based on perception of the professionals. It is found that political factors have a considerable influence on media practice. Freedom of media is being affected by the current democratic set-up of the country.
Topic:
Politics, Media, News Analysis, Freedom of Expression, and Journalism
Political Geography:
Pakistan, South Asia, and Punjab

33. The Status of Public Relations in South Asian Region: The Importance of Public Relations Function in Pakistan

Author:
Mudassir Mukhtar and Khuram Shahzad
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
This paper explores the prestige and importance of public relations function in Pakistan by investigating reporting relationship of the public relations department to the highest management, “PR department contribution to strategic planning and decision-making”, “PR department contribution in research” and “organizational support to PR department/PR Department Prestige”. The results are based on email survey responses randomly collected from the highest ranked practitioners of 101 inhouse PR departments of public and private sector organizations adopting a stratified sampling technique. The results indicate that private sector organizations place more importance on public relations function in Pakistan as compared to public sector organizations. Public relations departments in private sector organizations in Pakistan are more involved in strategic planning and decision making significantly contribute in and benefit more from research-based activities and enjoy a better prestige in the eyes of their top management as compare to public relations departments in public sector organizations.
Topic:
Media, Political Science, and Public Relations
Political Geography:
Pakistan, South Asia, and Punjab

34. Narratives in the Russian Media of Conflict and Cooperation in the Arctic

Author:
Ekaterina Klimenko, Jan Nilsson, and Miyase Christensen
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:
The Arctic has been narrated as both a region of cooperation and a region of conflict. This paper presents an analysis of how three Russian newspapers (Rossiyakaya Gazeta, Izvestiya and Novaya Gazeta) reported on the Arctic region between 2007 and 2016. The aim of the analysis is to provide a foundation for a discussion of Russian perceptions of conflict and cooperation in the Arctic in a decade when the desecuritization and peaceful cooperation that began in the late 1980s and early 1990s was challenged by a combination of changes to the physical environment and a shifting geopolitical landscape. The paper also explores how Russia’s narratives of conflict and cooperation fit into narratives about the region that have emerged in the international media. Last, the paper discusses what Russian media narratives can tell us about the priorities and future trends of Russia’s Arctic policy.
Topic:
Security, Media, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:
Russia, Eurasia, and Arctic

35. A Spark Beyond Time and Place: Ogawa Shinsuke and Asia

Author:
Tamako Akiyama
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:
One of the most important documentary film-makers of the post-war period, Ogawa Shinsuke, had an enormous impact on film-makers across Asia. This paper will unpack some of the paradox-filled processes by which his influence spread across the Asian film-making world through an analysis of interviews, film festival records, and the role of translation during his lifetime (1936–1992). Energised by an increasing interest in mentoring young Asian film-makers in his later years, and having created a platform for the exchange of films and ideas through the first documentary film festival in Asia in the late 1980s, Ogawa continued to offer a kind of spiritual orientation to other film-makers in translation even after his death. This paper will examine how this process was not merely a result of Ogawa’s own efforts but realised through a series of interwoven yet contradictory social, economic, and interpersonal histories. Amidst the call for a greater exchange of media within and beyond Japan, the circulation across Asia of Ogawa’s cultural capital offers an opportunity to think about the significance of the various ‘investments’ that form such capital, and poses important issues for considering the conditions under which it can continue to survive.
Topic:
Globalization, Culture, and Media
Political Geography:
Japan and Asia

36. Exporting ‘Content’ in the Face of Indifference

Author:
Markus Nornes
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:
Attempts by Japanese producers to ‘crack’ the North American entertainment market date back to the 1910s, and were driven by both profit motive and ideological desires to have one’s own cinema recognised by the hegemonic other. This paper considers the historical difficulties of exporting Japanese films to the most desirable markets in the West. In this context, it examines recent Chinese attempts to enter American cinema production and distribution, and contemplates the implications of the failure of these efforts for the regional export of Japanese films.
Topic:
Culture, Media, and Film
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, Asia, and North America

37. From Battlefront to Cyberspace: Demystifying the Islamic State’s Propaganda Machine

Author:
Asaad Almohammad and Charlie Winter
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
This report offers a unique contribution to the literature by examining the Islamic State’s production, dissemination, and evaluation of propaganda in the months running up to its territorial collapse. Utilizing a range of materials collected in eastern Syria during the first nine months of 2018, namely audio-visual records and interviews, the authors inspected the administrative structure undergirding the group’s Central Media Directorate. Key responsibilities of this entity included interdepartmental oversight and monitoring, as well as media production and distribution. Focusing primarily on infrastructure concerning security and production, the study examines how the Islamic State cultivated a high degree of operational security, fluidity, and effectiveness. By assessing these trends during a period of existential external and internal pressure, the report demonstrates how the group ensured the continuance of its influence operations. Beyond highlighting the utility of its guiding methodology and the operational value of its findings, this investigation enabled the authors to outline how the Islamic State might traverse the post-proto-state phase of its history. Among other things, the report draws attention to the increasing ascendency of diwan al-amn al-‘am (Directorate of General Security), especially regarding its role in instilling operational opacity, maintaining archives, and managing personnel. Taken altogether, the findings show how the Islamic State sought to navigate through critical trade-offs, such as efficiency and security, particularly in the context of its media operations.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Communications, Media, Islamic State, Propaganda, and Cyberspace
Political Geography:
Iraq, Middle East, Syria, and Global Focus

38. January 2019 Issue

Author:
Tore Hamming, Paul Cruickshank, Graham Macklin, Bryce Loidolt, and Jami Forbes
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
CTC Sentinel
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
In our cover article, Tore Hamming revisits the ideological origins of the Islamic State. He argues that “despite its history as a local al-Qa`ida affliate in Iraq, the Islamic State developed from an ideological and cultural trend born in late-1980s Afghanistan that was always in tension with the core idea and identity of al-Qa`ida,” setting the stage for the current bitter divide between the two groups and creating a significant obstacle to any reunification of the global jihadi movement. Our interview this month is with Rebecca Weiner, the Assistant Commissioner for Intelligence Analysis at NYPD, and Meghann Teubner, NYPD’s Director of Counterterrorism Intelligence Analysis. Despite the demise of the Islamic State’s territorial caliphate, they have not seen much of a fall-off in jihadi terrorist plotting against New York City. While they assess Islamist terrorism remains the primary threat to the city, their focus on far-right terrorism is more intense than ever before. With concern about violent right-wing extremism rising on both sides of the Atlantic, Graham Macklin examines the evolving far-right terror threat picture in the United Kingdom, focusing in particular on the terrorist group National Action. In 2007, coalition forces captured Qais al-Khazali, the head of Asa`ib Ahl al-Haqq (AAH), an Iran-backed Shi`a militia group accused of killing U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Al-Khazali was released in 2010, continues to lead AAH, and has become a significant political player in Iraq. Bryce Loidolt outlines how the recently declassified interrogation reports from al-Khazali’s time in custody reveal significant rifts between Shi`a militant power centers in Iraq and argues that such “rifts are likely to persist and will complicate Iran’s ability to project its influence in the future.” In 2018, al-Qa`ida’s leader Ayman al-Zawahiri released more messages than in the previous year and ratcheted up his threat rhetoric against the United States. Jami Forbes warns al-Qa`ida’s increased media outreach may signal both a revitalization and that it is readying to pivot back to attacking its far enemies.
Topic:
Intelligence, Counter-terrorism, Al Qaeda, Media, Islamic State, Ideology, Shia, Jihad, Radical Right, and NYPD
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Iran, Middle East, and United States of America

39. Good Governance and Accountability: An Assessment of the Media’s Role in Achieving Transparency in the 2019 General Elections in Nigeria

Author:
Aondover Eric Mcsughter
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
Paraphrasing the words of Mahatma Gandhi, one of the objects of the media is to understand the popular feeling and give expression into meaning, which arouse people to the desirable sentiments that will fearlessly expose popular defects. The foregoing statement by Gandhi explains the importance of media in upholding freedom and in expanding education, social reforms and change. Media can inform people, giving them a voice to be heard and heeded to. Democracy requires that people have the right to know the activities of the government, especially the decision of the government that affects their life, liberty and property. Information is important for people to make choices regarding their participation in the State, the market and civil society. Media also fearlessly exposes issues that make people more informed than uninformed. Sufficient information helps them decide rationally and take the right course of action beneficial to them. The media also helps people know what is happening around the globe. By publicizing information, it also makes public services more responsive to the people. Against the backdrop of the foregoing, this paper sets to assess the role of the media in achieving good governance and accountability especially in the 2019 general election. The provision of section 22 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria places an obligation on the press to uphold the responsibility and accountability of government to the people. Thus, democracy can hardly survive and achieve its yearnings in any society where there is no accountability, transparency and the inclusion of the majority of the people in governance and in determining the input into the process of development; all of which are guaranteed through a free and independent media (Auwal, 2018). Therefore, the responsibility of the media is in holding the government accountable to the people is fundamental to the overall success of democracy.
Topic:
Governance, Elections, Media, Accountability, and Transparency
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

40. 'You Can Change the Course of a Country:' Report on the International Gender Symposium

Author:
Sibley Hawkins
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Abstract:
In February 2019, ICTJ hosted an international symposium on gender and transitional justice in Tunisia that brought together representatives from eight countries where ICTJ has been actively engaged in implementing a gender-focused approach to its programming. This briefing paper presents the lessons learned and key strategies that came out of this conference, as well as recommendations to international organizations, donors, and the media.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Women, Media, and Transitional Justice
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, Asia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Syria, and Tunisia