Negotiating democracy

Across the world, governments that once controlled their airwaves have been pulling back, and the collection looks at what follows when state broadcasting gives way. Its contributors trace the push to build privately owned, varied media in countries moving away from one-party or authoritarian rule, and they examine the friction between liberal democratic habits and older political traditions.

The essays also take up contested questions of which language broadcasters should use, and how far a free press and freedom of speech can really take hold during such transitions. Cases from Cambodia, Bulgaria, Iran, Nigeria and Taiwan anchor the discussion, with each chapter offering close study of a particular country or region.

Beyond these individual cases, the authors look for patterns that recur across borders, aiming to clarify how media shapes political change within a wider process of globalization.