Polarization & populist backlash in transitioning Tunisia: the role of internet media & media ownership.

Since it's revolution, Tunisia's road to democracy has been turbulent—with apathy, polarization, and politically motivated violence stifling its transition. While much has been made of internet media's role during Tunisia's revolution, far fewer studies have examined its continuing effects throughou...

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Publicado en:British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies Vol. 52; no. 1; pp. 38 - 61
Autor principal: Bennett, Andrew
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Feb2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Feb2025
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      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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        10.1080/13530194.2023.2230151
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        atl: Polarization & populist backlash in transitioning Tunisia: the role of internet media & media ownership.
      aug:
        au: Bennett, Andrew
        affil: Department of Political Science, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY, USA
      su:
        Tunisia
        Polarization (Social sciences)
        Democracy
        Internet
        Mass media
        Elite (Social sciences)
        Radicalism
        Conspiracies
      sug:
        subj:
          Polarization (Social sciences)
          Democracy
          Internet
          Mass media
          Elite (Social sciences)
          Radicalism
          Conspiracies
          Tunisia
          Wired Telecommunications Carriers
          Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals
      ab: Since it's revolution, Tunisia's road to democracy has been turbulent—with apathy, polarization, and politically motivated violence stifling its transition. While much has been made of internet media's role during Tunisia's revolution, far fewer studies have examined its continuing effects throughout the country's ongoing democratic transition. This study draws on original interviews conducted with politicians, journalists, and democracy activists immediately following Tunisia's 2019 presidential elections to highlight how internet media and media ownership have hindered democratic consolidation. Since its revolution, internet media has stood as a central pillar of Tunisia's political discourse—but despite the country's many subsequent gains in informational freedom and media pluralism, I find that concentrated ownership and weak regulation over the internet/media have created space for powerful elites, former regime officials, and other anti-democratic forces to marshal influence over the online marketplace to stifle and push back against democratic consolidation. Overall, concentrated media markets—especially online—have empowered elite owners to impede media regulation and disseminate an unchecked deluge of bias, misinformation, conspiracies, and extremism—thereby propelling the kinds of deepening divisions, polarization, and mistrust towards the democratic process that has given rise to more populist/authoritarian actors seeking to erode democratic institutions and seize political power.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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