Dangerous alliances : civil society, the media and democratic transition in North Africa / Lise Garon ; foreword by Clovis Demers.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Garon, Lise, 1943-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political participation.

Civil society.

Africa, North--Politics and government.

Africa, North.

North Africa.

Politics and government.

Civil society--Africa, North.

Political participation--Africa, North.

Physical Description:

xii, 212 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Zed Books ; New York : Distributed in the USA exclusively by Palgrave, [2003]

Summary:

"The painstaking research, rigorous analysis and clearly defined conclusions make this book an excellent teaching tool, widely relevant beyond Tunisia and the Maghreb."--Clovis Demers, President, Human Rights Internet This is an up-to-date and insightful account of modern politics in three crucial North African countries--Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, known together as the Maghreb. It examines the ways in which the outward forms of democratic governance can be emptied of content, specifically through a conjunction of a power-hungry leader and a quiescent civil society that allows him to wield this power.

Contents:

Part I The Public Arena in the Maghreb

Convergences and Divergences 5

1 Tunisia - The Domination of Plato's Cave 7

The Tunisian Transition to Democracy Did Not take Place 8

'I am the State' 9

A Police State 11

A Legal System in Captivity 15

Alternation in Office Impossible 19

2 Tunisia - The Submission to Plato's Cave 24

Tunisian Civil Society before its Collapse 25

The Fatal Alliance 28

The Destruction of Al-Nahdha 31

The Undermining of the Tunisian League for Human Rights 34

3 Tunisia - Locking Up Plato's Cave 38

The Disadvantaged Media 39

How the Tunisian Media were Neutralized 42

Survival Strategies 46

The Happy Agenda 47

Relations with the Foreign Press 49

Banning International Human Rights Monitoring 52

4 Algeria - The Children of Jocasta 55

The Birth of Civil Society 56

The Oedipus Temptation 64

The Unfinished Business of Remaking the Public Arena 69

The Press and Its Role in Political Developments 71

Between Open Dissidence and 'Moderate' Opposition: Prospects for a Rebirth 77

5 Morocco - The Slow Ascent of Sisyphus 81

The Amaoui Affair 81

A Long Pluralistic Tradition 88

A Moroccan Model for the Construction of a Civil Society 94

Facilitating Factors and Obstacles 98

6 Conclusion - The Public Political Arena in the Maghreb 104

Part II The Aftermath of Dangerous Alliances

Transformations and Continuities in the Political Arena 111

Between Cries and Whispers 111

7 Happy Tunisia - The Authorized Account 113

A Dream for Tourists and Foreign Investors 113

The Security Mania 116

The Show Democracy: Arguments and Techniques of Stage-Setting 121

The Quest for International Approval 124

Propaganda Achievements 126

8 The International Press and the Algerian Guardians of Democracy 129

The Rhetoric of Objectivity 130

How the International Press Took Sides in the Algerian Conflict 136

The Rebuilding of a Pluralistic Public Forum by the International Press 138

9 Tunisian Dissident Information Networks 146

Unarmed Prophets 147

In European Circles 152

Internal Dissidence 157

Discrediting Dissidents 160

The State of Tunisian Dissidence 166

10 Islam - Dismantling a Cliche 169

Propositions

1. Religion is a Marginal Theme in the Press 171

2. Islam is not the Explanation for Everything 172

3. Culturally, Islam is also a Product of Maghreb's Political Systems 172

11 Freedom or Tyranny? Perspectives in the Maghreb 180

Algeria 180

Tunisia 181

12 Towards a Sociology of Citizenship in a Globalizing World 185

A Political Systems Model 189

The Classical Democratic Model 190

A Dynamic Conflictual Model of Democracy 191

The International Media's Connivance with Dictatorship 198

Reversing the Spiral of Silence 200.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1842771604

1842771612

OCLC:

49531614

Online:

Publisher description