Authoritarianism, Civil Society and Democracy in the Middle East: Mass Media in the Persian Gulf

Abstract

The published literature on the topic of “Authoritarianism, Civil Society, and Democracy in the Middle East” is extensive and unwieldy. Partly due to space constraints, we propose to review the topic under six framing questions and then provide a selected and representative bibliography at the end.The ideas of political reform and democracy are often the mainstay of debates within Middle Eastern polities. In general, there is ample awareness of democracy deficit and poor governance in the region. Democracy refers most basically to the ability of citizens to hold their governments accountable, and to change their political leaders at regular intervals. Instead, accountability to the public is generally weak in the region, and rulers are more likely to change as a result of actuarial realities than a withdrawal of public confidence.

Understanding media empowerment: citizen journalism in Palestine

“…The aforementioned lack of trust can be seen more vividly among Middle Eastern nations due to the format of governing systems and limitations on the media in this region (Bakis and Karakoç, 2015 ; Bellin, 2004 ; Kazemi and Norton, 2006 ; Kurd, 2022 ). During the pandemic period, the source that can aid the government to implement its policies regarding health-related issues and safety is citizen journalists as they are recognized as independent and thus, are more trustworthy in society in terms of risk perception and communication (Wu, 2020).…”