Media in political transition: the case of Tunisia

Tue 15 July 2014 - Wed 16 July 2014

Trinity Hall

On 26 January 2014, three years after uprisings roiled the Arab world and President Zine el-Abeddin Ben Ali was ousted, Tunisia adopted a new Constitution, which enshrines freedom of expression and freedom of conscience within a democratic political system of elections and representative government. This two-day Conference will examine the forces that led to this signal achievement, particularly as they relate to the emergence of a liberated media as a key factor in the development of a politically pluralistic Tunisia. Importantly, it will provide context to these changes by considering the impact of the last three tumultuous years on the changing political/media environment in the larger Maghrib region. The mediated nature of the Arab uprisings has led to significant theoretical reassessment in the field of media studies, while the trajectory of political change in the region, from ‘leaderless activism’ to inexperienced party politics negotiating new structural terrains, is challenging existing analytical frames and encouraging new ones. The conference will offer an academic platform focused on Tunisia and the Maghrib that will bring together scholars and experts from different disciplines to share insights and develop new ways of understanding the structural relationship between media and state, the contours of the emerging Fourth Estate, and the social discourses that are constituting a politics in transition.

Cost: free