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This book examines democratizing media reforms in Latin America. The author explains why some countries have recently passed such reforms in the broadcasting sector, while others have not. By offering a civil society perspective, the author moves beyond conventional accounts that perceive media reforms primarily as a form of government repression to punish oppositional media. Instead, he highlights the pioneering role of civil society coalitions, which have managed to revitalize the debate on communication rights and translated them into specific regulatory outcomes such as the promotion of community radio stations. The book provides an in-depth, comparative analysis of media reform debates in Argentina and Brazil (analyzing Chile and Uruguay as complementary cases), supported by original qualitative research. As such, it advances our understanding of how shifting power relations and social forces are affecting policymaking in Latin America and beyond.
List of contents
Acknowlegements.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Democracy, Media and Their Democratization in Latin America.- 3 Analyzing Policy Change: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations.- 4 Argentina: Radical Change Amid Sharp Political Conflict.- 5 Brazil: Much Debate About No Reform.- 6 Broadening the Scope: Advocacy Coalitions and Media Reforms in Chile and Uruguay.- 7 Comparison and Generalization: Conditions for Media Democratization.- 8 Conclusions and Outlook.
About the author
Christof Mauersberger is a research fellow at the Center for International Political Economy of the Otto-Suhr-Institut for Political Science at the Free University in Berlin, Germany, where he completed his doctoral research. He studied political science and economics at the Free University Berlin and the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina. His research interests focus on current Latin American affairs, social movements, media policy, and development theory.
Summary
This book examines democratizing media reforms in Latin America. The author explains why some countries have recently passed such reforms in the broadcasting sector, while others have not. By offering a civil society perspective, the author moves beyond conventional accounts that perceive media reforms primarily as a form of government repression to punish oppositional media. Instead, he highlights the pioneering role of civil society coalitions, which have managed to revitalize the debate on communication rights and translated them into specific regulatory outcomes such as the promotion of community radio stations. The book provides an in-depth, comparative analysis of media reform debates in Argentina and Brazil (analyzing Chile and Uruguay as complementary cases), supported by original qualitative research. As such, it advances our understanding of how shifting power relations and social forces are affecting policymaking in Latin America and beyond.
