Date of Graduation

5-2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Political Science (MA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Political Science

Advisor/Mentor

Najib Ghadbian

Committee Member

Todd Shields

Second Committee Member

Stephen Smith

Keywords

New media, Lebanon, Democratic debate

Abstract

There has been a noted interest in the new technologies of the nineties, those that have expanded the realm of traditional mass media and the traditional means of communication that people were previously used to. With the start of globalization and the world becoming what some have called “global village,” the act of distributing information to the four comers of the world has become less complicated than it used to be, and boundaries are seen as constantly being eroded by the new pressures of modernization and liberalization. The internet and satellite televisions increased in importance in this realm, and so did the study of the impact of these means of communication on civil society and governments. The purpose of this study is to observe and analyze the impact of the new media, this new public sphere, on civil society and its politics, particularly in the case of Lebanon. My objective is to understand how the dynamics of the New Media and those of local politics interact and affect each other, and consequently to what extent this interaction is encouraging or permitting democratization and freedom of speech. In other words, is the New Media affecting the Lebanese political discourse? Or is it reinforcing the power of traditional politicians?

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