Taking a unique approach in studying global media alongside a range of other globalized forms of communication, ranging from the individual to groups, civil society groupings, commercial enterprises and political formations. A wide-ranging theoretical and empirical overview suitable for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students of media and communication studies and those studying globalization within related disciplines such as sociology. Offers a clear, systemic overview with individual chapters focussing on different types of communication, but also offers a critical perspective on the achievements of globalization and global communication.

Taking a unique approach in studying global media alongside a range of other globalized forms of communication, ranging from the individual to groups, civil society groupings, commercial enterprises and political formations. A wide-ranging theoretical and empirical overview suitable for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students of media and communication studies and those studying globalization within related disciplines such as sociology. Offers a clear, systemic overview with individual chapters focussing on different types of communication, but also offers a critical perspective on the achievements of globalization and global communication.

Islam in "Liberal" Europe provides the first comprehensive overview of the political and social status of Islam and of Muslim migrants in Europe. Kai Hafez shows that although legal and political systems have made progress toward recognizing Muslims on equal terms and eliminating discriminatory practices that are in contradiction to neutral secularism, "liberal societies" often lag behind. The author argues that Islamophobic murders in Norway and Germany are only the tip of the iceberg of a deep-seated inability of many Europeans to accept cultural globalization when it hits close to home. Although there have always been anti-racist elites and networks in Europe, Hafez contends that the dominant tradition even among seemingly liberal intellectual milieus and their media is Islamophobic. This fact finds expression not only in the growing anti-Islam sentiment among right-wing populists but sometimes also in so-called enlightened forms of contemporary media, public opinion, school curricula, and Christian interfaith dialogues. In addition to offering a critical assessment of positive and negative trends in Islamic-Western relations, Hafez also engages in a theoretical debate revolving around integration, tolerance, multicultural liberalism, and modern liberal democracy. He combines political philosophy and political and social theory with current analysis on communication and the role of both religious and secular institutions in community-building in modern societies. In essence, the author debates the question of whether liberal society in Europe, in order to avoid a growing gap between integrative politics and discriminatory societies, needs a complete renewal not only of political ideologies but also of cultures and institutions.

Trotz aller erkennbarer Zeichen der "Globalisierung" ist das Feld der internationalen Kommunikation, ist die "Informationsgesellschaft" in den meisten Bereichen noch immer ein Nebenschauplatz der oeffentlichen Kommunikation. Ob Auslandsberichterstattung, Satellitenfernsehen, das Internet, Filmproduktion oder andere Gebiete der Medienproduktion und -nutzung: Die Medien werden weltweit noch immer in hohem Mass von lokalen, nationalen und regionalen Prozessen gepragt. Politische und oekonomische Dimensionen eines "Weltmediensystems" existieren erst in Ansatzen. Im Bereich der Massenmedien ist die Globalisierung wissenschaftlich kaum fassbarer "Mythos", der dringend einer realistischen Revision bedarf, um das politisch bedeutsame Projekt zukunftsfahig zu machen.

Ever since the events of 9/11, great attention has been paid to Arab mass media by politicians, experts and journalists around the world. Many have argued that Arab media has been the catalyst for various political and social developments ranging from democracy to political radicalization and from Westernization to Arab and Muslim cultural renaissance. Much of the debate, however, has been too narrowly focused - particularly on the famous TV network Al-Jazeera. This leaves the majority of the dynamic Arab media unnoticed. Moreover, the existing scholarly literature on the subject often lacks theoretical and empirical sophistication, and it is these gaps that this book will address.The editor of "Arab Media: Power and Weakness" has invited the best scholars on the subject, from around the world, to participate, with the aim of evaluating, revising, and stimulating the academic debate on Arab media."Arab Media: Power and Weakness" is comprised of research synopses (comprehensive overviews over the current academic literature and "blind spots" of research in one of the above mentioned fields); original empirical research; and theoretical papers.The result is a comprehensive handbook of up-to-date research and scholarship on this important and fast-changing subject, which will be of use to all students and researchers of the contemporary Arab world.

Democratizing Global Media explores the complex relationship between globalizing media and the spread of democracy around the world. An international, interdisciplinary group of journalists and scholars discusses key and often contentious issues such as the power of media, the benefits of media globalization, and the political role of media. More than a critique, Democratizing Global Media offers positive alternatives, from peace journalism to popular movements toward democratizing media and public communication.

Over the last decade, political Islam has been denounced in the Western media and in the surrounding literature as a terrorist or fascist movement that is entirely at odds with Western democratic ideology. Kai Hafez s book overturns these arguments, contending that, despite its excesses, as a radical form of political opposition the movement plays a central role in the processes of democratization and modernization, and that these processes have direct parallels in the history and politics of the West. By analyzing the evolution of Christian democratization through the upheavals of the Reformation, colonisation, fascism, and totalitarianism, the book shows how radicalism and violence were constant accompaniments to political change, and that these components despite assertions to the contrary are still part of Western political culture to this day. In this way, the book draws hopeful conclusions about the potential for political, religious, and cultural transformation in the Islamic world, which is already exemplified by the cases of Turkey, Indonesia, and many parts of South Asia. The book marks an important development in the study of radical movements and their contribution to political change.

The anthology is an introduction to political cultures in the Islamic world and into relations between the West and Islam. It outlines similarities and differences in the understanding, perception and communication of basic politico-ideological issues like modernity democracy, human rights, violence, the emancipation of women, and economic development and social justice.
It details its analyses in country studies on relations between the USA and Europe on the one side and Algeria, Iran, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, Bosnia, Israel/Palestine, Iraq, Central Asia and Pakistan on the other side.
The book, which was first published in Germany, was deemed to be "a convincing reply to Huntington" (S]ddeutsche Zeitung). Mostly German scholars and scholars working in Germany present original insights into a complex matter that although at the heart of international and intercultural relations is often treated in simplistic ways.