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Open Lugalambi 2006.Pdf The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Communications AN ASSESSMENT OF DEMOCRATIC DELIBERATION IN UGANDA: A CASE STUDY OF THE FRAMING OF KEY POLITICAL ISSUES IN THE PRESS A Thesis in Mass Communications by George W. Lugalambi © 2006 George W. Lugalambi Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2006 The thesis of George W. Lugalambi was reviewed and approved* by the following: Dennis K. Davis Professor of Communications Thesis Adviser Chair of Committee Shyam S. Sethuraman Associate Professor of Media Studies Anthony A. Olorunnisola Associate Professor of Media Studies John P. Christman Associate Professor of Philosophy and Political Science John S. Nichols Professor of Communications Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research College of Communications *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. ii ABSTRACT In public deliberation about Uganda’s democratic future, citizens were engaged in animated debates concerning the type of political system and the mode of presidential succession that the country should embrace. This study analyses media discourse about the issues that these debates raised. Two issues were at the heart of public deliberation: whether the country should return to the multi-party system or retain the no- party Movement model of government; and whether presidential term limits should be upheld or scrapped. The evolution of the democratization process during the political transition from 2000 to 2005 is the setting of the research. In view of the country’s turbulent history, Ugandans anticipated that the transition would ultimately yield and sustain a political culture anchored in civil politics, democratic legitimacy, and a stable constitutional order. Drawing specifically on press coverage of the political discourses of elite actors, the study assembles evidence that illuminates the manner in which political elites constructed and framed the issues that were at stake. Public opinion data on citizens’ attitudes toward democracy, political leadership, and democratic institutions are cited and used to underscore the climate of opinion in which the key issues were deliberated, framed, and contested. Accordingly, the issue framing strategies that the elite employed in constructing meaning out of key political developments as reported in the press are explored. The quality of media discourse is assessed from the normative standpoint of the theory of deliberative democracy. Informed by the social constructionist paradigm in framing research, a set of frame packages was generated from media discourse through a case history analysis and then subjected to a quantitative assessment through content analysis. The core framing processes and dynamics of frame sponsorship and alignment were then examined. In addition to revealing the dominant frames and frame sponsors, the results indicate that frequently the same frame packages were proliferated and contested across competing claims by rival claims-makers. This tendency reflects the desire by elites to ground their claims in political values that have resonance in the larger political culture. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables………………………………………………………………………. viii List of Figures……………………………………………………………………… ix Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………..x CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………….. 1 Purpose and significance of the study........................................................... 3 Background to the study…………………………………………………… 5 Public opinion about the political transition……………………………….. 9 Ugandans’ attitudes toward democracy……………………………………. 11 Objectives of the study…………………………………………………….. 17 The conceptual framework………………………………………………… 18 Structure of the dissertation……………………………………………….. 23 CHAPTER 2. BACKGROUND TO UGANDA’S POLITICAL TRANSITION…. 26 Introduction………………………………………………………………… 26 The colonial encounter……………………………………………………... 26 The transition to independence…………………………………………….. 28 Coming to terms with self-government……………………………………. 30 The cycle of crises…………………………………………………………. 31 Constitutionalism on trial…………………………………………………... 32 Dictatorship and fascism take root…………………………………………. 35 A failed political experiment………………………………………………. 37 The persistence of terror…………………………………………………… 39 The birth of the Movement system………………………………………… 41 Participatory democracy…………………………………………………… 43 Constitutional renewal……………………………………………………... 46 Movement versus multi-party politics……………………………………... 48 Resolving the question of political systems………………………………... 53 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………. 56 CHAPTER 3. FOUNDATIONS OF DEMOCRATIC POLITICS………………... 57 Introduction………………………………………………………………… 57 The democratic principle of political equality……………………………... 60 The institutional framework for democracy……………………………….. 64 Models of democracy………………………………………………………. 67 Schumpetarian……………………………………………………... 68 Populist…………………………………………………………….. 69 Liberal……………………………………………………………… 70 Participatory……………………………………………………….. 71 Social………………………………………………………………..72 Deliberative…………………………………………………………74 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………. 75 iv CHAPTER 4. THE DELIBERATIVE CONCEPTION OF DEMOCRACY……… 77 Introduction………………………………………………………………… 77 Deliberative versus aggregative conceptions of democracy……………….. 77 The principles of deliberation……………………………………………… 83 Non-tyranny………………………………………………………... 84 Equality…………………………………………………………….. 84 Publicity……………………………………………………………. 85 Reciprocity…………………………………………………………. 86 Accountability……………………………………………………… 86 Deliberative theory versus practice………………………………………… 88 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………. 91 CHAPTER 5. DEMOCRATIC TRANSITIONS IN AFRICA…………………….. 93 Introduction………………………………………………………………… 93 Conceptualizing African democracy……………………………………….. 94 Democratic performance…………………………………………………… 95 Hybrid democracies………………………………………………………... 97 The liberal paradox………………………………………………………… 99 Feasibility of liberal democracy……………………………………………. 100 Popular conceptions of democracy………………………………………… 101 Political agency and the role of elites……………………………………… 102 Institutions and elites………………………………………………………. 104 Deliberation and elites……………………………………………………... 105 The character of elites……………………………………………………… 105 Elites and the democratic movement………………………………………. 107 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………. 110 CHAPTER 6. THE DELIBERATIVE CONCEPTION OF THE MEDIA...……… 111 Introduction………………………………………………………………… 111 The case for democratic deliberation………………………………………. 113 The media as a deliberative resource………………………………………. 116 Elite versus non-elite deliberation…………………………………………. 120 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………. 124 CHAPTER 7. THE FRAMING OF POLITICAL ISSUES IN THE MEDIA……... 125 Introduction………………………………………………………………… 125 Frame analysis and research paradigms……………………………………. 127 The cognitive paradigm……………………………………………………. 130 The critical paradigm………………………………………………………. 133 The constructionist paradigm………………………………………………. 136 Frame types and definitions………………………………………………... 142 Issue frames………………………………………………………... 143 Collective action frames…………………………………………… 144 Decision frames……………………………………………………. 144 News frames………………………………………………………... 145 Audience frames……………………………………………………. 146 Frame packages in media discourse………………………………………... 146 The case history approach to media discourse……………………………... 147 Political waves and critical discourse moments……………………………. 149 v A case history of Uganda’s political transition…………………………….. 151 Research questions…………………………………………………………. 160 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………. 167 CHAPTER 8. METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………. 168 A note about the nature of issue frames……………………………………. 168 The identification of issue frames………………………………………….. 169 Selection of data sources…………………………………………………… 173 Content analysis……………………………………………………………. 175 Message pool………………………………………………………. 175 Unit of analysis…………………………………………………….. 176 Development of the coding scheme………………………………... 176 Assignment of content…………………………………………….... 177 Coding procedure………………………………………………….. 177 Intercoder reliability checks………………………………………… 177 Data and measures………………………………………………………... 178 Limitations of the study……………………………………………………. 182 CHAPTER 9. THE RESULTS…………………………………………………….. 184 Patterns and trends in press coverage……………………………………… 184 Salience of stories about party politics and term limits……………. 184 Differences in press coverage of party politics and term limits…… 185 Competing issue frames in media discourse……………………………….. 187 Prevalence and visibility of issue frames…………………………... 187 Relationship between issue frames and issue domains…………….. 187 The characteristics of frame sponsorship…………………………………... 189 Number and categories of frame sponsors………………………… 189 Attributes of frame sponsors……………………………………….. 190 Issue position of frame sponsors…………………………………… 195 Relationship between frame sponsorship, political affiliation, and issue position……………………………………………………….. 196 Relationship between press coverage and frame sponsor’s political affiliation…………………………………………………. 204 CHAPTER 10. IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS………………………... 206 Introduction………………………………………………………………… 206 Reprise of the objectives…………………………………………………… 207 Summary of the chapters…………………………………………………... 208 Media practices in issue framing…………………………………………... 213 Sponsor activities in issue framing………………………………………… 216 Cultural resonances in issue framing………………………………………. 224 The deliberative quality of media discourse……………………………….. 226 Suggestions for future research…………………………………………….. 229 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………….
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