Copyright by Lisa Anne Hartenberger 2005 The Dissertation Committee for Lisa Anne Hartenberger Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Mediating Transition in Afghanistan, 2001-2004 Committee: Joseph Straubhaar, Supervisor John Downing Don Heider Monika Mehta America Rodriguez Karin Wilkins Mediating Transition in Afghanistan, 2001-2004 by Lisa Anne Hartenberger, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August, 2005 Dedication To my parents, for their unwavering support Mediating Transition in Afghanistan, 2001-2004 Publication No._____________ Lisa Anne Hartenberger, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2005 Supervisor: Joseph Straubhaar This dissertation examines international aid in support of Afghan media from fall 2001 to fall 2004 as a case study to interrogate the notion of “media transition” and its underlying assumptions. It examines how development organizations such as the United Nations, bilateral aid agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, and non-governmental agencies created the institutional structures that define and support the practice of media transition. It analyzes how the nascent Afghan state media institutions and non-governmental organizations dedicated to media reconstruction negotiated and mobilized the discourse of media transition to further their own aims. It also analyzes how changing political considerations, media production and dissemination outlets, and media producers’ own sense of mission affected the production of a series of radio programs designed to promote Afghan political transition. This dissertation argues that democracy should not be treated as a self-evident goal for media transitions, but v should be viewed as a discursive process that shares many of the same concerns as development communications, and that mobilizes a transnational public sphere. vi Table of Contents Introduction..............................................................................................................1 Media as a Part of International Reconstruction Efforts.................................3 A Brief History of Nation-building in Afghanistan........................................7 Explaining the Divisiveness of Afghan Nation-building.......................7 An Outline of Afghan Political History in Global Context .................10 A Roadmap of the Study...............................................................................16 Chapter One: Theorizing Media Transitions ........................................................20 Media Transitions: Defining the Field.........................................................22 The Prevailing Paradigm: Freedom of the Press.................................24 Capturing Media Transition in the Freedom of the Press Paradigm....34 New Propaganda Models and Developmental Journalism Critiques...37 Researching Media Transitions in Developmental Journalism Approaches .................................................................................42 Mining Development Communications for the Study of Media Transitions............................................................................................46 The Modernization Paradigm ..............................................................47 Measuring Effectiveness in the Modernization Paradigm...................51 Participatory Communication ..............................................................54 Measuring Development in the Participatory Paradigm......................61 A Critique of Binary Power Models ....................................................64 Merging Literatures: An Approach to the Study of Media Transitions.......67 Chapter Two: Studying Media Transition in Afghanistan....................................71 The Case Study Approach ............................................................................72 The Selection of Afghanistan...............................................................73 My Position as a Practitioner ...............................................................75 Examining Institutional Constructions .........................................................78 Research Methods Used.......................................................................79 Key Data Sources.................................................................................80 vii Analyzing Discursive Formations.................................................................85 Research Methods Used.......................................................................85 Key Data Sources.................................................................................88 Considering Production Practices.................................................................89 Selecting the Radio Programs..............................................................90 Key Data Sources.................................................................................92 Limitations of the Study Methodology.........................................................96 Chapter Three: The Institutional Construction of Media Transition ..................100 Media for Development: Advancing State Agendas .................................103 State Media and Modernization.........................................................104 Media as a By-product of International Development Projects.........108 Media for Propaganda: Destabilizing the State .........................................117 International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy ............................119 Consolidating Agendas in Bilateral Aid ............................................124 The Rise of the Solidarity NGO.........................................................131 Media for Transition: Addressing Liminal States.......................................136 Re-writing the Rules of Engagement in Multilateral Organizations .138 Specialization within US Bilateral Development Organizations.......140 The Rise of the Media NGO ..............................................................145 Chapter Four: The Discursive Formation of Media Transition ..........................151 The International Community and Humanitarian Aid................................154 Media NGO Needs Assessments .......................................................155 Privileged Players in the Humanitarian Aid Formation.....................157 The UN and Public Information Needs ......................................................159 The Preliminary Needs Assessment...................................................160 The Media Working Group and ITAP...............................................163 Privileged Players in the Information Needs Formation....................167 The Afghan State and Cultural Policy ........................................................169 The National Development Framework and Budget .........................170 The Consultative Group and the Technical Annex............................174 viii Privileged Players in the Cultural Policy Formation .........................178 Media NGOs, Political Events, and Press Freedom ...................................180 The New Press Law ...........................................................................181 The Seminar on Independent Media and the (Newer) Media Law....184 Presidential Elections and the Media Code of Conduct.....................186 Privileged Players in the Press Freedom Formation..........................190 Chapter Five: The Practice of Media Transition.................................................196 Disseminating Knowledge and Modeling Behavior: The ELJ Radio Soap Operas ................................................................................................198 Establishing the Afghan Transitional State Authority.......................199 The Educational Format: Presenting Ideal Solutions.........................202 Limited Distribution Outlets..............................................................206 A Complex Production Process .........................................................209 Structuring the Voice of the People: The CLJ Vox Pops ...........................212 Strengthening the Afghan Transitional State.....................................213 The Vox Pop Format: Editing the “Real” Voice of the People .........215 The Vox Pop Format: Challenging Authority Figures .....................222 Appropriate Distribution Outlets .......................................................227 Speaking to the World: CLJ and Presidential Elections Vox Pops ...........229 Focusing on Private Media Prior to the Elections .............................230 The Vox Pop Format: Addressing National and Transnational Audiences..................................................................................234 Chapter Six: Implications of the Case of Afghan Media Transition ..................242 A Review of Key Findings .........................................................................243 Media Transition as a Discursive Process .........................................244 Media Transition as a Development Project......................................247 Media Transition and the Transnational Public Sphere.....................250 When to End Media Transition..........................................................254 Theoretical Implications and New Areas of Research................................258