Public Diplomacy in the Age of Regional Media: Winning the War of Hearts and Minds in the Middle East AL-Jazeera and al-Hurra A dissertation presented by Marwa Abdel Samei to The Department of Political Science In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctors of Philosophy In the field of Political Science Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts June, 2010 1 © 2010 Marwa Abdel Samei ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Public Diplomacy in the Age of Regional Media: Winning the War of Hearts and Minds in the Middle East AL-Jazeera and al-Hurra by Marwa Abdel Samei ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Northeastern University, June 2010 2 ABSTRACT This dissertation is a comparative critical discourse analysis of the coverage of specific international events in the American al-Hurra and the Qatari al-Jazeera news channels. It studies how regional satellite media challenge the way in which US public diplomacy is conducted in the Arab world. It examines the factors that contribute to the success or failure of the public diplomacy of the media, and argues that identity presentation of the self vs. the presentation by/of other plays the major role in determining performance. It also discusses how the communication revolution has shifted the paradigm of diplomacy by emphasizing the role of public diplomacy, at the same time complicating the environment within which public diplomacy is conducted. This study demonstrates that al-Hurra news channel communicates values that primarily serve American policies and strategies in the Middle East. By adopting a clearly futuristic approach, it tends to marginalize the role of religion as well as the region’s history. It is more inclined to reflect liberal voices in the Arab world as well as Israeli views of the events in the Middle East. In contrast, al-Jazeera is evidently more open to various persuasions and orientations in the Arab world, even if it seeks to promote the idea of Arabness with its constituent elements of identity such as history, language and religion. Given that al-Jazeera is obviously faring better than al-Hurra, the level of success of both news channels is accounted for on the basis of three factors: context, conception and content. For a message of public diplomacy to find its way to its audience, it needs a proper understanding of the context in which such messages are disseminated. A sound conception of the goals and roles of public diplomacy efforts that 3 emanates from a proper understanding of the context must follow. Finally, the more consistent media messages are with the basic beliefs and values of the target audience, the better chance they have to be accepted by those audiences. Thus, it could be argued that while al-Jazeera represents contextual objectivity, al-Hurra exemplifies the ‘existential crisis.’ By all accounts, the careers of al-Hurra and al-Jazeera demonstrate how regional media challenge the hegemonic discourse of soft power and produce their own hegemonic discourse. 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In the past five years, I have had the chance to learn from many teachers at Northeastern University, but I am especially indebted to the members of my Dissertation Committee. Prof Amilcar Barreto was tremendously helpful in the course of my course of my career at Northeastern University, both as the Director of Graduate Studies and as my Supervisor. Not only did he read drafts of all chapters and return them to me with helpful comments and suggestions, but he also assisted me in administrative matters and always took my own convenience and personal circumstances into consideration. Prof Denis Sullivan offered me a much needed research assistantship that made possible my admittance to Northeastern University. His understanding and support during my time in Boston was invaluable. At Princeton University, I had the honor and pleasure to have Prof Amaney Jamal as a member of my Committee. Prof Jamal provided me with very helpful and insightful feedback on my work. I also thank the Chair of the Political Science Department, Prof John Portz, and the Director of Graduate Studies, Prof Ronald Hedlund, for their valuable assistance in the past few years. Thanks are also due to Mr Lyle Ring and Ms Barbara Chin for facilitating administrative work while I was away. Dr. Muhammad Ayish at Sharjah University and Dr. Sahar Khamis at the University of Maryland have read and commented on parts of this dissertation, for which I am very grateful. During my second year in Boston, I stayed with Johanna Segarich. Her stimulating discussions and the warmth of her house were a great support while I was away from the people I love. 5 In Princeton, where I lived during most of my time in the US, I had the good fortune to enjoy the company of many supportive friends. I am especially indebted to Sussan Moinfar-Yazdi for her love and passion, Nermeen Ali, Madam Amira, Farida Habib, Madam Nadia and their families for their hospitality and support that made my time in Princeton a lot easier, Amineh Mahalati for her passionate support, and Dina, Umara, Rozaliya, Mona, Heba, Luke, Aubrey, Hajar, and Balkis for their friendship and encouragement. Nesma Sharara, my soul mate, was always a source of support and encouragement, a big listener, and a secret-keeper. Ahamd Abd el Hafiz, Walla Fathi and Marwa Issa tolerated my repeated absence and never failed to check on me. In Egypt, I have to acknowledge my debt to my teachers who prepared me well for my career here in the US: Profs Nadia Mustafa, Hassan Nafaa, Mustafa Kamel and Seif abd el-Fattah. In the last couple of years, God has bestowed upon me two invaluable gifts: my daughter, Fayruz Hibat-Allah Osman, and my son, Yusuf Yaqut Zakariyya Osman. Fayruz has added new meaning to my life and made me discover an empty part in my heart that I was never aware of. ‘Mommy is studying’ was one of Fayruz’s first sentences, which made me feel guilty for not giving her all the time she needed. Recently coming into the world, Yusuf has substantiated my consciousness of myself as a mother, and together with Fayruz has given new meaning to my life and encouraged me to work hard to be a mother they would be proud of. This work would have never been possible without the extraordinary support of my beloved husband. Amr Osman was not only a helpful and supportive husband who had to satisfy himself with a part-time wife, carry all the books I needed for my work, 6 and proofread that work, but he was also an example that I always looked up to. Amr did that while working on his own dissertation and building a future for our family. He has enriched my life, broadened my perspective and made me more aware of my identity. It is to him that I dedicate this dissertation. Last but not least, I can hardly think of words that describe my gratitude to my father Mahmoud Fekry Abdel Samei and my mother Nawal al-Abd for their support over the years. They believed in me since my earliest years and continued to do so more than I did. My father sowed in me the love of reading and writing and my mother supported me with her care and passion. I am also fortunate to have two wonderful sisters, Salma and Randa who were not only my best friends but, at many times, second mothers. Their families have always been a source of joy in my life. 7 Table of Contents Abstract …………………….……………...…………………………………………...3 Acknowledgments………….……………………………………………………….…5 Table of Contents…...………………………………...……………………………….8 Introduction……………………………...………………………………………....11-35 1. Literature Review ………………………………………………………………..15 a. Mapping the Studies of Media and Identities……………..……………..15 b. Literature on Arab Media………………………………………………...19 c. Literature on Public Diplomacy………………………………………….22 2. Research Questions………………………………………………………………27 3. Methodology……………………………………………………………………..28 a. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)…………………………...................28 b. Framing Analysis………………………………………………………...33 c. Content Analysis…………………………………………………………35 Chapter One: Contextualizing the Role of Media in International Relations ………………………………………………………………………………………..36-75 1. International Relations Theory and Practice: From Real Politics to Identity Politics…………………………………………………………………………...38 a. Globalization Between Homogeneity and Clash………………………...39 b. Non-State Actors: A Friend or An Enemy?...............................................45 c. Media Sphere……………………………………………….....................53 2. Defining Identity…………………………………………………………………62 3. The Arab Media Sphere and Arab Identity………………………………………63 a. Arab Cultural Revival……………………………………………………64 b. Colonialism and the Expansion of Arab Public Sphere………………….66 c. Independence and the Contraction of Arab Public Sphere………………68 d. Nasser’s Sawt al-Arab (Voice of the Arabs)...…………………………...69 e. Characteristics of Nasser’s Media……………………………………….71 f. The 1967 Effect…………………………………………………………..73 Chapter Two: A Tale of Two Channels…………………………............76-110 1. Entering the Age of Satellite Channels…………………………………………..77 8 a. The Stone the Stirred the Stagnant Water………………………………..79 b. The Tiny Network with a Big Mouth……………………………………83 2. The September 11 Effect………………………………………………………...85 3. Al-Hurra: Is it in the Right Place at the Right Time?............................................90 a. Al-Hurra’s Professional Irregularities…………………….......................94 b. Al-Hurra’s Institutional Constraints……………………………………100 4. Content Analysis………………………………………………………………..103 a. Al-Jazeera’s Programs…………………………………………………..105 1. Ma Wara’ al-Khabar (What is behind the News)……………105 2. Akthar min Ra’y (More than One Opinion)…………………..106 b. Al-Hurra’s Programs…………………………………………………....107 1. Sa‘a Hurra (Free Hour)………………………………………107 2. Al-Ittijahat al-Arba‘a (The Four Directions)…………………108 5. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..109 Chapter Three: Gaza War and (Re-)Imagining the Middle East.............111-164 1. Mapping War Coverage on the Two Channels…………………………………115 a. The Target………………………………………………………………120 b. The Responsibility……………………………………………………...130 c.