Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2008. Graduate Programme in Communication and Culture. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 330-353). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:NR38997

This thesis considers the evolution of the Russian media and assesses the decrease in media freedom and its effect on Russian democracy. The Russian media has lost most of its freedom and ability to report critically over the last five years. Although there are Russian laws that are supposed to protect the freedom of the media, those have not been enforced. In addition, over the last five years a number of reforms have occurred that have removed some of those freedoms. These include laws that restrict coverage of elections, terror events and the Chechen region. The lack of freedom has resulted in the inability for the media to serve their purpose in civil society. This has contributed to civil society's lack of ability to ensure that Russia's government remains democratic. If present trends continue the future does not look good for Russian democracy or the freedom of Russia's media.

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2005. / Thesis Advisor(s): Anne Clunan, Mikhail Tsypkin. Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-91). Also available online.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse and explain the organization of Greek broadcasting, and particularly its relationship to the state and politics. The study begins with the introduction of state-owned radio in 1936 and ends with the abolition of the state monopoly and the introduction of private local radio by a Socialist government in 1987. Through a mainly chronological structure the study examines the development of Greek radio and television set against major developments in the sphere of politics from the inter-war period until the late 1980s. These developments include the establishment of a quasi-fascist dictatorship in 1936, the Right-Left cleavage of the 1940s and the nature of parliamentary regime which was established as a result of the Communist defeat in the civil war (1946-1949). Subsequently, the study deals with the imposition of the dictatorial regime in 1967 and examines the contradictions which led to its eventual downfall in 1974. Finally, the thesis covers the transition of the country to democracy, the nature of the democratic regime, the party system and the major aspects of policy of both the Conservative governments (1974-1981) and the Socialists (1981-1987). Placed within the framework of the debate about the role of broadcasting in liberal democracies, the thesis examines the applicability of two antithetical models, the 'fourth estate' and the 'dominance' models to the Greek broadcasting system from 1936 to 1987. Neither is found to be satisfactory. Our study of government-broadcasting relations since the introduction of radio demonstrates that the broadcast media have always been subordinate to partisan political control and that neither the editorial autonomy nor the political independence of Greek broadcasters, on which the 'fourth estate' model is based, have ever been safeguarded by Greek politicians. The 'dominance' model, on the other hand, to the extent that it considers the mass media as an instrument of the dominant classes fails to describe accurately the role of Greek broadcasting institutions and of the state which controls them within Greek society. Due to the uneven and belated industrial development of the country, the state has acquired a dominant position in social and economic life by distributing resources and safeguarding the vital Interests of various social groups. Political parties have always relied on the mechanisms of the state to consolidate their power. Broadcasting institutions have therefore been used by those holding executive power as a legitimating mechanism of their policies. Preoccupied as they were with the political output of radio and television, Greek politicians never pursued the development of a public service ethos In Greek broadcasting.

A sophisticated and high tech form of state-to-foreign population diplomacy based on the use of the latest communication technologies has developed rapidly in recent years and has acquired an increasingly important position within a significant number of foreign affairs systems. Pioneered by the heavyweights of the international stage, the phenomenon has spread rapidly to secondary powers and is progressively extending itself to varying degrees to all states around the globe. This thesis grapples with the enigma raised by the brisk re-emergence of this foreign policy concentration by attempting to understand the reasons behind both the quantitative increase in public diplomacy activities and the qualitative evolution of these activities in terms of planning, organisation and implementation. The first argument that this thesis broaches is that the sudden growth of public diplomacy is the result of the shift to a new phase of the information revolution (necessary enabling force) which has been amplified by contingent factors: the explosion of global terrorism (accelerator) and the perception of leaders and foreign policy makers of this new environment (prism). The second argument is that, beyond quantitative growth, the new operational context born of the advent of the global information society provoked a qualitative evolution of the public diplomacy inherited from the Cold War towards what is today mass diplomacy. The result is the appearance of a market driven diplomacy employing persuasive techniques borrowed from the world of public relations and marketing. The new diplomacy is an entrepreneurial diplomacy that limits governmental leadership to a necessary minimum and encourages the participation of private and foreign sub-contractors. It is also a cyber-space diplomacy equipped with new diplomatic instruments such as high-resolution satellite imagery, high-speed networks, digital broadcasting and other marvels of the late twentieth cen

No description available.