The Public Sphere and Satellite Television in North Africa

The advent of satellite television and its adoption in the Maghreb brought about a profound social change. This book, which explores the relationships between the media and the public sphere, shows that the simple and quotidian act of watching satellite television as opposed to national television mobilizes novel ways of expressing identities along with a range of critical positions targeting political regimes. By bringing certain topics hitherto hardly present to the center of homes, the media reveals the pivotal functions of gender relations, which are today at the heart of social and political matters in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.

Based on extensive fieldwork, this book offers a unique interpretation of the use of satellite television in authoritarian contexts and contributes to a better understanding of the media and the political public sphere.

The book will interest teachers and students in communication, political studies, gender studies, sociology and anthropology of the Arab worlds and the Mediterranean.