By: Jacques Semelin
French publication: Nouveau Monde 2009
English publication: ICNC Press, 2016 (forthcoming)
Description:
Originally published in French in 1998, this book is a rare account of how radio and television impacted dissidence, civil resistance and ultimately liberation in Eastern Europe in the late 20th century. Semelin examines the role of Western and Eastern bloc media in the main crises — Budapest, Prague and Berlin — of the communist bloc which, from the 1950s, destabilized Moscow’s domination of Eastern Europe. The five-year anniversary of the Arab Spring uprisings has reignited interest in the role of media and civil resistance in transitions from authoritarianism. Semelin’s research documenting successful democratic transitions in Eastern Europe therefore has newfound relevance in media, policy and academic circles.