Comparing Media Systems Beyond the Western World

“This is a most welcome sequel to the editors’ widely acclaimed and often cited Comparing Media Systems (2004). Whereas that earlier work derived three models of political communication systems, including four dimensions along which they could be compared, from analysis of 18 advanced capitalist democracies in Western Europe and North America, this publication branches out, ambitiously and insightfully, into other parts of the democratic world, including Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Latin, America, Asia and Africa. It is based on academic experts’ case studies of the countries concerned, which consistently attain high standards of empirical and conceptual presentation. The results provide a rich mix of confirmation and critique of Hallin and Mancini’s original framework plus ideas for other models, including hybridized ones. This book will arouse much interest, advance comparative understanding, and provoke debate.”—Jay Blumler, University of Leeds
“Few other books in the field of communication have left a deeper impact than Hallin and Mancini’s Comparing Media Systems. This immensely thoughtful followup publication debates the usefulness of their typology to cases outside the scope of their original analysis. It is a rare and impressive example of conceptual improvement and broader integrative theorizing in the still-young literature on comparative communication. This volume proves how theoretical exchange between scholars from diverse national backgrounds and divergent schools of thought can contribute substantially to comparative theory-building. The intention of this volume is not to institutionalize a single conceptual framework, but to establish a broad, multi-perspectival tradition of comparative analysis. It is highly successful and elevates the comparative study of media systems to a new level."—Frank Esser, University of Zürich
“Hallin and Mancini’s dialogue between the ‘most dissimilar systems’ of the non-Western world and the ‘most similar systems’ of the Western world is a seminal contribution to comparative media studies.”—Chin-Chuan Lee, City University of Hong Kong
“This book is an intelligent and thoughtful expansion of the seminal framework developed in Comparing Media Systems to media systems beyond the western world. Hallin and Mancini have convened an impressive group of authors who challenge, refine, and occasionally reject, their framework through a combination of detailed case studies of some key countries and comparative overviews. The book represents a bold and intellectually exciting enterprise in the area of comparative media research. It will be of interest to social scientists and to media and journalism scholars seeking to understand media systems and the linkages to media practice beyond Europe and North America.”—David A. L. Levy, Director, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford