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Some of the world's most lethal terrorist organizations have become media-centric enterprises, while also hijacking a major world religion, holding large swathes of physical territory, and governing their own virtual states. In this concise and penetrating book, Seib traces how terrorism has proliferated and increased significantly in menace in the relatively brief period between the rise of al-Qaeda and the creation of Islamic State. With close attention to the linkages between media, religion, and violence, the book offers incisive analysis of how organizations such as Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram operate and reflects on how terrorism may continue to evolve. Seib argues that twenty-first-century terrorism is enabled by new media and depends on social networks as connective tissue, while interacting simultaneously with religion and socio-economic and political grievances. As Terrorism Evolves prescribes new measures for counterterrorism efforts, underscores the importance of soft power, and makes a strong case for recognizing that we have entered an era of terrorism of undetermined duration.

Although the United States has had its own problems with religion-based intolerance, in comparison with much of the rest of the world America's religion-related legal and societal institutions can be proudly displayed to global publics as examples of US national character. Yet despite possessing this valuable soft power asset, US policymakers have tended to be reluctant to put it to use as part of public diplomacy efforts. Official reticence about religion stems largely from failure to fully understand the fundamental constitutional principle of separation of church and state. Inhibitions about using religious freedom as a central element of American foreign policy should be overcome.

1. Introduction : The State of Arab Media in the Wake of the Arab Uprisings Suzi Mirgani, Center for International and Regional Studies, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar Part I: Arab Media in Transition 2. On the Entangled Question of Media and Politics in the Middle East Mohamed Zayani, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar 3. A Comparative Analysis of Traditional Media Industry Transitions in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt Fatima el Issawi, London School of Economics and Political Science 4. The Culture of Arab Journalism Naila Hamdy, American University in Cairo Part II: Space and the Cultural Production of Arab Media 5. Narratives and the Syrian Uprising: The Role of Stories in Political Activism and Identity Struggles Dina Matar, SOAS, University of London 6. Public Space, Street Art, and Communication in the Arab Uprisings Marwan M. Kraidy, University of Pennsylvania 7. Change and Continuity in Arab Media: A Political Economy of Media Cities Joe Khalil, Northwestern University in Qatar Part III: Media, State Interests, and Non-State Actors 8. Framing Political Islam: Media Tropes and Power Struggles in Revolutionary Egypt Abeer AlNajjar, American University of Sharjah 9. Hezbollah, Al Manar, and the Arab Revolts: Defiance or Survival? Zahera Harb, City University London 10. U.S. Public Diplomacy and the Media in the Middle East Philip Seib, University of Southern California

This article is based partly on events of the Arab Awakening that began in 2011. When considering the ripple effects of the tumult in the Middle East, a question arises: How can any policy-maker keep up with the vast amount of information coming from a vast number of sources? The public's political expectations are geared to the speed of the information flow, but that does not necessarily mean that those who govern should try to match the pace of this flow as they design and implement policy. Fast policy-making is often unwise policy-making, but that observation is unlikely to satisfy those who are accustomed to getting their news with the click of a mouse and expect to see crises resolved by the next time they click. This article does not endorse trying to match the pace of diplomacy to the speed of social and other media, but it does suggest that policy-makers must do a better job of addressing the political realities and technological capabilities of a social-media-oriented society that relies heavily on networks of various kinds to acquire the information used in decision-making and political action within the public sphere. Although no precise how-to-do-it formula emerges from consideration of these matters, this article may help establish the context in which policy makers and the public will be considering and responding to political events for years to come. The Arab Awakening of 2011 was just a starting point, and a long path lies ahead.

As a public diplomacy tool, transnational journalism (principally broadcasting) has long had appeal to governments. It is a relatively efficient and inexpensive way to reach potentially vast audiences throughout the world with messages that presumably possess added credibility when wrapped in the trappings of journalism. Non-state actors, including media organizations themselves, may conduct their own versions of public diplomacy. New communication technologies have led to an expanded number of players in this field and to an even larger audience, which has gradually become more sophisticated and less credulous. Broadcasters are no longer just broadcasters. The most creative among them use Internet-based media to enhance their reach and influence. For purveyors of public diplomacy to earn and maintain the trust of the publics they seek to reach requires an adherence to established principles of journalism, more specifically those of foreign correspondence. If this occurs, a new genre of international repo...

The author argues that standards of objectivity and accuracy employed by journalists should also be held by practitioners of public diplomacy. The perceived commonality with propaganda makes public diplomacy vulnerable to challenge about its being an ethical enterprise. Examples of U.S. public diplomacy efforts in Iraq and in Arab-speaking countries more generally are discussed, including the development of television channels. It is argued that public diplomacy, like journalism, must be conducted ethically or else it will certainly fail.

As the global world order continues its evolution, we are witnessing the ascendance of middle powers such as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, China, South Africa) and the MINTs (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey). This book has been written at a time when the broader Middle East has yet to resolve its internal issues, stabilize regional security, and sustain democratic principles. The Syrian civil war, political turmoil in Egypt, and the ongoing tension between Iran and the Western powers pose many questions for the future of the region in terms of security, democracy, economic stability, and broader regional influence.

Although the United States proved in its invasion of Iraq (though not in its postinvasion efforts) that it retains dominance in military power, this war marked an end to the near monopoly in global news that American and other Western media had long enjoyed. New voices emerged, competing for audiences throughout the world by offering news shaped by varied interests and perspectives. Competitive war coverage was just the latest step away from US cultural hegemony, and although Qatar-based Al-Jazeera has attracted the most attention, it is just part of a movement toward diversity. American and other Western policymakers must be prepared to deal with the influence of broadly based news programming that will lessen the influence of US news organizations, which have been relatively supportive of US policy during recent conflicts. When Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak toured Al-Jazeera's cramped headquarters in Qatar, he observed that “all this trouble from a matchbox like this” (Whitaker 2003). For Mubarak and other Arab leaders who prefer their news media compliant, Al-Jazeera has caused plenty of trouble by fostering debate about topics that many in the region—including many news organizations—treat as being outside the news media's purview. On Al-Jazeera, everything from the role of women to the competence of governments is addressed, often loudly. The station's motto is “the opinion, and the other opinion,” which might seem commonplace in the West but is exceptional in the Arab media world. Al-Jazeera is the successor to a failed experiment, BBC Arabic Television (BBCATV), which was set up in 1994 and quickly ran afoul of its principal financial backer: the Saudi royal family. When BBCATV aired “Death of a Princess,” a documentary drama about the execution of a Saudi princess and her lover, the Saudis withdrew their funding and the BBC venture collapsed (Careless 2002). Some relatively …

The convergence of media fostered by the rise of the Internet is reshaping international news coverage and changing relations between nations. The tripartite relationship of public, news media, and policy-makers is made tighter by the convergence powers of the Web. To take advantage of the Internet, news organisations are expanding their in-house capabilities and forming new partnerships. In the United States, these changes could have particularly profound effect on long-neglected international news coverage. Governments are also affected by these changes, using the Web to acquire and disseminate information. For their part, members of the public can gather information on their own, rather than waiting for news organisations to filter and then deliver it. Other facets of international relations affected by the Internet include the expansion of venues for terrorist organisations, supporters of democratisation, and watchdog/pressure groups. Beyond news and other communications functions, the Internet presents new challenges to systems of international relations. The information revolution is proceeding on numerous fronts, redefining the role and power of the news media and presenting policy-makers with a tool that they must contend with as well as use for their own purposes.

New media—meaning satellite television and Internet-based media—are crucial to public diplomacy efforts directed at the Arab world and to those emanating from Arab states. As the events of 2011 have so dramatically shown, the region’s media ecology has evolved and traditional assumptions have changed with global implications. The hegemonic influence of Western media has drastically diminished, and so the hubristic premise of much Western public diplomacy has similarly been undermined. At the same time, some Arab states, most notably Qatar, have found that their own media can play a valuable role in public diplomacy. Further, during the Arab revolutions, social media have become important (although sometimes overrated) tools for political change in the region.

The increasingly pervasive influence of the Internet and the enhanced technological capabilities of television news have made real-time journalism ubiquitous. This has a profound impact not only on the news media and news consumers but also on policymakers, who are at least somewhat responsive to news-influenced public opinion. Real-time reporting of a war or other foreign policy crisis, for example, may push governments toward responding quickly rather than wisely, thereby raising challenging ethical issues. The faster speed and larger volume of news delivery require a rethinking of principles and process in the news business and also among all those in the public and private sectors who deal with the news media.This article examines some of these issues and surveys part of the new ethical terrain that needs to be explored by journalists and those they cover. It addresses the impact of real-time news on foreign policy (particularly during times of armed conflict), the implications of online media...

In 2012, London’s British Museum presented “Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam,” an exhibition that attracted more than ten thousand visitors each week during its eleven-week run. It was a striking achievement. First, it was glitz-free, relying on its intellectual content rather than the son et lumiere approach on which so many museums today rely. It explained, in a straightforward way, the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca undertaken each year by about three million Muslims. Participating in the Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, required of every Muslim who is able to make the trip

In the vastly expanded contemporary universe of journalism, Al Jazeera English (AJE) has developed with less fanfare than attended the first years of its parent, Al Jazeera Arabic. The news cacophony is louder and more distracting today than it was in 1996, when the Arabic channel was born. Having a lower profile worked to AJE’s advantage, as the channel’s leadership sorted out issues of format, logistics, and management.

In his 1939 classic, Diplomacy, Sir Harold Nicolson wrote, “In the days of the old diplomacy it would have been regarded as an act of unthinkable vulgarity to appeal to the common people upon any issue of international policy.” Nicolson lamented technological advances such as “the invention of the wireless,” which gave “a vast impetus to propaganda as a method of policy” and allowed manipulators such as Adolf Hitler to wield “a formidable weapon of popular excitation.”1