Lynch, Marc. Voices of the New Arab Public: Iraq, Al-Jazeera and Middle East Politics Today.

• Position: Book review

Lynch, Marc. Voices of the New Arab Public: Iraq, Al-Jazeera and Middle East Politics Today. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2006. Hardcover $24.00.

The main undertaking of Lynch's book "Voices of the New Arab Public" is to counter the hysterical claims that Al-Jazeera in specific and the Arab media in general are "jihad TV" or are collaborating with insurgents. The main thesis is that there appeared structural transformation in the Arab public sphere due to the constant public scrutiny of Arab governments and insistence on discussing reforms in the Arab world by the new media. Although the study focuses on questions of public opinion, it does not offer a full treatment of news coverage by Arab Media but the coverage done by the media on Iraq since 1991-1994. Lynch draws his analysis on a collection of debates on Al-Jazeera talk shows, in op-ed pages of pan-Arab daily newspapers, in Internet chat rooms with hot debates and actual interviews. He concludes that Arab media must be treated seriously by the west. It is not the enemy. The new media, Lynch contends, might push towards democracy and change in the region if understood properly by the west.

Lynch explains how the new Arab public sphere was a primary source of Arab identity for the past decade and a half. "What it means to be an Arab" was dependant on solidarity with the Iraqi people and their sufferings due to the imposed sanctions on them. Having some Arabic countries join the coalition in 1991 divided the Arabs. Following that, a dramatic change took place throughout the imposed sanctions years until the 1998 bombing of Iraq where there appeared a clear sympathy with the Iraqis. This support grew even more by the 2003 invasion. Sustained opposition of military action against Iraq...