Transnational media and citizenship: Arabic language television in Europe

Globalization is transforming the political landscape and public discourse in both international legal terms and in terms of transnational media. Satellite, digital and cable delivery have challenged national boundaries. This paper deals with one aspect of the European transnational public sphere: the Arabic language media. An astonishing range, both national and transnational, is available: more than thirty Arabic television and radio channels, of which Al Jazeera is the transnational \u27representative\u27. Over the last decade, some such transnational public spheres have been researched (eg Matar, 2007) but there has been little attention to their critical role in advancing and promoting civic values. This paper inserts the issue of transnational media, in Arabic language in particular, into the vexed debate about citizenship in the European contex