Dangerous Alliances: Civil Society, the Media and Democratic Transition in North Africa
* Acknowledgements * Preface by Clovis Demers * Introduction * Part 1: The Public Arena in the Maghreb: Convergences and Divergences * Setting the Stage * 1. Tunisia: The Domination of Plato's Cave * The Tunisian Transition to Democracy Did Not Take Place * 'I am the State' * A Police State * A Legal System in Captivity * Alternation in Office Impossible * 2. Tunisia: The Submission to Plato's Cave * Tunisian Civil Society before Its Collapse * The Fatal Alliance * The Destruction of Al-Nahdha * The Undermining of the Tunisian League for Human Rights * 3. Tunisia: Locking Up Plato's Cave * Disadvantaged Media * How the Tunisian Media Were Neutralized * Survival Strategies * The Happy Agenda * Relations with the Foreign Press * Banning International Human Rights Monitoring * 4. Algeria: The Children of Jocasta * The Birth of Civil Society * The Oedipus Temptation * The Unfinished Business of Remaking the Public Arena * The Press and Its Role in Political Developments * Between Open Dissidence and 'Moderate' Opposition: Prospects for a Rebirth * 5. Morocco: The Slow Ascent of Sisyphus * The Amaoui Affair * A Long Pluralistic Tradition * A Moroccan Model for the Construction of a Civil Society * Facilitating Factors and Obstacles * 6. Conclusion: The Public Political Arena in the Maghreb * Part 2: The Aftermath of Dangerous Alliances: Transformations and Continuities in the Political Arena * Between Cries and Whispers * 7. Happy Tunisia: The Authorized Account * A Dream for Tourists and Foreign Investors * The Security Mania * The Show Democracy: Arguments and Techniques of Stage-Setting * The Quest for International Approval * Propaganda Achievements * 8. The International Press and the Algerian Guardians of Democracy * The Rhetoric of Objectivity * How the International Press Took Sides in the Algerian Conflict * The Rebuilding of a Pluralistic Public Forum by the International Press * 9. Tunisian Dissident Information Networks * Unarmed Prophets * In European Circles * Internal Dissidence * Discrediting Dissidents * The State of Tunisian Dissidence * 10. Islam: Dismantling a Clich' * Propositions: * 1. Religion is a Marginal Theme in the Press * 2. Islam is not the Explanation for Everything * 3. Culturally, Islam is also a Product of Maghreb's Political Systems * 11. Freedom or Tyranny? Perspectives in the Maghreb * Algeria * Tunisia * 12. Toward a Sociology of Citizenship in a Globalizing World * A Political Systems Model * The Classical Democratic Model * A Dynamic Conflictual Model of Democracy * Democratic Transitions are Reversible * The International Media's Connivance with Dictatorships * Reversing the Spiral of Silence * Bibliography * Index
DEMOCRATIC PRAXIS (Outside North America): A Basic Bibliography
The sections below are subject to the qualifications and liabil ities inherent in such categorization. The entries under 'Democratic Praxis' are organized, by geographic regions, and are for illustrative purposes only: they by no means represent the bulk of the scholarly literature in their respective domains (or even the creme de la creme of that literature). This praxis is part of a larger bibliography that also contains a portion on theory.
Expansion without equity: An analysis of current policy on access to higher education in Brazil
Access to higher education in Brazil is to a large extent restricted to the higher socio-economic groups. Public universities have limited places and entry is determined by highly competitive exams, thereby excluding those who have not had a high quality secondary education or attended an expensive preparatory course. There has been considerable growth in the private sector to absorb the excess demand, but the majority of Brazilians cannot afford the fees. This paper develops a concept of equity in higher education in which, firstly, there should be sufficient places in the system as a whole and, secondly, all people should have a fair opportunity of attending the university of their choice regardless of socio-economic background. Recent efforts to expand access are analysed, including incentives for the growth of private universities, student loans and the new Prouni initiative, in which private institutions provide free places to low-income students in return for tax exemptions. While these initiatives have the potential to increase the total number of places, they will not lead to an equitable expansion, as disadvantaged students will still be confined to courses of lower quality or with lower subsequent value on the employment market. Initiatives aimed at the public sector such as the introduction of quotas and changes to entry examinations are also discussed. Finally, some implications for future policy development are outlined.