"Priorities Were Chosen by Donors” - A Critical Review of International Media Assistance in Afghanistan (2001-2021)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.60678/gmj-de.v15i1.353

Keywords:

International Media Development, Afghanistan, Media Assistance, Media for Development, Donor-Driven Agendas

Abstract

This study presents findings from research on international media development strategies and practices in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021. Based on qualitative interviews with 35 Afghan journalists in Afghanistan, the research offers a retroactive assessment of key patterns in International Media Assistance. The findings indicate that prevailing media assistance strategies, as perceived by interviewees, were largely aimed at changing attitudes and behaviors through media programs. This reflects a media-centric paradigm in which people are viewed as passive recipients of information rather than active agents of change. Interviewees also noted that the international community underestimated the divide between liberal urban communities and conservative rural communities. Media programs often targeted liberal, urban youth, further jeopardizing social cohesion in Afghanistan. Future programs should prioritize citizen engagement in public affairs through the media to help counter the widespread perception that decisions are made elsewhere. Participatory approaches should also include conservative communities, as a sole focus on liberal urban elites has been seen as deepening social divisions.

Author Biographies

Hazrat Bahar, Leipzig University, Germany

Hazrat M. Bahar (Dr. phil.) is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Communication and Media Studies at Leipzig University. He is also partially supported by the Institute of International Education (IIE). His research interests include the impact of (social) media, media systems, media in fragile states, and media assistance, with a particular focus on Afghanistan. Currently, he is studying the Afghan media system over the past two decades. His research has been published in journals such as Media Asia, Cross-Culture Communication and Global Media Journal-German Edition.

Anja Wollenberg, MiCT, Germany

Anja Wollenberg (Dr. phil.) is Head of Research at MiCT, a Berlin-based media assistance organization primarily active in the Middle East and North Africa but also in West and East Africa, Eastern Europe and South-Central Asia. Her research focuses on media pluralism, media structures, and the role of media in conflict and conflict prevention. She has published extensively on media development in Iraq and Libya, particularly in relation to conflict dynamics such as polarization, hate speech, and media partisanship in these countries. Anja Wollenberg is a co-founder and shareholder of MiCT. She also teaches in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Erfurt.

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Published

2025-10-07

How to Cite

Bahar, H., & Wollenberg, A. (2025). "Priorities Were Chosen by Donors” - A Critical Review of International Media Assistance in Afghanistan (2001-2021). Global Media Journal - German Edition, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.60678/gmj-de.v15i1.353

Issue

Section

Media Practice & Research Reports