From pan-Arab nationalism to political Islam: A Ricoeurian reading of Al Jazeera’s coverage of the ‘6th Arab-Israeli war’ in Lebanon

Abstract

Set within the wider framework of exploring the relationship between mediated representations of war and public understanding and perception of conflict in the Arab region, this paper focuses on Al-Jazeera coverage of the July war in Lebanon. From a broad theoretical viewpoint, it attempts to deconstruct the 'ideological model of war' (Carpentier, 2015) as depicted by Al-Jazeera, through its representation of the 2006 conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

Understanding the ideological construction of the Gulf crisis in Arab media discourse: A critical discourse analytic study of the headlines of Al Arabiya English and Al Jazeera English

“…On the other hand, the media literature abounds with academic studies on Al Jazeera network (e.g. Fahmy and Al Emad, 2011; Figenschou, 2010; Ibiary, 2011; Kessler, 2012; Powers and El-Nawawy, 2009; Saber, 2016; Samuel-Azran and Pecht, 2014; Sarnelli, 2013; Zayani, 2005). Some of these studies analyze Al Jazeera’s coverage of wars and conflicts as is the case with Saber’s (2016) study of Al Jazeera’s coverage of the ‘6th Arab-Israeli war’ in Lebanon and how Al Jazeera adopted a pan-Arabist discourse reminiscent of the Arab nationalist and anti-colonial discourse of the 1950s.…”

“…Fahmy and Al Emad, 2011; Figenschou, 2010; Ibiary, 2011; Kessler, 2012; Powers and El-Nawawy, 2009; Saber, 2016; Samuel-Azran and Pecht, 2014; Sarnelli, 2013; Zayani, 2005). Some of these studies analyze Al Jazeera’s coverage of wars and conflicts as is the case with Saber’s (2016) study of Al Jazeera’s coverage of the ‘6th Arab-Israeli war’ in Lebanon and how Al Jazeera adopted a pan-Arabist discourse reminiscent of the Arab nationalist and anti-colonial discourse of the 1950s. Samuel-Azran and Pecht (2014) examined how the 2002–2007 Qatari-Saudi conflict impacted Al Jazeera’s coverage of Saudi-related news and found out ‘a dramatic rise in articles criticizing Saudi Arabia for human rights violations and support of terrorism during the conflict’ proving, thus, claims that Al Jazeera supports Qatari national interests (p. 218).…”

A critical discourse analysis of Al Jazeera’s online coverage of the war in Yemen before and after the 5 June 2017 Gulf crisis

“…For example, Al Jazeera broadcast critical coverage of Israel during the Palestinian Intifada in 2000 that mobilised Arabs and united them for the first time since the 1970s, in opposition to the official Qatari position. Saber (2016) offered similar findings regarding Al Jazeera’s coverage of the sixth Arab-Israeli war in Lebanon, based on its use of a pan-Arab form of discourse reminiscent of the Arab nationalist and anti-colonial discourse of the 1950s. Al Jazeera has, however, also been accused of providing a platform for Israeli government officials among others, based on Qatar’s good diplomatic relationships with Israel.…”

“…The literature in this area also abounds with academic studies on Al Jazeera’s coverage of various wars and conflicts (Bessaiso, 2019; El-Nawawy and Iskandar, 2003; Fahmy and Al Emad, 2011; Iskandar and El-Nawawy, 2004; Lynch, 2006; Saber, 2016; Samuel-Azran, 2010). Interestingly, El-Nawawy and Iskandar (2003) suggested that one of Al Jazeera aims was to put Qatar on the international map, yet the channel cannot be said to have been utilised to promote Qatar’s foreign policy due to inconsistencies between Al Jazeera’s critical coverage and Qatari diplomatic policy.…”