Middle East

There are a variety of ways to define the region known as the Middle East. One common one includes focusing on a variety of Arab nations including those in the Gulf area (Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen); North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia); and the East Mediterranean region (Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria). The latter includes Palestine as well as the non-Arab nation of Israel—both of which are recognized as nation states by the majority of the United Nations member states. But because of Israel’s complex geopolitical history only two of its Arab neighbors (Egypt and Jordan) have formal diplomatic relations with it.

After reviewing the development and emergence of journalism in this region, this entry focuses on Arab media systems, emerging ...