ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies the key characteristics of the new Arab public sphere and explores the political implications of this emerging public sphere with special emphasis on its democratizing effects. It also discusses how Al Jazeera is contributing to the advancement of the process of Arab democratization through the creation of a lively and politically engaged new Arab public sphere. Faisal Al-Kasim's view is shared by Lynch, whose study of the new Arab public indicates that Al Jazeera's talk shows were a key factor in the emergence of the Arab public sphere. Competing satellite television channels, independently operated newspapers, community gatherings and other forms of public discourse, all contributed to varying degrees to the emergence of the Arab public sphere. Al Jazeera or the Arab media 'phenomenon', as Mohamed Zayani prefers to call it, has become the default channel for the majority of Arab viewers across the Arab world, with considerable reach and power.
