Afghanistan’s Media Landscape Development

Afghanistan’s Media Development: The Promise and Limits of International Media Assistance

After 2001, when the international community turned its focus to Afghanistan, the country’s media system was extremely limited. State broadcasting dominated the airwaves, and independent voices were almost non-existent (Hamidi, 2015, p. 2). Into this vacuum stepped the international community, led by the United States. The vision was ambitious: rapid liberalisation and privatisation would foster a vibrant press, spark open debate, and help lay the foundations of democracy (Nuscheler, 2004; Higgins, 2014, p. 6). Through a combination of financial assistance, technical expertise and market liberalisation, change was swift. By 2014, Afghanistan counted more than 100 television channels and 250 radio stations (Robinson, 2015, p. 41). Yet this rapid growth also exposed deep structural weaknesses. The “power to the market” approach (Hamidi, 2015, pp. 2–3), implemented under a highly liberal licensing regime (Deane, 2013, p. 7) and weak regulatory oversight (Page & Siddiqi, 2012, p. 8), allowed politically connected elites, wealthy entrepreneurs and ethnic factions to take control of media outlets. The result was a fragmented and polarised landscape, with many organisations serving the narrow agendas of their backers rather than bridging divides in Afghanistan's society (Collier, 2010; Kaltenborn-Stachau, 2008). At times, broadcasts went beyond partisanship, actively fuelling ethnic tensions (Mercey, 2010; Rohde, 2006, p. 9).

Infrastructure expanded quickly, but the development of human and institutional capacity lagged far behind (Hamidi, 2013). When foreign troops and development programmes withdrew in 2014, international funding declined sharply. Afghanistan's media sector—already structurally fragile—faced a sudden financial shock. This revealed a critical lack of financial sustainability, fragile institutional independence and limited professional foundations. These weaknesses ultimately accelerated the sector’s decline (Fraenkel, Shoemaker, & Himelfarb, 2010, pp. 20–21; Barker, 2008, p. 8). In the documentary, we explore the trajectory from the rapid rise of Afghanistan’s media landscape to its collapse and the lessons it offers for state building, democracy, and media development in fragile states. International media assistance left a profound imprint, raising pressing political and sector-specific questions. The film addresses these questions from a local perspective, drawing on the experiences of Afghanistan's media practitioners to offer insights that can inform and improve future media assistance projects.

References

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