Free Speech and Censorship around the Globe
“Freedom of speech is a universal right. This book discusses the understanding and implementation of this right in all continents, instead of the typical focus on the countries whose free speech jurisprudence is best known. Following his globally comparative co-edited book on “hate speech,” Peter Molnar stimulates a new conversation on a wide variety of speech protections and restrictions, with an exceptionally diverse range of viewpoints from many countries. This book is the ticket for an exciting free speech journey around the world.” —Nadine Strossen, Professor, New York Law School, Former President, American Civil Liberties Union (1991–2008)
Free Speech and Censorship around the Globe contains stories about how imagination and rational thinking in wildly different cultures capture, imagine, and conceptualize what freedom of speech means. This book treats the reader not as a tourist, but as a traveler. It does not stop at every famous tourist site that have been the most visited. Instead, it goes up many side streets. It provides an opportunity for curious people who would like to understand whether free speech can be contextual to take a journey of exploration. It draws a map of the concepts and contexts of free speech in the second decade of the 21st century.
1989 and 2011 are only two recent turning points when freedom of speech and freedom of the press emerged, or at least powerful efforts were made to support their emergence, although disheartening backlashes followed in several countries. The book also tells many other free speech narratives that emerged, or evolved outside the frames of 1989 and 2011, also with several troublesome repercussions. Reborn restrictions to free speech—as have taken place, for example, in some Central European and East European countries, such as the backlash in Hungary that received broad international attention—make the critical assessments presented in this volume especially timely. Comparative studies must help to avoid such backwards steps and to create enabling environments needed by any culture in order to develop and sustain the spirit and practices of freedom of speech.
Contents:
John Shattuck : Foreword
Péter Molnár: Introduction
PART I: OVERVIEWS
Monroe Price: 1989, 2011, and Strategic Narratives
Four Dangers for Freedom of Expression and the Internet: An Interview with Frank La Rue by Péter Molnár
Freedom of Speech in the OSCE Countries: An Interview with Dunja Mijatović by Péter Molnár
Miklós Haraszti: Revisiting the Three Europes: Diverging Landscapes of Media Freedom
Dirk Voorhoof: Freedom of Expression, Media and Journalism under the European Human Rights System: Characteristics, Developments, and Challenges
Catalina Botero Marino: Jurisprudential Advances and Persistent Challenges for Freedom of Expression in the Americas
Toby Mendel: The Right to Information in Latin America
Freedom of Speech and Access to Information in Africa: An Interview with Pansy Tlakula by Péter Molnár
Helen Darbishire: A Right Emerges: The History of the Right of Access to Information and Its Link with Freedom of Expression
Sandra Coliver: The Right to Information and the Expanding Scope of Bodies Covered by National Laws since 1989
Sejal Parmar: The Rabat Plan of Action: A Critical Turning Point in International Law on Hate Speech
Bernard Rorke: Free to Hate? Anti-Gypsyism in 21st-Century Europe
PART II: COUNTRIES
Josep Maria Carbonell and Joan Barata Mir: The Role of the Mass Media in the Spanish Transition to Democracy and Its Subsequent Consolidation .
Andrei Richter: Russia’s Supreme Court as Media Freedom Protector
Ezra Chiloba: Access to Information in Kenya: The Law and Practice Since 1991
Yared Legesse Mengistu: Freedom of Expression in Ferment: A Cursory Look at the Ethiopian Media Regime
Gilbert T. Andres: Philippines: Expanding the Contours of Free Speech in an Environment of Impunity against Journalists . . . . . . .
Rhonda Breit: The Fragile Complexity of Protecting Freedom of Speech in Australia 359
Mei Ning Yan: The Impact of New Media on Freedom of Expression in China and the Regulatory Responses
Sunil Abraham: Eavesdropping on the Freedom of Expression in India
Zeynep Alemdar: The “Turkish Model” of Freedom of Speech
Brenda F. Abdelall: Forging Ahead: A Contemporary Review of Egyptian Press and Media Laws
Abderrahim Chalfaouat: Media, Freedom of Expression and Democratization in Morocco
Richard N. Winfield and Janine Tien: The Danish Cartoons Controversy: Hate Speech Laws and Unintended Consequences
Asma T. Uddin: The UN Defamation of Religions Resolution and Domestic Blasphemy Laws in Pakistan: Creating a Culture of Impunity
Jeroen Temperman: A Right to Be Free from Religious Hatred? The Wilders Case in the Netherlands and Beyond
List of Contributors
Name Index
Subject Index