Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Powerful and illuminating." * Prospect Magazine *
"
The Other Air Force stands as a helpful study on the subtle ways U.S. government agencies try to advance their own agendas under the pretext of development and community support. By shedding light on the resourcefulness and creativity of those who work within the circumscribed boundaries of such projects, it also precludes simplistic classifications of such people as native informants working on behalf of their oppressors, highlighting instead the everyday resistance that soft-psy media inevitably provokes." * The New Inquiry *
"Sienkiewicz’s ability to pack both granular history and broad theory into a concise package makes his book a rare treat among academic titles." * The Bridge *
"
The Other Air Force is one of the best books I've read in years. Matt Sienkiewicz's close look at the hard-core sell of 'soft-psy media' details how the U.S. persuades invaded, occupied, and colonized peoples to make media that advances America's interests and yet still appears to be under local control. Sienkiewicz examines carefully who is really behind the curtain, pulling strings and pressing buttons in the US theatre of soft-psy media. All is not as it seems when creating the American dream." -- Mohammed Omer * award winning journalist and author of Shell-Shocked: On the Ground Under Israel's Gaza Assault *
"Interesting and deeply relevant … Its purview is quite remarkable - taking in media of all kinds across the Middle East." * The New Arab *
"
The Other Air Force is a timely and extremely valuable contribution to the fields of Media Studies and International Relations. It should be read by students, scholars, journalists, policy makers, and anyone else interested in understanding how media and politics are intertwined in the conflict zones of the Middle East." -- Dina Matar * author of What It Means to Be a Palestinian *
"By way of fine-grained, field-based case studies of US-assisted Afghan and Palestinian media,
The Other Air Force recasts development communication through the prism of media assistance, and in doing so, demonstrates how global US hegemony goes hand in hand with local creativity. Made concrete by an appealing cast of mediators, enforcers, and cultural conmen, Sienkiewicz’s notion of 'Soft-Psy Media' is a welcome addition to the theoretical and pedagogical toolkits of global communication studies."
-- Marwan Kraidy * author of The Naked Blogger of Cairo: Creative Insurgency in the Arab World *
"
The Other Air Force is innovatively conceptualized and meticulously researched. Anyone interested in media, culture, and politics in the Middle East after 9/11 will be turning to this book for years to come." -- Aswin Punathambekar * University of Michigan-Ann Arbor *
"With striking case studies and scient attention to the complex interplay of top-down strategy and policies, bottom-up resistance and negotiations along with labor, gender, and geopolitics, Sienkiewicz’s book offers an indispensable guide for researchers in communication and Middle Eastern studies." -- Ipek A. Celik Rappas * Film International *
"In provoking such questions and by introducing new interpretations of U.S. media strategy in the region, Sienkiewicz’s book is a welcome contribution to the fields of Middle East studies, media and cultural studies, as well as postcolonial studies." * Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction: Soft-Psy Media as U.S. Strategy
Chapter 1: Shopping for Grocers: The Origins of Middle Eastern Soft-Psy Media
Chapter 2: Our Men in Kabul and Bethlehem: Saad Mohseni and Raed Othman
Chapter 3: Kind of Con Men: Self-Interest, Soft-Psy Media, and Resistance
Chapter 4: Soft-Psy Media Under Cover: The Question of Gender
Chapter 5: Mediating Mediations: Meta-Media, the Middle East, and Soft-Psy Strategy
Conclusion: The Trajectory of Soft-Psy Media from 9/11 to Today
Notes
Bibliography
Index
