The programme’s interdisciplinary research guiding question is how the media and public sphere structure in Afghanistan have developed. Specifically, we ask to what extent, in the transformation of media systems in fragile states like Afghanistan, the liberalisation and commercialisation of media systems can be in the interest of society – if at all.

After all, the externally initiated “power to the market” strategy in the media sector of fragile states usually produces a multitude of media titles, but rarely qualitative media diversity. A decisive role seems to be played here in that the media landscape is usually characterized by oligarchic tendencies, fragmentation along ethnic and religious lines and a deficit in the exercise of the state’s monopoly on the use of force due to unstable internal social conditions.

For these reasons, the media sector in Afghanistan was able to develop rapidly between 2001 and 2021 as intended, but strong centrifugal forces prevented an integrative effect on the public (such as that achieved by public broadcasting in Germany). The case study of Afghanistan is suitable for providing answers that can be transferred to other, similar contexts in the future.