ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the relationship between state and civil society institutions in South Asia through an examination of radio broadcasting regulations in Nepal. The development of new forms of media and wider media access are often regarded as instrumental to the transformation of social and political identities, especially through the roles media play in the construction of civic institutions, of new relationships with the nation-state and in the emergence of information as the basis for many common goods and services. This chapter argues that, if we are to evaluate people’s ability to take advantage of the potential that media may offer in bringing about political empowerment, the theorization of these transformations must encompass an understanding of the state’s role in regulating media activities, especially the licensing of broadcasting and publication. It examines these issues in the context of the dramatic increase in independent radio activity in Nepal, where Equal Access, a non-governmental organization producing programmes on social change, has produced the first survey of broadcast signal reach for independent radio organizations.
