Media play a significant role in giving democracy and people’s right a firm footing ensuring transparency and accountability in all spheres of public affairs. But the relationship between media and democracy is not a uniform and linear; rather it is a complex, critical and controversial issue in the contemporary global political context. In spite of the rapid spread of democracy during 1990s and onward in a global scale it is too early to speak of the world having one unitary democratic system and sharing one democratic political culture. Because, democratisation is susceptible to influence of regional and global forces, it remains primarily a national project. As a national project media still in some extent could contribute to democratic progress of the Third world or developing countries. This paper is to analyse the emergence of democratic political culture and examine the role of mass media in the process of democratic advancement in the so-called Third world countries with some examples.
media, democracy, democratisation, third world, institutionalisation
