The Division for International Communication focuses on the analysis and comparison of media systems as well as on the examination of trans- and international communication processes. Areas of interest include the role of media and communication in political and social transformation, foreign news reporting, public diplomacy, media and migration, transnational media companies, media and development as well as  media and transnational social movements.

The research and teaching of the division is characterized by interdisciplinarity at the intersection of communication studies, political science and regional studies. Moreover, an openness towards different methodological approaches provides an interesting research field for scholars and students of various sections.

Our regional focus lies primarily on non-European countries, particularly in the Middle East and Islamic countries. The division’s team deals intensively with the upheavals in the Arab world, the role of media in these transformation processes and examines the actors behind them. In addition, the portrayal of migration from countries of the Middle East and related media coverage will be one of the focal points of research in the division.

International communication: satellite dishes above the rooftops of Cairo