A critique of the systems approaches in comparative media research: a Central and Eastern European perspective

This article looks critically at the systems approaches in comparative media studies when applied to studying the relationship between media and politics in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It introduces a concept of methodological systematization consisting of four different components: (1) the relationship between a political and a media system (methodological politicization); (2) the relationship between democracy and a media system (methodological democratization); (3) the relationship between a nation-state and a media system (methodological nationalism); and (4) the relationship between culture and a media system (methodological structuralism). The article concludes that these system approaches should not be taken as a naturalized starting point for comparative research when studying media and politics in CEE.