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Bits and atoms: Information and communication technology in areas of limited statehood

not a democracy should be considered to be in a pre-democratic, “transitional” phase, which would make for a rather deterministic argument. Given how rightly critical Voltmer is of tendencies toward any kind of determinism, this seems highly unlikely, but a more direct engagement with what defines a transitional democracy would have helped the overall argument. Another area where Voltmer’s usually nuanced analysis is on less sure footing is in the discussion of the Internet, which is mentioned in passing in several chapters, but is never truly integrated with the overall arguments. Given the mastery of traditional media debates that Voltmer displays throughout the book, she would have been in a perfect position to reflect more in depth on what the Internet as platform and as a network of users could mean for the future of media in democratizing countries. But regardless of these issues, the book is a very worthwhile addition to the literature on media and the state.