Democratisation of the media, democracy through the media

This article discusses the role of communication in the strengthening of the democratic process in Africa. The author postulates that communication is the basis for a proper running of democratic societies. From that assumption and with special reference to the situation of Côte d'Ivoire, he attempts to show: a) how the media can be useful tools for political and administrative decentralisation; and b) the extent to which they can contribute to the expansion of the democratic process. The author gives a brief description of the prevailing socio-economic conditions in Côte d'Ivoire, analyses some requirements in the field of communication for the emergence of democratic and finally makes a series of proposals which could contribute to meet these requirements.