1. Introduction Daniel C. Hallin and Paolo Mancini; Part I. Cases: 2. The impact of national security on the development of media systems: the case of Israel Yoram Peri; 3. Italianization (or Mediterranization) of the Polish media system?: reality and perspective Boguslawa Dobek-Ostrowska; 4. Culture as a guide in theoretical explorations of Baltic media Auks¿ Bal¿ytien¿; 5. On models and margins: comparative media models viewed from a Brazilian perspective Afonso de Albuquerque; 6. Africanizing three models of media and politics: the South African experience Adrian Hadland; 7. The Russian media model in post-Soviet context Elena Vartanova; 8. Understanding China's media system in a world historical context Yuezhi Zhao; Part II. Methods and Approaches: 9. The rise of transnational media systems: implications of pan-Arab media for comparative research Marwan Kraidy; 10. Partisan polyvalence: characterizing the political role of Asian media Duncan McCargo; 11. How far can media systems travel?: applying Hallin and Mancini's comparative framework outside the Western world Katrin Voltmer; 12. Comparing processes: media, 'transitions', and historical change Natalia Roudakova; 13. Conclusion Daniel C. Hallin and Paolo Mancini.