Home Asia
Asia is the world's largest continent, encompassing a large number of countries with a long history and a vibrant, rich culture. Countries are marked by very diverse societies in terms of e.g. religion, ethnicity and language, but also by different political systems and how thesse evolved. Consequently, the configuration of civil society, its dynamics, the way civil society organisations relate to their constituencies and design strategies, and how they are embedded in their social-political environment, varies from country to country.
The Knowledge Programme on Promoting Pluralism and the Knowledge Programme on West Asia are the two programmes with activities in this continent. Focal countries for Promoting Pluralism are Indonesia in South-East Asia, and India in South Asia. Starting from the different contexts in these countries, Hivos and its (academic) partners seek to generate knowledge on core issues related to pluralism and fundamentalism. The programme on West Asia concentrates on civil society dynamics in Syria and Iran and how civil society organisations contribute to opening up democracies.
Browse by region:
« One level up...
South Asia
Southeast Asia
West Asia
Launch Publication Beyond Orthodox Approaches
Within the framework of Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia, Hivos in collaboration with NIMD ad University of Amsterdam, will launch on 26 March 2010 the policy paper ‘Beyond Orthodox Approaches, Assessing Opportunities for Democratic Support in the Middle East and North Africa. The launch will take place at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.› read more...
Tags: West Asia, Civil Society in West Asia
Date: 26 March : Location: VOC hal, Oost Indisch Huis E0.02, Kloveniersburgwal 48, University of Amsterdam
Tags: West Asia, Civil Society in West Asia
Date: 26 March : Location: VOC hal, Oost Indisch Huis E0.02, Kloveniersburgwal 48, University of Amsterdam
Launch Publication Beyond Orthodox Approaches
Within the framework of Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia, Hivos in collaboration with NIMD ad University of Amsterdam, will launch on 26 March 2010 the policy paper ‘Beyond Orthodox Approaches, Assessing Opportunities for Democratic Support in the Middle East and North Africa. The launch will take place at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This publication aims to explore what role - if any - external organisations, such as Hivos and NIMD, can play to further demo...
New project on Social Security in India
The Long Road to Social Security: Assessing and Monitoring the Implementation of Social Security for the Working Poor in India's Informal Economy is a knowledge project on social security provisions for workers in the informal sector of the economy in India. This project is a cooperation between the Amsterdam School for Social science Research, the Centre for Development Studies in Trivandrum, India, and Hivos. The project focuses on monitoring the implementation of minimal welfare provision...
Imitation of the West'? Civil society in the Arab world
On Thursday 28 January 2010, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi declared in a televised address to the General People's Congress that the idea of civil society "is a bourgeois culture and an imitation of the West that has no place here [in Libya]" . Gaddafi's statement last week drew particular media attention because it came on the eve of a proposal due to be announced by his son, Saif al-Islam, which would have permitted the creation of NGOs. Gaddafi's comments were grounded in Lib...
Social Capital and Authoritarianism
It is widely recognized that social capital is essential for the existence and working of civil society and democracy. This recognition though is largely related to democratic regimes. Less is known on how (the lack) of social capital could affect civic engagement in authoritarian contexts. Read the report of the seminar ‘What is the role of social capital in authoritarian settings?’ held on the 15th of January 2010 at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Social Capital and Authoritarianism
It is widely recognized that social capital is essential for the existence and working of civil society and democracy. This recognition though is largely related to democratic regimes. Less is known on how (the lack) of social capital could affect civic engagement in authoritarian contexts. Read the report of the seminar ‘What is the role of social capital in authoritarian settings?’ held on the 15th of January 2010 at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
KP “Smallholders Agency” goes Asia
After having visited Latin America and East Africa, the initiating team of “Smallholders Agency” (from Hivos, IIED and Mainumby) went to India from 1-7 February to focus on the Asian continent. The objectives were to identify Asian members for the KP’s Learning Network, to find out how the knowledge program may become embedded in India and to initiate the multi-stakeholder exploration of key topics for the knowledge programme.
NEWSLETTER Civil Society in West Asia, Issue 2: 'Democratization Industry' and Challenges faced by Civil Society Concept
15/02/2010 Crisis is a much-overworked word in social sciences generally and in politics in particular. Phrases such as ‘democracy promotion is in crisis’ or ‘civil society can never be a force for democratization’ are simplistic overstatements. However, one cannot deny that there are serious challenges on the road to democratization, both of a conceptual and of a practical nature. The second issue of the newsletter of Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia deals with the challenges faced by th...KP small producer agency goes to Asia
After visiting Latin America and Africa, the KP on small producer agency is now going to identify Asian candidates for its global Learning Network (LN). A Round Table with potential LN candidates from India, Indonesia and other countries is organized by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Bangalore on February 4. Moreover, through the regional Hivos office, a separate consultation meeting with Hivos partners is organized in Hyderabad on February 1. One specific objective of this meet...
