The Iranian Revolution at 30:The Dialectics of State and Society

Read the public lecture of Prof. Katouzian entitled The Iranian Revolution at 30: The dialectics of State and Society. This lecture was part of the symposium on 30 years of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, which was organized on 20 February 2009 by Hivos, University of Amsterdam, International Institute of Social History,the Foundation ZemZem and the Dutch Association for the study of Middle East and Islam (MOI). Prof Katouzian is a social scientist, historian, literary critic and poet. He is...

Symposium 30 years Islamic Revolution of Iran-Presentation Peyman Jafari

Read the presenation of Peyman Jafari on Iranian Civil Society, held within the framework of the sympoium on 30 years of Islamic Revolution of Iran, organized on 20 February 2009 by Hivos, University of Amsterdam, International Institute of Social History (IISH), the Foundation ZemZem and The Dutch Association for the study of Middle East and Islam (MOI).

Iranian Civil Society Speaks - Elections turning into a Quiet Revolution

"Where is my vote?"; "I want my vote back" are slogans from Tehran streets with which we have been familiarised over the past few days. What is the role of the Iranian civil society in the current protests against election results? Read the report prepared within the framework of the Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia.

Report Human Rights Situation in Syria during the Past Decade

The recent release of a country report on Syria by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies covers Syria’s human rights situation during the past decade under the rule of Bashar al-Assad.The report examines the arsenal of autocratic laws inherited by Bashar al-Assad and strengthened by new repressive decrees and laws. In the ten years of al-Assad’s rule, he has deployed them to silence every dissident voice and restrict individuals’ basic rights and liberties. These laws are always at the...

Civil Society in the Arab World and the Dilemma of Funding

The Brookings Institution recently published an article on its website titled Civil Society in the Arab World and the Dilemma of Funding. According to the author, Arab NGOs and opposition groups need to carefully consider the development of a sustainable model for funding from internal and regional sources. Western nations, and Western-based NGOs, are likely to fund those NGOs that are approved or tolerated by the regime. To read the whole article click here.