Meeting Reports
Report Seminar ‘Perspectives on and Prospects for Civic Engagement through Internet in Syria’
With the events surrounding the ‘Twitter revolution’ in Iran last year, attention has shifted towards the meaning of new media in activist networks in authoritarian settings. The Web has become a new space for analysis and researchers are starting to map issue networks of digital activism. In the Middle East and North Africa, broadband connections are growing faster than anywhere else in the world and this development is bringing challenges and opportunities to both governments and activists...
Discourse Analysis and the Syrian Regime
Sottimano has been studying Syrian authoritarianism and civil society from the point of view of discourse analysis. This perspective maintains that social facts are constructed within discourses, which is instrumental in defining what is right or wrong and the roles that political actors take. Read the report seminar on Discourse Analysis and the Syrian Regime.
Civil Society Activism under Authoritarian Rule
On the 13th of November, 2009, Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia organised a seminar on the Moroccan civil society for the political scientist and researcher Dr. Francesco Cavatorta. Dr. Cavatorta is attached to School of Law and Government, Dublin State University and Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia. The presentation and conclusions provided a platform for researchers and civil society actors to involve in a lively and critical debate about the role of Moroccan ci...
Where is post 12 June Iran heading?
The events of the past months in Iran, unpredicted as they were, have raised many questions about the direction the Islamic Republic will take. In an attempt to create an opportunity for experts on the subject of Iran to get together and try to make sense of the situation and the possible outcomes, a seminar was held on 2 July 2009 at the University of Amsterdam. The meeting was chaired by Paul Aarts and speakers included Touraj Atabaki, Shervin Nekuee, Maaike Warnaar and Erik van Zuylen. Rea...
Report on 'Civil society dynamics under authoritarian rule'
Are there links between civil society activism and democratisation? To what extent is the 'traditional’ notion of civil society still workable? And is the authoritarian state simply a 'security state' acting on repression and staying in power or is it 'interdependent' on and even 'needs' civil society for its own survival? The report on 'civil society dynamics under authoritarian rule’ sheds lights on and provides insights about these topics. Download the document here.Report Symposium 30 years of Islamic Revolution of Iran
Read the report 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).
Democratization in MENA: Prospects versus Peculiarity
Are there prospects for democratization processes through political parties and civil society actors in many of the still authoritarian states in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA)? Or is MENA ‘peculiar’ and hence ‘structurally as well as culturally non- and even anti-democratic’, as some scholars and analysts contend? To address these and other interesting topics Hivos, University of Amsterdam (UvA) and Netherlands Institute of Multi Party Democracy (NIMD) organized On 23 and 24...