A New Quota System for Syria

The different quotas introduced in this analysis are meant to provide a  more stable, progressive, and efficient future for Syria.

The Relevance of a Presidential Electoral System in Syria

Based on the political needs of Syria, a Presidential system is still the best for the future of the country. That said, people’s demands can best be met with a customized Presidential system.

An Anatomy of the Onset of Syria's Popular Uprising

The Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs held a lecture series as part of the AUB Arab Uprisings Research Initiative that was launched under the aegis of the AUB Provost's office in December 2011. This open-ended, multi-sectoral initiative  harnesses  AUB's research, analysis and convening resources to engage   constructively with the historic changes taking place across the Arab World. The lecture entitled: "An Anatomy of the Onset of Syr...

Stories of Freedom

Read this interesting personal account of Amjad Baiazy, the Syrian human rights and civil society activist, who was imprisoned by the Syrian authorities on May 12, 2011 and released on June 30, 2011. While in prison, Amajd Baiazy engaged in discussions with inmates on the myths and realities surrounding the Syrian revolution. In this personal account and analysis, Amjad Baiazy addresses the topics of sectarianism, start of the revolution in Daraa, role of Islamists and ‘conspiracy theories’....

Managing militarization in Syria

The most prominent and most troubling of the trends that have shaped the Syrian uprising over the past year is the militarization of the uprising and its transformation from a largely peaceful protest movement to a low-level insurgency dominated not by citizen activists but by a dangerous and uncoordinated array of armed opposition fighters. Dealing with this trend is the most urgent task facing the United States, the Arab League, the European Union, Turkey and the rest of the "Friends o...

Regional Perspectives on the ‘Dignity Revolutions

This policy paper provides unique perspectives from Middle Eastern   activists who are part of popular protests across the region. The   recommendations are based on their perspectives and addressed to the EU   at large European Commission, the Dutch government and  Non-Governmental  Organisations in order for them to best support the  democratic  transitions in the region.These perspectives were the subject of lively and inspiring debates at...

KP policy paper on the ‘Dignity Revolutions’ recommended by BNR News Radio as a reading material

At a programme of the Dutch radio channel BNR News Radio on Wednesday 23 November, the latest policy paper of KP Civil Society in West Asia entitled Regional Perspectives on the 'Dignity Revolutions': How Middle Eastern Activists Perceive Popular Protest was recommended as a reading material. This policy paper provides the perspectives of political and social actors who are the foot soldiers of the ‘Dignity Revolutions’. Please click the link of the programme below (in Dutch).  

BlueCoat: US technology surveilling Syrian citizens online

In the context of repression in the Middle East and North Africa,  surveillance technology has played a key role in providing authoritarian  regimes with the tools necessary to track citizens online. Among these  companies, BlueCoat has proved to be the most efficient in helping the Syrian regime control every movement of Syrians on the Internet.

Regional Perspectives on the ‘Dignity Revolutions

This policy paper provides unique perspectives from Middle Eastern  activists who are part of popular protests across the region. The  recommendations are based on their perspectives and addressed to the EU  at large European Commission, the Dutch government and Non-Governmental  Organisations in order for them to best support the democratic  transitions in the region.

Syria's crisis: A 'war of attrition' and a 'marathon', experts say

Read the interesting article of Ahram Online on the conference Emerging Spheres of Civil Engagement in Syria organised by Hivos, Arab Forum for Alternatives and University of Amsterdam on 24-25 October 2011 in Cairo.

The Syrian Uprising and the Power of Stories

On  a daily basis scores of Syrian activists upload their YouTube footage  of protests and the regime’s atrocities, hoping that someone will watch  them, become outraged, and act in ways to support the uprising. Given  the regime’s information blackout, a lot can be learned from these video  snapshots. Yet otherwise the eerie silence from Syria has been deafening. Rarely  are Syrian activists given a voice to express their grievances, wishes,  desires, aspir...

What Support for the Protest Movement?

If the creeping massacre of the Syrian population is to be stopped,  now is the time to send out an unambiguous message, warns Volker  Perthes, expert on the Near East and director of the German Institute  for International and Security Affairs

The Arab Spring: Common Roots, Common Challenges

Ongoing revolutions in the Arab world signify another iteration of a  process the world has witnessed before in various regions, including  Southern and Eastern Europe, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa.  Observers were wondering why the cloud of democracy passed over the Arab  World without raining. This question led analysts to believe in what  was called “Arab exceptionalism,” or the alleged incompatibility of the  societies of the region with democratic de...

The Egyptian Revolution and the Polish Experience in Democratic Transition

Political changes in the Arab world have begun for good. Tunisia and Egypt were the beacons of change on the Arab map injustice, authoritarianism and economic hardship. Similarly Poland in 1989 was the first country in the socialist bloc to have gone through revolutionary political, social and economic changes.   

Social Protest in Egypt

Social protest movements have unprecedentedly increased after the explosion of the 25th of January’s revolution. These protests have recorded, in some days, nearly 200 protests, they have ranged in the period from the 12th till the 14th of February from 40 to 60 protests per day in all sites, and included different geographical regions across the country to the point that has led the military council on the 14th of February 2011 to call in his fifth statement for “ending the protests and give...

Hivos Advices The Netherlands Advisory Council On International Affairs on Support to Democratic Reforms in the Middle East

As a reaction to popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, The Dutch Advisory Council On International Affairs (AIV) requested Hivos and other Dutch NGOs on 21st of April to advice it on how the Dutch government could support reforms, democratization processes and rule of law in the region. Today the 28th of June the Dutch parliament debates about the AIV advise entitled Reforms in the Arab Region: Opportunities for Democracy and Rule of Law (Dutch translation) as well as the res...

The Arab revolutions: an end to dogma

The popular uprisings in the Arab world are a great disaster for a radical camp led by Syria-Iran and long indulged by media such as al-Jazeera. A great opportunity follows, says Hazem Saghieh.

The Uncertain Future of Democracy Promotion

Democracy promotion has had a tough decade, nowhere more so than in the Middle East. In Working Paper 12 Steven Heydemann reviews the policy paper Beyond Orthodox Approaches: Assessing Opportunities for Democracy Support in the Middle East and North Africa. Ten years ago, the democratic optimism that followed the end of the Cold War was in relatively good health. Today, after a decade of authoritarian reversals, a sustained “backlash against democracy promotion,” and authoritarian resurgence...

Working Paper 17: Authoritarianism and the Judiciary in Syria - ARABIC version

Working Paper 17 analyzes the role of the judiciary in Syria’s strongly authoritarian setting wherein ‘the rule by law’ serves as a tool of repression; qualities that have far-reaching implications for foreign assistance programs on judicial reform, the rule of law and reform generally. This is the Arabic version of the paper.

17: Authoritarianism and the Judiciary in Syria - ARABIC version

Working Paper 17 analyzes the role of the judiciary in Syria’s strongly authoritarian setting wherein ‘the rule by law’ serves as a tool of repression; qualities that have far-reaching implications for foreign assistance programs on judicial reform, the rule of law and reform generally. This is the Arabic version.

Working Paper 20: So many Similarities: Linking Domestic Dissent to Foreign Threat in Iran

This paper offers an analysis of Iran’s hardline narrative about the 2009 events in general and the Green Movement in particular. This narrative dismisses domestic challenges to the regime as a product of Western interference. The paper shows that this narrative is a product not of simple paranoia, but an inherently consistent and thought through narrative based in existing understanding of Western meddling. The regime not only tries to defuse opposition by connecting it to a foreign threat,...