Iranian Green Movement as Civil Society and Nation Building Movement

25/03/2010 The point of departure of this article is that a shift in the balance of political power has occurred in Iran since the June 2009 presidential election. In fact, the effort of the Iranian neo-conservatives to take advantage of the 2009 election to emerge as the undisputed political force in the ruling power structure led ironically to the shrinkage of the social base of the ruling conservative political camp, on the one hand, and the emergence of a vociferous opposition force, on the other. B...

Discourse Analysis and the Syrian Regime

25/03/2010 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.

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. This publication aims to explore what role - if any - external organisations, such as Hivos and NIMD, can play to further democratisation in the region. Hivos and NIMD are fully aware that the political sy...

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 Liby...

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.

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).

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...