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The Knowledge Programme on Civil Society in West Asia is a joint initiative by Hivos and the University of Amsterdam with the purpose of generating and integrating knowledge on the roles and opportunities for civil society actors in democratization processes in politically challenging environments. This programme integrates academic knowledge and practitioner’s knowledge from around the world to develop new insights and strategies on how civil society actors in Syria and Iran can contribute to various processes of democratization and how international actors can support this.
Latest News
Syria’s Electoral Reforms: Myths and Facts
The Syrian people need to reject the new constitution because it comes from the point of lost political and moral legitimacy, it comes under continuous violence, and it does not fit Syria's future.
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...
December 16: Arab Spring and Gender: Opportunities and Obstacles
On Friday December 16, the ANVK (the Arab - Dutch Women's Circle) will organise the conference: Arab Spring and Gender: Opportunities and Obstacles.The conference aims to pay attention to the political, social and economical situation of women in different Arab countries after the Arab spring. It also aims at analyzing the role which Western countries and especially the European Union can play to enhance the position of Arab women.
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.
Newsletter
Newsletter Civil Society in West Asia, Issue 3
The uprisings in the Arab world had not even been in full swing before various political agendas scrambled to appriopriate them. Many opinions appear to be caught up in clichés and analyses colored by blatant attemps to only see self-serving and worn-out world perspectives confirmed. It is against this background that sobering and thorough academic research on the origins and nature of the Arab uprisings gains urgent value.ARABIC Version Newsletter Civil Society in West Asia, Issue 2
Newsletter Civil Society in West Asia is now available in Arabic. 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...Community Login
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