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    <title><![CDATA[Ontwikkelingsorganisatie Hivos]]>: <![CDATA[Civil Society in West Asia]]></title>
    <link>http://www.hivos.net</link>
    <description></description>
    <language>eng-GB</language>
    
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			<title><![CDATA[Syria’s Electoral Reforms: Myths and Facts]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/Syria-s-Electoral-Reforms-Myths-and-Facts</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The Syrian people need to reject the new constitution because it &amp;nbsp;comes from the point of lost political and moral legitimacy, it comes &amp;nbsp;under continuous violence, and it does not fit Syria's future.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 May 2012 10:50:34 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[A New Quota System for Syria]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/A-New-Quota-System-for-Syria</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The different quotas introduced in this analysis are meant to provide a &amp;nbsp;more stable, progressive, and efficient future for Syria.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 11:55:23 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[The Relevance of a Presidential Electoral System in Syria]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/The-Relevance-of-a-Presidential-Electoral-System-in-Syria</link>
			<description><![CDATA[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.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sun, 06 May 2012 14:24:25 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[An Anatomy of the Onset of Syria's Popular Uprising]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/An-Anatomy-of-the-Onset-of-Syria-s-Popular-Uprising</link>
			<description><![CDATA[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 &amp;nbsp;harnesses &amp;nbsp;AUB's research, analysis and convening resources to engage &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;constructively with the historic changes taking place across the Arab World. The lecture entitled: &amp;quot;An Anatomy of the Onset of Syria's Popular &amp;nbsp;Uprising&amp;quot; by Reinoud Leenders, Assistant Professor in Political &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Science, University of Amsterdam, Co-sponsored with CAMES and netherlands Instituut in Beiroet.Reinoud Leenders is Assistant &amp;nbsp;Professor in &amp;nbsp;Political Science at the University of Amsterdam. He &amp;nbsp;formerly was Middle &amp;nbsp;East analyst for the International Crisis Group &amp;nbsp;based in Beirut (2002-2005). He recently authored Spoils of Truce: Corruption and &amp;nbsp;Institution-Building in Post-War Lebanon (forthcoming &amp;nbsp;2012) and Comparing Authoritarianisms: Reconfiguring Power and Regime Resilience in Syria and Iran. With Steven Heydemann (eds.) (in print, &amp;nbsp;2012).]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:05:07 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Stories of Freedom]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/Stories-of-Freedom</link>
			<description><![CDATA[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’. &amp;nbsp;Amjad Baiazy is a human rights and civil society activist with special focus on the Middle East. Currently he works at Amnesty International in UK. He carries several degrees in business and innovation, arts, human rights, media and politics. He worked &amp;nbsp;as a project manager with Etana Press in Syria and as a researcher with think tanks in the UK and France focusing on socio-cultural and political topics. He is the founder of Arabesque society in London, focusing on dialogue on the Middle East, and works with NGOs around the world to promote peace and development.&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:59:51 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Managing militarization in Syria]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/Managing-militarization-in-Syria</link>
			<description><![CDATA[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 &amp;quot;Friends of Syria&amp;quot; group scheduled to meet in Tunis on Friday. If the militarization of the Syrian uprising is not managed, the hope for meaningful change in Syria may be lost.The emergence of an armed opposition is hardly surprising, and is probably too late to prevent. It is an understandable response to the violence and brutality the regime of Bashar al-Assad has unleashed against peaceful protests. U.S. policy has thus far been sharply critical of militarization, encouraging Syrians to use peaceful means to achieve their political aims. Militarization, they point out, plays to the Assad regime's advantage. It justifies the regime's narrative that it is defending Syria from armed gangs, and provokes regime escalation, on vivid display in its recent onslaught against Homs, Zabadani, and other centers of protest and resistance. The growth of an armed opposition, they point out, also weakened the hand of regime critics in the United Nations Security Council, where Russia criticized the text of resolutions on Syria as unbalanced in their focus on violence committed by the Syrian government.As militarization has expanded and deepened, however, these concerns have become increasingly counterproductive. External warnings have had no effect on the pace of militarization, which has accelerated steadily over the past six months. Even as peaceful demonstrations have continued, Syrians are determined to defend themselves and fight back against a ruthless regime. Instead, current approaches leave the United States and other supporters of political transition without the tools that might mitigate the worst effects of militarization, and potentially, channel it to support rather than undermine diplomatic efforts aimed not only at the end of the Assad regime, but to the emergence of a peaceful, stable, post-Assad Syria.The troubling consequences of unmanaged militarization are already beginning to emerge. In the political vacuum left by the disarray of the exile opposition, many Syrians now view the armed opposition as more legitimate than the civilian opposition led by the Syrian National Council (SNC). Nominally grouped under the banner of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), and loosely commanded by officers who defected from the Syrian military, the armed opposition poses a significant political challenge to the SNC's efforts to consolidate its standing as a credible and legitimate alternative to the Assad regime. While the FSA does not openly position itself as an alternative to the SNC, its visibility and the prestige it has acquired by providing Syrians with a measure of protection give its leadership grassroots support that the SNC has struggled to achieve. Its success casts a long shadow over the civilian opposition, and raises important questions about where the balance of political influence lies, with the civilian leadership of the SNC or the armed leadership of the FSA.Despite its growing popularity, however, it would be a mistake to view the FSA as having control over the militarization of the Syrian uprising. Not only is the FSA a diffuse and highly decentralized force, including many small bands of fighters who barter their allegiance to FSA commanders in exchange for weapons, supplies, and cash, but the armed opposition extends well beyond the FSA to neighborhood and tribal militias that operate largely outside its control. Nor does the FSA have the capacity to regulate the flow of weapons into Syria. Small arms are now entering Syria from every neighboring country. They are moving through networks that are tribal, sectarian, and regionally based, reinforcing the segmentation of Syrian society. Influential Syrian tribes, for example, especially Sunni tribes, have longstanding kinship ties that extend into Iraq and south to the Gulf. These transnational tribal networks have already been mobilized to support the flow of arms into Syria.The demand for weapons also provides opportunities for the regionalization of the conflict, as governments and non-state actors exploit Syria's uprising to cement their own influence by equipping armed groups as local proxies. These efforts are undertaken with no accountability and little regard for the consequences. Unregulated militarization has fueled revenge killings, kidnappings, including by &amp;quot;uniformed&amp;quot; members of the FSA, and a wave of criminality that has amplified the erosion of public order caused by the regime's response to the uprising. Should the Assad regime fall, these trends virtually ensure that Syria will be left, like Libya, with dozens if not hundreds of local militias able to disrupt the transition to a stable post-Assad democracy.These trends are already well entrenched, and will prove difficult to control. With the emergence of the Friends Group, however, there is now a chance for the United States and its partners to shift course and begin to build frameworks for managing the militarization of the Syrian uprising. Rather than sidestep the tough choices that such an approach requires, and allow the unregulated flow of weapons from a wide array of self-interested parties, the Friends Group, with U.S. support, needs to develop strategies that recognize militarization as a reality to be managed, rather than imagining it as an outcome that can be avoided.To check the uncontrolled militarization of the Syrian uprising, the Friends Group should move quickly to establish a single, centralized body overseeing the training and equipping of the armed opposition. Inevitably, this will involve a significant role for Turkey, which currently hosts the FSA in areas along the Syrian border. By vesting authority over this effort in the civilian leadership of the SNC, which now includes some senior former officers, the Friends Group will contribute to the consolidation of the civilian opposition and enhance its legitimacy as the de facto representative of the Syrian people. With such a framework in place, governments in the region will have the incentive to more effectively control unregulated flows of weapons into Syria. The FSA will become more professionalized, develop more effective command and control, and extend its authority, under civilian oversight, over what is now a fractious and fragmented armed opposition. Managing militarization thus increases prospects for reigning in the criminality that has accompanied the growth of the armed opposition and imposing a measure of accountability on fighters. It gives the civilian opposition a chance to begin building the infrastructure for the interim security arrangements that will be urgently needed in the event the Assad regime collapses.The intent of such a framework is not to feed the ambition of some in the armed opposition to become a force capable of challenging the Syrian army head-on or to seize control over territory. Rather, it is to provide the SNC with the military capacity it needs to ensure the protection of civilians, support the political objectives of the uprising, and to put in place the foundations for a smoother transition to a post-Assad Syria. Regulating militarization may make it less likely that Syria will follow in Libya's footsteps, struggling to contend with hundreds of local militias that resist demilitarization long after the old regime is gone.The shift to managing militarization will be controversial. Yet in weighing the trade-offs involved, the costs of permitting it to continue along its current course need to be taken into account. The aim of U.S. policy is not simply regime change, but support for the aspiration of Syrians to create their own democracy after a half-century of corrupt authoritarian rule. By weakening civilian authority, deepening social fragmentation, leaving Syria vulnerable to external intervention, and consolidating the power of strongmen who could easily become local warlords, the process of militarization as it is unfolding today poses extraordinary threats to Syria's future. While the success of efforts to manage militarization is far from certain, and the challenges it will face are not small, the potential payoffs that can result if it reduces prospects for the fragmentation of a post-Assad Syria and smoothes the path to a future Syrian democracy, more than justify the risks.Steven Heydemann is a senior advisor at the US Institute of Peace's Middle East Initiatives.&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:55:07 +0100</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Regional Perspectives on the ‘Dignity Revolutions ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Publications/Policy-Papers/Regional-Perspectives-on-the-Dignity-Revolutions</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This policy paper provides unique perspectives from Middle Eastern &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;activists who are part of popular protests across the region. The &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;recommendations are based on their perspectives and addressed to the EU &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;at large European Commission, the Dutch government and &amp;nbsp;Non-Governmental &amp;nbsp;Organisations in order for them to best support the &amp;nbsp;democratic &amp;nbsp;transitions in the region.These perspectives were the subject of lively and inspiring debates at a seminar at the University in Amsterdam on April 18th, 2011 and advocacy meetings on April 19th and 20th, 2011 &amp;nbsp;with Dutch and European policy makers in the Hague and Brussels &amp;nbsp;respectively. At the seminar activists from Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, &amp;nbsp;Morocco and Syria discussed with Dutch academics and practitioners from &amp;nbsp;and outside the Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia. The &amp;nbsp;idea for organising this seminar surfaced during internal discussions on &amp;nbsp;the Arab Spring within the Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West &amp;nbsp;Asia. Ever since the eruption of popular protests, we have been &amp;nbsp;witnessing an avalanche of analyses from ‘experts’ in the Western media &amp;nbsp;on the roots of revolutions in the region. However, largely lacking were &amp;nbsp;the perspectives of people who were the key drivers of these protests. &amp;nbsp;For this reason we organised the seminar and advocacy meetings, and we &amp;nbsp;produced this policy paper.The paper does not and indeed cannot &amp;nbsp;present the perspectives of all activists involved in the popular &amp;nbsp;protests. But it certainly presents the key conclusions and &amp;nbsp;recommendations of the seminar and subsequent advocacy meetings, and &amp;nbsp;therefore provides a platform for these activists to share their &amp;nbsp;stories, perspectives and recommendations with policy makers, academics &amp;nbsp;and activists in the Netherlands and the European Union. In this way we &amp;nbsp;aim to make a modest contribution to the global debate on the Arab &amp;nbsp;Spring and hope to assist activists, academics and policy makers in the &amp;nbsp;region and beyond to better comprehend the complexity of transformative &amp;nbsp;changes that re-configure the political landscape of the Middle East.Accordingly, &amp;nbsp;I will pay attention to the conceptualization debate, i.e. how do we &amp;nbsp;make sense of Arab Spring. The second part will address the role of new &amp;nbsp;social media in this spring. Thereafter, I will reflect on the collapse &amp;nbsp;and/or sustenance of several ‘fear factors’, before going into the &amp;nbsp;relation between economic development and democratisation. Finally the &amp;nbsp;conclusions and recommendation of the activists will be presented.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;This is Policy Paper 3 of the Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia by Kawa Hassan]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:40:24 +0100</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[KP policy paper on the ‘Dignity Revolutions’ recommended by BNR News Radio as a reading material ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/KP-policy-paper-on-the-Dignity-Revolutions-recommended-by-BNR-News-Radio-as-a-reading-material</link>
			<description><![CDATA[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). &amp;nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:25:05 +0100</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[BlueCoat: US technology surveilling Syrian citizens online ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/BlueCoat-US-technology-surveilling-Syrian-citizens-online</link>
			<description><![CDATA[In the context of repression in the Middle East and North Africa, &amp;nbsp;surveillance technology has played a key role in providing authoritarian &amp;nbsp;regimes with the tools necessary to track citizens online. Among these &amp;nbsp;companies, BlueCoat has proved to be the most efficient in helping the Syrian regime control every movement of Syrians on the Internet.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:15:54 +0100</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Regional Perspectives on the ‘Dignity Revolutions ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/Regional-Perspectives-on-the-Dignity-Revolutions</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This policy paper provides unique perspectives from Middle Eastern &amp;nbsp;activists who are part of popular protests across the region. The &amp;nbsp;recommendations are based on their perspectives and addressed to the EU &amp;nbsp;at large European Commission, the Dutch government and Non-Governmental &amp;nbsp;Organisations in order for them to best support the democratic &amp;nbsp;transitions in the region.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:05:44 +0100</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Syria's crisis: A 'war of attrition' and a 'marathon', experts say]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/Syria-s-crisis-A-war-of-attrition-and-a-marathon-experts-say</link>
			<description><![CDATA[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.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:46:53 +0100</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[The Syrian Uprising and the Power of Stories]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/The-Syrian-Uprising-and-the-Power-of-Stories</link>
			<description><![CDATA[On &amp;nbsp;a daily basis scores of Syrian activists upload their YouTube footage &amp;nbsp;of protests and the regime’s atrocities, hoping that someone will watch &amp;nbsp;them, become outraged, and act in ways to support the uprising. Given &amp;nbsp;the regime’s information blackout, a lot can be learned from these video &amp;nbsp;snapshots. Yet otherwise the eerie silence from Syria has been deafening. Rarely &amp;nbsp;are Syrian activists given a voice to express their grievances, wishes, &amp;nbsp;desires, aspirations and dilemmas. It is against this background that &amp;nbsp;this newsletter has given the floor to some of such Syrian &amp;nbsp;writer-activists who, despite the high risks involved, continue to publish their commentary in the Arabic-language media. It is in the power of their stories that these Syrian and Arab authors prove themselves to be true revolutionaries.&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:12:34 +0100</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[What Support for the Protest Movement?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/What-Support-for-the-Protest-Movement</link>
			<description><![CDATA[﻿If the creeping massacre of the Syrian population is to be stopped, &amp;nbsp;now is the time to send out an unambiguous message, warns Volker &amp;nbsp;Perthes, expert on the Near East and director of the German Institute &amp;nbsp;for International and Security Affairs]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:57:23 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[The Arab Spring: Common Roots, Common Challenges ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/The-Changing-Face-of-Citizen-Action/News/The-Arab-Spring-Common-Roots-Common-Challenges</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Ongoing revolutions in the Arab world signify another iteration of a &amp;nbsp;process the world has witnessed before in various regions, including &amp;nbsp;Southern and Eastern Europe, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. &amp;nbsp;Observers were wondering why the cloud of democracy passed over the Arab &amp;nbsp;World without raining. This question led analysts to believe in what &amp;nbsp;was called “Arab exceptionalism,” or the alleged incompatibility of the &amp;nbsp;societies of the region with democratic development. This claim &amp;nbsp;resonated with the conventional argument that&amp;nbsp;Arab ruling elites used to &amp;nbsp;justify their repressive policies against their own citizens on the &amp;nbsp;grounds that ‘people are not ready for democracy.’ The Tunisian &amp;nbsp;revolution came in early 2011 to refute these allegations and prove that &amp;nbsp;the Arab peoples desire dignity and freedom as much as any other &amp;nbsp;people.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:20:56 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[The Egyptian Revolution and the Polish Experience in Democratic Transition   ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/The-Changing-Face-of-Citizen-Action/News/The-Egyptian-Revolution-and-the-Polish-Experience-in-Democratic-Transition</link>
			<description><![CDATA[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. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:32:05 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Social Protest in Egypt]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/The-Changing-Face-of-Citizen-Action/News/Social-Protest-in-Egypt</link>
			<description><![CDATA[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 the government a fair chance to work”. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:16:59 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Hivos Advices The Netherlands Advisory Council On International Affairs on Support to Democratic Reforms in the Middle East ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/Hivos-Advices-The-Netherlands-Advisory-Council-On-International-Affairs-on-Support-to-Democratic-Reforms-in-the-Middle-East</link>
			<description><![CDATA[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 response of the Netherlands government. The English version of the advice is not available yet. We will post this version as soon as is available. Below is the link of the Dutch version. This is an executive summary of those recommendations of AIV report that are related to the advice of Hivos. &amp;nbsp;AIV is an independent body which advises government and parliament on foreign policy, particularly on issues relating to human rights, peace and security, development cooperation and European integration. The AIV produces advisory reports on its own initiative or at the request of government or parliament. All reports are presented to the relevant members of the government as well as to the House of Representatives and Senate. In most cases, the government members in question are the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defence, the Minister for Development Cooperation and the Minister for European Affairs. They are expected to send a government response to parliament within three months. The requests for advice, the reports and the government responses are all made public (www.aiv-advies.nl)AIV presented its report on 22nd of June in the Hague. AIV takes over an important part of the strategic advice of Hivos, particularly the analysis on the emerging regime types and the central role of civil society in transition processes. The strategic advice of Hivos is based on the insights of Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia- policy papers, working papers, book reviews, newsletters, events reports and forthcoming edited volumes- as well as experiences of its Rights and Citizenship and Expression and Engagement Programmes West Asia.To start with, AIV partly takes over the strategic framework of Hivos’ analysis that the factors that have led to these uprisings seem to be similar, but the transitions will be different depending on the country context and the form of the state that has emerged or is emerging. As a result AIV refers to the emergence of the following state forms: repressive authoritarian states (Syria, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain), transitional states (Egypt and Tunisia), ‘liberal authoritarian’ monarchies (Morocco and Jordan), dysfunctional democracies (Iraq &amp;amp; Lebanon), diverse other cases (Palestinian territories, Iraqi Kurdistan and Sudan).AIV acknowledges the advice of Hivos that now the culture of fear has collapsed, there finally is a fee space for liberated civil and political societies to contribute to meaningful social change. This &amp;nbsp;provides real windows of opportunity for international actors. Yet it is also imperative to realize that the supportive role of international actors in any post-authoritarian Arab order will be limited due to that fact these uprisings are indigenous movements with indigenous agenda and hence these movements will shape the future of their region-no matter how well intentioned and –equipped external actors are and will be.In addition, AIV acknowledges the recommendation of Hivos that support to civil society should be sustainable, long term and programme (and not project) based. AIV embraces Hivos’ advice that this support should be provided to independent and trusted civil society organisations/initiatives and political parties and there should be special attention for women’s rights and marginalized groups such as LGBT, ethnic and religious groups. Finally, AIV recognizes the central role of insightful knowledge that helps to&amp;nbsp; adequately understand and analyse complex and historic developments in the region. In this regards, AIV believes that the support of the Netherlands government to civil society in the region should be based on sound analysis and knowledge on the evolving quick and complex dynamics and societal processes as well as how civil society can contribute to democratic reforms in such a context. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:52:47 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[The Arab revolutions: an end to dogma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/The-Arab-revolutions-an-end-to-dogma</link>
			<description><![CDATA[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.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:36:00 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Pre-publication Announcement ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Publications/News-Events/Pre-publication-Announcement</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Next year the Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia will publish three books: Comparing Authoritarianisms: Reconfiguring power and regime resilience in Syria and Iran, Civil Society in Syria: Voices from Within and Unusual Suspects and the Changing Nature of Civic Activism in Syria and Iran. Read more about these publications in the pre-publication announcement.    ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:16:16 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[The Uncertain Future of Democracy Promotion ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Publications/Reviews/The-Uncertain-Future-of-Democracy-Promotion</link>
			<description><![CDATA[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 from Russia to Africa to Latin America, post-Cold War optimism has given way to a darker, more sober assessment of democratization’s limits. The Middle East in particular, with not a single experience of transition from Morocco to Iran, has been the crucible of hard-won lessons about the durability of authoritarian regimes and their resilience even in the face of quite extraordinary pressures]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:06:52 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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