Civic Activism in the Arab World

the sacredvalues ofIslam’. fice theirlives tointroducesharia’a laworprotect fighting thewrongbattles. People didnotsacri dignity. Unfortunately, we arewastingourtime revolution were employment,freedomand demandsoftheTunisian cern asfollows:‘The a younggraduate fromTunisia,voices thiscon democratic partiesandreligious regimes?Majid, newly acquiredfreedom?Willtheyvotefornon- What will theArabpeopledowithalltheir democracy, we arenowincreasinglysceptical. the Arabpeopleintheirstrugglefordignity and zens’. Thoughinitiallywe –inEurope –supported that respects andpreserves thedignity ofitsciti for revolt.Buttheyhaddreamsofacivilisedstate and middleclasswhohadnoeconomicreasons ple whoparticipated intherevolutionwere high proud oftherevolutionwe had.Mostofthepeo (23, anEgyptiancivilsocietyactivist):‘We areso dignity. Asstated forinstancebyMenanSamy same compulsiontoavenge theirhumiliated Mohamed Bouazizi’sselfimmolation andfeltthe All thosewhotooktothestreetsidentifiedwith one longcherishedpremise:aquestfordignity. folded lastyearacrosstheArabworldechoed demonstrations thatAll thepro-democracy un after ayoungTunisianmansethimselfonfire. for theevents that tookplaceintheArabregion social mediarevolution;therearemanynames Arab revolution,dignity revolution,Arabspring, What didpeoplewant,andtheyachieveit? countries; theMiddleEastandNorthAfrica. of democraticchangeintheso-calledMENA lution itistimetoreflectontheprospects Two yearsafterthebeginningofrevo- An introduction in theArabworld Civic activism

- - - - - ing andaftertherevolution? role didcivicactivismor‘civil society’playdur about democratic change?Inotherwords,what be theroleofindividualsandgroupsinbringing in factaliberalrevolution?Andwhat wasandwill fighting forthesekindofliberalvalues? Was it the ArabSpring:towhat extentwere thepeople tion raisesacoupleofquestionswithrespectto and have the(latent) power todoso. Thisconvic the right tochoosetheirowndirectioninlife, viction andbeliefthat peoplethemselves have their goals.Attheheartofliberalismiscon Arab peoplewant,andhowtheytrytoachieve This specialissueof after aproposal suggestingAlSharia’a lawas a continuingstruggle.LastMarch, forinstance, marry liberaldemocracywith Islam.Thiswillbe lution, even thoughArabpeoplehave totry Spring canbecharacterisedas aliberalrevo- al values?Accordingto people want,andifwhat theywant reflects liber- This raisesthequestionwhat theseordinary ised civilsocietyanddemocratic institutions. are usuallyoverlooked whentalkingaboutorgan lenged thestatus quo, andtheseordinarypeople phasise that itwere ‘ordinary’ peoplethat chal but neglectpoliticalandsocialculture.Bothem formal institutionssuchaselectionsorparties Burmeister arguesthat we focustoo muchon applicable tothesituation intheArabregion. amples fromEuropeanhistory, whichisnotreally a differentperceptionofcivilsociety, duetoex democratic change.AccordingtoKolman we have Western conceptsandperspectives foranalysing is happeningintheArabworldbecause we use According tothemwe failtounderstandwhat fusion fromanaltogetherdifferentangle. and confusion. Thenexttwoarticlesby logical repertoire,hetriestobringorderintothis Through ananalogywithindividualpsycho the outcomesofradicalchangearerather diverse. all timesofchange–asboththeresponsestoand Arab roadtomodernityisvery confusing–asare the humanpursuitofmeaninganddignity. The the ArabSpringintobroaderperspective of The openingarticleby Annemieke Burmeister Idee Haroon Sheikh Koert Debeuf focusesonwhat the approachthiscon Iris Kolman theArab firstputs

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idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Maartje Jansen en Asma Ghribi Civic activism in the Arab world 3 4 right aftertherevolutionpromoting awareness, Samy disagrees:‘Hundredsof NGOswere created And shouldtheArabpeoplebe lefttothemselves? society activist.ShouldEurope juststandaside? needs ofEgypt,’saysSamy, the Egyptiancivil but stillquitesmallcompared tothesizeand power. Itisvery active andblossomingquickly, Majid. And:‘CivilsocietyinEgyptisanemerging ceed, itwouldbethankstocivilsociety,’ states experience [inTunisia]hasanychancetosuc tinue theirstrugglefordignity. ‘Ifthedemocratic increasingly theyorganisedthemselves tocon because ofafeltlackmeaningandrespect, tries? Ordinarypeoplechallengedthestatus quo trust inpeople’s ownpower inthe What does thisallleaduptowithrespectour and Egypt. of thelegalcommunityinparticularlyMorocco Finally, bringing aboutdemocratic changeinEgypt. historical analysisoftherolejournalistsin respectively. Journalist sexual andculturalrevolution,inEgyptSyria the positionofwomen,andneedforabroader Stienen like women,lawyersandjournalists. and positionofspecificgroupsindividuals, cent guywasbeaten todeath bypoliceofficers’. nor security. People revoltedbecause aninno- hand, therevolutionwasabout,‘neitherfood ter’. AccordingtoMenanSamy, ontheother unable toaffordmilkformyfouryearolddaugh I amunabletoprovideformyfamily?even myself asaman,husbandandfather if ing humiliated onadailybasis.HowcanIrespect ployment: ‘Iwouldrather dieintheseathanbe father saidthat thereisnodignity withoutem Jamel (32)forinstance,aTunisianhusbandand racy’ indifferentways.To illustrate thispoint, people seemtointerpret‘dignity’ aswell as‘democ- revolution asaliberalone,even thoughtheArab repealed. the massive demonstrations, theSharia’a billwas ment tothecivilcharacterofTunisia.Soonafter the Tunisianuprisingtoreiterate theircommit flooded HabibBourguiba Avenue, thearenaof source oflegislation, thousandsofTunisians The secondpartofthisissueexplorestherole Mauritius Wijffels , Rula Asad Marietje Schaake and Hanan Fahmy Kawa Hassan goesintotherole alsoconsidersthe mena Petra offersa discuss coun -

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liberal andliberal-mindedyouthmovements and of ArabSpringYouth matra Foreign Affairs. Anotherprojectsupportedby societal transformation oftheDutchMinistry financial supportofthe This editionof so itseems. enforce ourliberalmodelupontheArabworld, still seemstobenecessary, thoughwe cannot was putonholdforfive months.’Foreign support ing untilallforeign fundingstopped.Civilsociety ating allover Egypt.Thescenewasvery promis development andcapacitybuilding,oper- tunisia-live.net English languagenewswebsiteinthatcountry:www. Asma Ghribi United ArabEmiratesandEgypt. about the in Tunisia. Furthermoresheorganisedtrainingsessions for D66,sheworkedasatraineeattheDutchEmbassy Democratic Initiativefoundation Maartje Jansen short, thereisnosingleroadtoliberaldemocracy. society canoperate inthediverse Arabregion.In circumstances andconditionsunderwhichcivil the differenttransitiontrajectoriesand tion. Theseshortinterviewsprovideinsights into can befoundinthepagemarginsofthispublica tives ofeight of in Beirut,Lebanon.Interviewswithrepresenta ment tookplaceon17and18November thisyear organisations fromtheArabregion.Itsestablish isthefoundingassemblyof International CriminalCourt isTunisian journalist,workingatthefirst iscoordinatorofthe Idee fasy ismadepossiblethrough ( fasy ’s memberorganisations matra ). fasy (IDI).Priortoworking programmefor International isanetworkof inJordan,the Federation

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- - from whichan Arabmodernitywillemerge. hands; startingaprocessofexperimentation taking themeansofmodernity intotheirown of nations. Withtherevolts,Arab massesare now seekingadignified positionamongthe ranks longer wantingtobemarginalised, theArabsare by symbioticallyfusingthem withmodernity. No transforming localcultureandtraditions bility ofadifferentandmorefruitfulroadby nity untilnow. TheArabSpringopensthepossi Arab world’sproblematic experiencewithmoder All theseresponseshave beendominantinthe reactions ofdenial,identification oropposition. process, leadingpeopletoresponditwith Modernisation iseverywhere adisorienting The Arabroad tomodernity Arab Spring of the The Psycho-Politics By relationship oftheArabswithforcesmodernity. dignity. That is,theuprisingrepresentsaturningpointin in thebroadercontextofhumanpursuitmeaningand events, muchmoreisat stake.We have toplacetheArabSpring inequality. Whilesucheconomicfactorsplayaroleinrecent focusing onthesuddenincreaseininflation orhigh income The ArabSpringisoftenexplainedinpurelyeconomicterms, Haroon Sheikh

- - who revolted.In theGulfandLevantreligious was theurbanpoorandinLibya itwasthetribes class that tooktothestreets,whereas inEgyptit country tocountry. InTunisia,itwasthemiddle social groupsdrivingtheprotest differedfrom Students were active everywhere, butthemain throughout theMiddleEastand NorthAfrica. ferences between theproteststhat have erupted Spring, thereareindeedimportantnational dif and ideasintheArabworld?Lookingat theArab is theresuchathingastransnational experiences speak of‘theArabs’ingeneral.To what extent the objectionmight beraisedthat itishardto When talkingaboutthe‘Arab roadtomodernity’, What’s inaname?

idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Haroon Sheikh The Psycho-Politics of the Arab Spring 5 6 “ tural bondsofsolidaritythat connecttheArabworld” Although politicallydivided,thereareimportantcul- of theArabSpring? Itisfirstofallimportant to over timeandwhat haschangedwiththearrival How hastheArabworlddealt withmodernity andtheArabSpring Modernity throughout thisregion. fluence ofthenomadicBedouin ethosispervasive ‘beginning’, indicating itsrelevance,andthein in theEast.TheArabicwordfor‘desert’ alsomeans that stretches fromMoroccointheWest toOman ally linkstheArabworldisdesertlandscape Islam. Furthermore,anotherelementthat cultur the Arabianworldconstitutesheartlandof guage, holysitesandeducational institutions, the Arabsformaspecialgroup. Through itslan Muslims aroundtheworld,butwithinthat group, People connecttoandcomparethemselves with way toSoutheast-Asiaandsub-SaharanAfrica. solidarity broaderthantheArabworld,all of theKoran. TheIslamicreligion constitutesa speakers, inlargepartbecause itisthelanguage it isconsideredtoestablishabondbetween its portant elementtoit.Morethanotherlanguages, an Arab, the use oftheArabiclanguageisanim population. Althoughitishardtosaywhat defines Arab nation’, aconceptdeeplyembeddedinthe tries, leadersareobliged topaylip-service‘the As aresult,even inconflictwithotherArabcoun bonds ofsolidaritythat connecttheArabworld. politically divided,thereareimportantcultural countries areimportanttonote.Butalthough These differencesanddivisionsbetween Arab what istheperspective of‘theArab’? Arabia, LebanonandSyria,PalestineJordan, the EgyptianMuslimBrotherhoodandSaudi between Arabcountries.Withtensionsbetween ideas andexperiencesduetomultipleconflicts Moreover, itishardtospeakofgeneralArab stability anddemocracyinthesecountries. differences stronglyimpacttheprospectsfor and ethnicsectariandivisionsdominate. These

- - - - - patterns ofauthority. AsKarl Polanyi hasshown, undermine aristocratic warriorcodesandlocal villages intovastcitiesandmodernweapons pressure onfamilylifeandmove peoplefrom work ismadeobsolete,demographicchangesput markets andproductionmethods,traditional of modernityisforasociety. Asaresultofnew emphasise howdisruptive contactwiththeforces oil andgasrevenues makeitpossibletosurvive cially powerful intheArabworld.Thisisbecause shaken bytheforcesofmodernity, butitisespe event, followed bysocietieseverywhere that were Denial isoftenafirstresponse toatraumatic or casinos,thevery worldpeopleseektodeny. is theincomegenerated bytouristattractions tantly, thesourceofthistraditionalwaylife ed astribalclashesarenotallowed. Moreimpor forefathers, buthonourcodeshave been disrupt reservations. People seektolive thelifeoftheir societal scale,considerforinstancetheIndian ness that theoldwaysarenolongervital.Ona to ritualslurksdangerfromthedimconscious changed andbehindthecompulsive attachment that nothing hashappened.Butsomething People continuetheirpastwaysbypretending A commoninitialresponsetoashockis Denial: Oilmonarchies and AlexisdeTocqueville. and whichhasprecursorsintheworksofPlato after Peter Sloterdijk we cancall‘psycho-politics’ can shedlight onsocialdynamics,amethodthat with anindividualpsychologicalrepertoire,we sponses tosuchanevent. Throughtheanalogy Societies, justlikeindividuals,have differentre occurrence ofatraumatic event toanindividual. this sensethat we cancomparethisprocesstothe shakes thefabricoftraditionalsociety. Itisin to itsdisruptive nature. Modernitythoroughly but italsocallsforthacounter-movement due ment. Asitspreads,creates material wealth, the marketsocietyprogressesinadoublemove denial.

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- - strong andmodern society. Faisal monarchs (KingIdrisinLibya in1969andKing Baathism arosewhenmilitarymen brought down that ofMoammarKhadaffiandSaddam Hussein’s to theSuezcrisis.Butalsodictatorial regimeslike by standingupagainstthecolonial West leading Aswan DamandwantedtoshowEgypt’sstrength landowners, created grandstructureslikethe country. Nasserbrokethepower oftraditional Farooq in1956.Hetoosetouttomodernisethe Nasser rosetopower inEgypt,deposingKing world, thisresponseemergedwhenGamalAbdel ogies liketheradioforhisrule.WithinArab Arabic toRoman andheusedmoderntechnol- shifted thecapital,changedscriptfrom many traditions,deposedtheemirandsultan, of radicalmodernisation inthe1920s.Hebanned Mustafa Kemal Ataturk setTurkeyonacourse the FirstWorld War. To emergefromthisweakness, with itstraditionalinstitutionswascrushedin of theArabworldinTurkey. TheOttomanempire denial. Itwasfirstdeveloped intheregionoutside emerged againstthosewholived inthepast their situation andfeelempowered. Thisresponse external disruptingforce,peopletakecontrolof with theexternalforce.Byidentifying evenevent istakingitonhead-on, Diametrically opposedtodenyingatraumatic Identification: RadicalModernism led toasecondresponse. ingly marginalised.Itisthisexperiencethat has off frommodernity, thesesocietiesareincreas seek toemulate. Moreover, bycuttingthemselves separates themfromthepre-modernpastthey they maybe,areoilmonarchsandachasm depend ontheworldtheydeny. Aswealthy as vation, thiswayoflifeandthepower ofitsrulers reign andrule.ButjustaswiththeIndianreser- the at best,especiallyinGulfstates likeSaudi Arabia, where monarchshave mostlybecomeceremonial and royaltyastheMiddleEast.Whereaselse such anextentstillcharacterisedbyaristocrats modern institutions.Noregionintheworldisto behind whichpeoplecanremainattached topre- of it.Throughpetrodollars,awallcanbeerected in themodernworld,withoutbecomingpart uae ii , Qatar, Bahrain,KuwaitandOman,they in 1958 in Iraq) andsoughttocreate a in1958Iraq) identifying -

- decade. Moreover, because ofits obsessionwith have beenininternational affairsover thelast alternative tomodernity, asdominantitmay where beenabletocreate acoherent societyasan Apart fromthisbreakdown,radical Islamhasno of what OlivierRoy hascalleda ‘GlobalizedIslam’. its interpretersaswell aslocalbonds,infavor classical apoliticalreligious jurisprudenceand tices that theydeemtobeweak and slavish, like radicals breakdownmanyinstitutionsandprac attempt toforgeamorepowerful Islamic world, entirety, mobilizingeverything forbattle. Intheir matic event isthat itcastsashadowonlifeinits would inspireAlQaeda. cal Islam.Decadeslater, theideasofSayyidQutb the Arabworld,whichhelpedspreadofradi tion andembeddingtothedisorientedmassesof increasingly becameincapableofprovidingdirec Traditional royaltyaswell asmodernistdictators with Khomeini’sIranianRevolution in1979. and Lebanonascendedtopoliticalpower Islam emergedincountrieslikeEgypt,Palestine torious over modernmaterialist culture.Radical traditions providedthestrengthtobecomevic- of radicalIslam.Areturntorighteous Islamic camps that SayyidQutbdeveloped theideology Imprisoned byNasser, itwasinhispenitentiary energies intodefeating theexternalforce. a traumatic event byobsessively channellinghis It iscomparabletotheindividualwhodealswith virulent desiretodobattle withitand of modernisation wasnotaformofdenial,but with Nasser’smodernisation plans.Thisrejection A thirdtypeofresponseemergedinantagonism Conquest: RadicalIslam ernist ambitions. of theSixDaysWar of1967crushedNasser’smod Republic brokedownin1961andthehumiliation ion between EgyptandSyriaintheUnitedArab often lessrobustthanithopes.Theartificialun tension, thestrengthregimeseekstocreate is tendencies. Moreover, because ofthisinternal 20th centurytocontrolsociety’sconservative had tointervene continuouslythroughoutthe its ownsociety. Turkey’smilitaryestablishment ernization isthat sucharegimeispittedagainst But thecostofidentifyingradicallywithmod The dangerwiththistypeofresponsetoatrau conquer it. -

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idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Haroon Sheikh The Psycho-Politics of the Arab Spring 7 8 “ their culturewiththeforcesofmodernworld” Successful countriesmanagetosymbioticallyfuse to doitthemselves. over decadesinTurkey. TheArabpeople willhave a modernistpoliticalIslamcan emergeasithas wards radicalismwillhave toberesistedsothat will beembeddedinthesesocieties. Thelureto mation beachieved throughwhichmodernity steering acapitalisteconomy canthetransfor- ties. Onlybygoverning ademocratic polityand couraged bytheelectoralvictoryofIslamistpar formula in1979. Moreover, we shouldnotbedis modernization beforeitdeveloped a successful and that ittookwell over acenturyofdisruptive forget that itusedtobe‘thesickmanofEastAsia’ mires China’s economicdynamism,we mustnot and easytransition.Althougheveryone nowad dernity. Thisisnottosaythat itwillbeasmooth now seeingtheslowemergenceofanArabmo of denial,identification andopposition, we are nity withintheirsocieties.Beyondtheresponses have alsomanagedtoembedtheforcesofmoder world, countrieslikeTurkey, MalaysiaandIndonesia petitive Confucianmodernity. InthewiderIslamic East Asiancountrieshascreated thehighly com of themodernworld.TheriseChinaandother to symbioticallyfusetheirculturewiththeforces in thenewcontext.Successfulcountriesmanage forming by acceptingthetraumatic event andby gence ofamorefruitfulresponsetomodernity With theArabSpringhowever, we seetheemer Towards anArabModernity Transformation: worst enemy. of modernization, radicalIslammight beitsown Guevara-inspired marketing.Indeed,asanagent brings individualismintoreligion aswell as Che religious authority asalayman,OsamabinLaden of oppression,revolutionandnihilism.Byclaiming inadvertently infusedwiththemodernrhetoric of becomingwhat ithates. Traditionaltextsare the enemy, theresponseofconquestrunsrisk traditionssothat theycanhelpnavigate

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- mostly withnegative qualitiesliketribalism, last fewyears,thisethoshasbeenassociated remains apowerful forceinArabsociety. Over the few peoplestilllive inthedesert, the desertthroughoutArabworld.Although have alreadynotedthepervasive influenceof What couldanArabmodernitylooklike?We The Bedouinethos countries andemergingtrends. He worksat ship betweenmodernisationand traditional culture. Technopolis Haroon Sheikh see emergingfromtheSpringofArabModernity. its disruptive changes.Thisdynamiciswhat we sociated withcanhelppeopletonavigate through and thestrongbondsofcivilsocietythat itisas Modernisation isdisorienting.Anancientethos of anemergingArabmodernity. cratic refinementmight beconstitutive elements equality (anessentialtenetofIslam)andanaristo- of independenceandfreedom,astrongsense ethos might again cometothefore:afiercelove gotten orrepressedcharacteristicsoftheBedouin onto theplainofmodernity, othercurrentlyfor development. Whensuccessfullytransformed was earlieronseenasanimpedimenttocapitalist praised forChina’s high growthrate forinstance involvement intheeconomythat iscurrently ward toflourishinthemodernworld.Thestate the Chineseaswell astheGermanswere tooback dernity, manypeoplebelieved that theJapanese, developed amodusvivendi withtheforcesofmo however notforgetthat beforeothercountries aggression andadisdainforeducation. We must inthefieldofphilosophyonrelation- Cyrte Investments wrotehisPh.Ddissertation researchingdeveloping Bedouin ethos Embedding

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by ordinarypeopleandelitesalike. than aneven moreimportantdemocratic politicalcultureshared on democracytoostronglyemphasisesformalinstitutionsrather cratic change.AndintheeyesofMiekeBurmeisterourperspective estimate thestrengthofordinarypeopleinbringingaboutdemo- our Western conceptualisation of‘civil society’leadsustounder- this isthat we lookatissues.According toIrisKolman the‘wrong’ uprisings camefromandwheretheywilllead.Themainreasonfor their revolutionarystruggle,we failedtounderstandwherethese to usall.Thoughwe full-heartedlysupportedtheArabpeoplein Almost twoyearsago, theArabSpringcameasacompletesurprise How ordinary citizenschallengethestatusquo

idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Auteur Titel 9 10 in theMiddleEast Civic activism democratisation, calledfor theendoftransi of thecentury, ThomasCarothers, anexperton sider a‘democratisation bias’. Aroundtheturn become moreandcritical ofwhat theycon world canandwillbedemocratic, others have racy. Although somestillarguethat thewhole would eventually makethetransitiontodemoc cy makersheldontothebeliefthat Arabstates theless, foryearsanumberofscholarsandpoli- ratisation processesofthelastdecennia.Never- scientist SamuelP. Huntingtontoclassifydemoc Third Wave ofdemocracy, only regionthat initsentiretyfailedtoridethe ity, ofdemocracy. Infact,theMiddleEastwas been associated withtheword,letalonereal Until recently, theMiddleEasthasnotcommonly By is nothelpfulinanauthoritarian context. tualisation ofcivilsocietyanditsroleinbringingaboutdemocracy uprisings intheArabworld,isbecause ourliberalWestern concep- victions false,however. Thereasonwhy we failtounderstandthe citizens’.and ‘undemocratic Therecentuprisings prove thesecon- For manyyears,theArabpeoplewere considereda‘passive people’, How ordinary citizenschallengethestatusquo Iris Kolman atermcoinedbypolitical

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- - - order tosolve this puzzle,especiallywithregard in about theMiddleEastshould bere-examined nised that dominantconceptsandassumptions repressive regionsoftheworld.Manyhave recog lisation finallydidcomeaboutinone ofthemost lenging scholarsishowmassive collective mobi of authoritarian Arabstates. cus tofindinganexplanation fortheresilience scholars ofMiddleEastpoliticsshiftedtheirfo (Carothers 2002:5).Consequently, numerous way, morethanafewarenotfollowingthemodel’ and ofthedemocratic transitionsthat areunder ‘transitional’ arenotintransitiontodemocracy, cy makersandaidpractitionerspersistincalling tion paradigm because ‘manycountriesthat poli Now, afterrecentevents, themainpuzzlechal

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Beeld / Michel Mees tions arethevehicles throughwhichcitizens rep democratic citizens.Theseautonomous associa where subjectshave theopportunitytobecome bolsters anenvironmentofpluralism andtrust tween thefamily, themarket,andstate – organisations andnetworksthat arelocated be ciety –thespheresofideas,values, institutions, activism. Fromtheirliberalperspective, civilso positive roleofcivilsociety andpro-democratic ing withAlexisDeTocqueville, have stressedthe Since the18thcentury, Western scholars,start- Civil societyanddemocracy civil society, withregardtotheMiddleEastespecially. examine theconceptandpracticalapplication of quo. Inlight oftheArabuprisingsitistimetore- to shiftpower relations andchangethe status ways toformpoliticalidentitiesthat were able civil societyorganisations Arabcitizens of representative institutionsandindependent among citizens.Itturnsoutthat intheabsence functioning civilsocietyandpoliticalapathy vided explanations were thelackofaproperly oppressive braceofdictatorship. Commonlypro acterised aspassive peopleunabletoripawaythe authoritarianism. ForyearsArabshave beenchar to ourunderstandingofcivicactivismunder did find

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- beliefs, whiletoday’s Arabcivilsocietiesare con civicorientationsent creation and ofpre-existing In democratic states civilsocietyistheindepend Autocratic repression ofcivicactivism cratic contextonwhichtheconcept isbased. a markedlydifferentroleoutside ofthedemo ber ofscholarsrecognisedthat civilsocietyplays democracy. Over thepastdecade,however, anum authoritarian ruleandhelpstomaintainexisting cive totheestablishmentofdemocracyunder approach isthat astrongcivilsocietyiscondu retical assumptionofthisliberalnormative ant authoritarian regimes.Theunderlyingtheo be thedecisive factorinchallengingtheseresist istent. Theawakeningofcivilsocietywouldthus that Arab civilsocietywasweak oreven non-ex racy, scholarsandpolicymakersalikeconcluded and overthrow theirdictators infavourofdemoc East aswell. SincetheArabpeoplefailedtorise of democracypromotioninitiatives intheMiddle strengthening projectssoonbecameakeyfeature in Latin AmericaandEasternEurope,civilsociety a significant roleduringthesocialrevolutions When civicactivismappearedtohave played mass concerns,andholdstates accountable. resent personalinterests,channelandmediate -

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idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Iris Kolman Civic activism in the Middle East 11 12 “ mass dissatisfaction andloosehorizontalnetworks” groups andassociations butrather theproductof The uprisingswere notledbytraditionalcivilsociety Arab world.According toBayat, active citizenry about apossiblepoliticaltransformation inthe son withmostofhiscolleagues, rather optimistic turn ofevents. Interestingly, hewas,incompari and changeintheArabworld priortotherecent (i.e. 2010)isoneofthefewwho didfocusonagency that est intheformsofindividualandpopulardissent resilience, therehasbeenalackofscholarlyinter exceptionalism’ and subsequentlyauthoritarian Given withfirst‘MiddleEastern thepre-occupation Power ofthemasses states dominated byhierarchicalpower structures. political power toinstigate democratic changein these associations generallylackthemeansand support theirrespective regimes.Unfortunately, social associations intheMiddleEastthat donot forces thestatus quo. Still,thereisapresenceof the state andthestate inturnguardsandrein are reproducedindealingsandinteractionswith cial hierarchiesthat structureeveryday relations patrimonial Arabstates. Inotherwords,theso strengthens thevertical tiesthat characterise organisations intheMiddleEastreflectsand quently, themajorityofcivicassociations and potential tochallengethestatus quo. Conse- unlikely totolerate civicactivismthat hasthe bination oflegalism,coercion,andco-optation. bedding civilsocietyinthestate throughacom Arab autocrats bolstertheirholdonpower byem have appropriated andcontainedcivilsociety. – istheeffectiveness withwhichArabregimes sist broadsocial,political,andeconomictrends ability ofArabregimestoexploitrather thanre cessful elementsofauthoritarian upgrading–the has shownthat oneofthemostdefiningandsuc centralised policies.Steven Heydemann(2007) authoritarianstructs ofdecades-old andstate- It makesperfectsensethat repressive states are were presentintheMiddleEast.Asef Bayat -

------tial fordemocratic reformliesinthefactthat the subversion ofauthoritarian rule.Thepoten into thefabricofsocietyeventually leadingto norms, practicesandpoliticsthat wouldweave the MiddleEastbyproducingalternative ideas, would induceandsustaindemocratic reformin of publicspace andorder. Apivotaldimensionof for conflictwiththe authorities over thecontrol al cloutoftheirown,the‘street’ getstobethesite these informalgroupsdonot have aninstitution relative freedom–andappropriate them.Because look fortheuncontrolledspaces –thezonesof lives outsidetheinstitutionalmechanisms;they ginalised individualsseekwaystobettertheir and material needsandexpectations. Thesemar – arelefttotheirowndevicesfulfilsocial the globalisingyouth,andotherurbangrassroots the subaltern–urbandispossessed,women, by shrinkingthepublicsector. Consequently, increasing thefragmentation oflabourand the popularcapacityforrevoltby, forinstance, Neoliberal restructuringhasfurthercurtailed ance forindependentandorganiseddissent. dinary conditions,autocrats expresslittletoler has everything todowiththefactthat, underor tion rarelyoccurunderauthoritarian rule.This opportunities forsustainedcollective mobilisa port ofthePalestiniancause; nevertheless real labour protestsorandinsup of theArabregion’s politicalhistory, forinstance Contentious collective actionhaslongbeenpart Street politics increasingly reflecthisvisiononagencyandchange. cent approachestocivicactivismintheregion bottom-up politicsintheMiddleEast,sincere It isinterestingtoelaborate onhisapproachto the massofordinarycitizensintheirdailylives. and cannever completelystifleanentiresociety: even authoritarian regimeshave limitedpowers

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- “ fore unsurprisingthat Bayat’s visionisreflected lars oftheArabuprisingsrather well. Itisthere the above approachwouldseemtofittheparticu more researchintothesequestionsisrequired, nication andorganisedresistance.Although transform passive networksintoactive commu collective action.Thus,acommonthreat can fence ofthesegainsoftentakesplacethrough gains takesplaceat anindividuallevel, thede practices ofthesubalterninpursuitsocial when theopportunityarises.Whiledirect ments that thesepassive networksandsocialnonmove institutions, andrelations ofpower. Thecrux is logic intothefabricofsociety, intonorms,rules, formative impactonsocietybyweaving their social nonmovements have asignificant trans life.Throughthispassive activism day-to-day the ordinarypracticesofpeopleintheir In otherwords,socialnonmovements encompass labelled are akeyfeature intheformation ofwhat Bayat has solidaritiesorpassiveThese (imagined) networks immediate circles. solidarities, andextenttheirprotestbeyond the placewherepeopleforgeidentities,enlarge these streetpoliticsisthat publicspacebecomes ‘ engagement under ever changingauthoritarian rule” it bepossibleto trulyunderstandthevarious modesof to beapproached asaneutralvariable.Only then will Civil society is neither good nor bad and thus needs Civil societyisneithergoodnor badandthusneeds The collective actionsofnoncollective actors; zations’ (Bayat 2010:14). ideology orrecognizableleadershipandorgani though thesepracticesarerarelyguidedbyan lar activitiestrigger muchsocialchange,even of ordinarypeoplewhosefragmentedbutsimi they embodysharedpracticesoflargenumbers can social nonmovements: turnintoorganisedsocialmovements

------recognise that civilsocietyplaysdifferentroles Although anincreasingnumberofscholars A newnon-normativeapproach formation ofalternative identities. among ordinarycitizenswhichallowed forthe political andapolitical–practicesspaces texts. Mostimportantlyitfailedtoidentifythe– prevent politicalchangeinauthoritarian con plexity ofthesocialprocessesthat underpinor it hasnotprovidedusefulinsight intothecom on civicbehaviourandcivilsociety. Moreover, boundaries that characterisemainstreamdebates different waystoproducecivilitiesoutsideofthe of civility, itshouldberecognisedthat thereare kind having eitheracivilitydeficitorthe‘wrong’ tive. InsteadofperceivingtheMiddleEastas that donotmatch theliberalnormative perspec has renderedmeaninglessothertypesofcivility Middle East.Generaldiscourseoncivilsociety derstanding ofcivicactivisminandbeyondthe tualisation ofcivilsocietyisadequate totheun is thereforewhethertheWestern liberalconcep loose horizontalnetworks.Areturningquestion rather theproductofmassdissatisfaction and tional civilsocietygroupsandassociations but contexts. Theuprisingswere notledbytradi- acter ofstate-society relations inauthoritarian renewed scholarlyinterestinthecomplexchar- The recentturnofevents intheArabworldhas Why wemisunderstandArabcivilsociety side traditionalorganizations. that occurparalleltothestate apparatus andout look at alternative formsofpoliticalexpression East. Moreandmorescholarsstresstheneedto in recentresearchoncivicactivismtheMiddle

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idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Iris Kolman Civic activism in the Middle East 13 14 youth branch Sally Sayah and politicalmiserywe claimprogress. young peopleareawareofthesocial,economic amongst theyoungisaobstacleforchange- Although thegapbetween differentgroups lieve thereisachanceforlessdividedfuture. ficult, theschismsaresubstantial,but we be- reach outtootheryoungpeople.Itwillbedif- form ofpeach.We wantapeacefulfutureand – Is therenohopeforanewgeneration? Ourparty are fewtrulyindependentorganisations. iticians withmoney. That is,inLebanonthere together. People donotfollowideologiesbutpol- crease thedivisionsinsteadofbringingpeople The NGOswithapoliticalaffiliation rather in lated toapoliticianforinstancelackfunding. thing isrelated topolitics.NGOsthat arenotre is noeasytaskinourcountry. InLebanonevery and theirdifferencesfrompolitics.However, this regions. Itisimportantthat we omittheregions together peoplefromdifferentbackgroundsand Civil societycanplayapositive roleinbringing countries: we areastronglydividedcountry. ly differsfromthecompositioninotherArab The socialcompositioninLebanonsignificant- a dividedcountry Lebanon: the NationalLiberalParty , Yara Asmar National LiberalParty and

Giorgio Khoury -campaigns onaplat , Lebanon ,

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- between thesocialandpoliticalarenas.Ifany tant toacknowledgethereciprocalrelationship itarian rule.Inthiscontextitisever moreimpor modes ofengagementunderever changingauthor- will itbepossibletotrulyunderstandthevarious to beapproachedasaneutralvariable.Onlythen Civil societyisneithergoodnorbadandthusneeds of whetherornottheypromotedemocratisation. ety activism should thereforebeonthevariations ofcivilsoci Francesco Cavatorta (2013)arguesthat thefocus around theassumptionsofdemocratisation. of civilsocietybecause itcontinuestobeframed a normative biasinherentintheunderstanding depending onthepoliticalcontext,thereisstill Vol, 32,No. 5:827-843. Perspectives ontheState andCivilSociety’. Volpi, F. (2011).‘FramingCivilityinthe Middle East:Alternative University Press. Capital inPalestine andtheArab World, Jamal, A.J. (2007). Institution, World. Heydemann, S, (2007).UpgradingAuthoritarianismintheArab Journal ofDemocracy, Carothers, T. (2002).TheEnd oftheTransitionParadigm. A ComparativePerspective, Cavatorta, F. (2013). the MiddleEast, Bayat, A.(2010). Arab Spring, Aarts, P. etal.(2012). Literature commissioned bytheDutchMinistryofSecurityandJustice. Arab Spring, writer of ment StudiesattheUniversityofAmsterdamandisco- Iris Kolman far-reaching politicalconsequences. and that a-politicalactivism ther societiesnorstates remainstatic over time thing, theArabuprisingshave shownthat nei The SabanCenterforMiddleEastPolicyatBrookings October2007. From ResiliencetoRevolt:MakingSenseofthe Amsterdam:University ofAmsterdam. followsthemasterInternationalDevelop- areportbytheUniversityofAmsterdam Stanford:StanfordUniversity Press. Life asPolitics:HowOrdinaryPeopleChange within Barriers toDemocracy:TheOtherSideofSocial Civil SocietyActivismUnderAuthoritarianRule. Vol. 13,No. 1:5-20. From ResiliencetoRevolt:MakingSenseofthe authoritarian regimesinstead NewYork: Routledge. Princeton:Princeton can eventually have Third World Quarterly,

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system willensure this.Itishowever essential to forward toassumethat awell functioningjudicial the protectionofminorityopinions. Itisstraight ments. Buildingdemocracymeans, forexample, make orbreakanyoftheseinstitutional arrange people, alongwiththeirvalues andattitudes, wards democracyistheacknowledgement that the keytounderstandingpoliticalchange the coreingredienttodemocratic rule.However, to establishtheseinstitutions,astheyseembe in forexampleIraqandAfghanistanhasbeen judiciary. Theapproachtobuildingdemocracy tutions likeparliament,politicalpartiesandthe sion isusuallyaboutfreeandfairelections,insti When we talkaboutdemocratisation, thediscus and democracy Political culture By at politicalcultureaswell. stand, andfacilitate, thedemocratisation process,we needtolook state structuresandactorsinaroleofpower. Inordertofullyunder- tional supportfordemocratisation istraditionallydirectedtowards change ismadebyordinarypeople.Surprisingly, however, interna- If thereisonethingtheArabSpringhasshownusitthat political How ordinary citizenschallengethestatusquo Annemieke Burmeister -

- - - - norms andground rulesofbehaviour, accepted rangement; itisaculture.It anagreementon Democracy isnotprimarilyan institutionalar and politicalculture Democracy: institutions democratic cultureanddemocratic behaviour. this ‘soft side’ ofdemocratic change,thesideof Therefore ouranalysisbenefitsfromafocuson actors inthesystem,whether‘elite’ or‘ordinary’. ground rulesestablishedandadheredtobythe debate, goestothecoreof for minorityopinionstobepartofthepolitical tern neededamongstcitizensandelitestoallow understand that thestructuralbehaviouralpat political culture

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idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Annemieke Burmeister Political culture and democracy 15 16 “ human rights” not fundamentally contradictdemocracyand us that theArabpeoplesupport valuesthat do The revolutionsoftheArabSpring have taught of Western valuesover other culturalsystems After theageofcolonialism,whensuperiority Talking aboutcultureusedtobeadifficultissue. Why wedonotlikeculture by thesechangeswillnoteffectdemocratic rule. tional arrangementsthat arenotaccompanied the riseofaculturedemocratic values.Institu- towards democracyisalwaysaccompaniedby rents gohandinhand,thepointisthat amove democratisation andothermodernisation cur we seethat changeinasocietyleadingtowards pate inpubliclife(Diamond,2008,p14).While trust, supportforequalityandadesiretopartici These ‘self expressionvalues’includetolerance, which motivate peopletogovern theirownlives. and modernisation insocietygive risetovalues Values Survey Inglehart argueintheiranalysisofthe not establishedinasocialvacuum.Welzel and well functioningdemocracy. Political cultureis referred toasaprerequisiteandanoutcomeof democratic politicalbehaviourorculture,isboth continue tobeheardinthepoliticaldebate. not bethreatened andthe(minority)voicewill cause theystillfeelthat theirbasicinterestwill defeated partiescanaccepttheirexclusionbe form politicsintoanon-zero-sumgameinwhich encourages politicaldiscussionandhelpstotrans lent potentialsofman’ (Diamond1994:11),asthis is thepre-requisiteof‘confidence inthebenevo of othersandaccommodation. Inessence,there operation, bargaining,trust,opennesstoideas elites showpolicypragmatism, moderation, co nents ofademocratic politicalculturearethat by politicalelitesandcitizensalike.Key compo This pattern ofsocialinteraction,that we call (2006)that economicdevelopment World -

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- - and humanrights. contradict democracy fundamentally not do that taught usthat theArabpeoplesupportvalues In fact,therevolutionsofArabSpringhave bring usbacktoHuntington’s that cultureispartoftheequation doesnot values andbehaviour. Inotherwords:arguing voured, thishastobeseeninthelight ofculture, implies that ifamove towardsdemocracyisfa political cultureissuperiortoanother. Itonly democratisation, itisinnowaysaidthat any bringing politicalcultureintothedebate on orientation shouldbegiven equalregard.By which itwasarguedthat anycultureorvalue was assumed,we enteredaneraofrelativism in a changeofvaluesamongstelites. ising thecitizens–we hereseecitizensforcing Where thestate traditionallyhasaroleinsocial- isation processinherenttodemocratic culture. cratic elites, hintsustowardsareversed social- are abletocollectively mobiliseagainstundemo social movements andNGOs.Thefactthat people colleagues, withinschoolsanduniversities, in fines socialinteractioninthehousehold,between still formapoliticalcultureascitizens,that de cluded fromparticipation inthepoliticalsystem displayed inthepoliticalarena.Even peopleex their values.Democratic behaviourisnotonly us totheheterogeneityofpopulation and the traitsofrulingelitesandregime,blinds promise. Judginganation’s politicalcultureon concepts likedignity, trust,toleranceandcom or humanrights, every societyisfamiliarwith Sometimes withoutusingwordslikedemocracy every societyhas(latent) democratic currents. These recentdevelopments have shownusthat clash ofcivilizations.

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“ the valuesonwhichtheirdemocracycanoperate. new normsforpoliticalinteractionandestablish zens have thepower toredefinethegroundrules be aformidablepoliticalforceat start.Onlyciti within thesesocieties,even iftheydonotseemto cratic currentsanddemocratic socialmovements tisation isachieved byputtingourtrustindemo effective –sustainablechangetowardsdemocra- elite andrepresentatives ofthestate willnot be democratisation byengagingtheexistingpower political cultureiseffected.Foreign supportfor social interaction,changeinpoliticalnormsand movements that makemoralclaimsfordignified together incollective actionandmobilisesocial diate politicalarena.Ifdemocrats managetocome ing thesedemocratic forcesoutsideoftheimme therefore achieved bysupportingandstrengthen political field. actors gainstrengthandtherebyaccesstothe system willonlyoccurifneworformeroutside words: changeat suchafundamentallevel ofthe notice that theirpower baseisshifting.Inother change willonlyariseifthepeopleinpower litical systemonitself. Theincentive fornorm effect achangeintheculturalpattern ofthepo training sessionsordialoguewillthereforenot elitesinexchangeprograms, ing non-democratic power fromthecurrentpoliticalsystem.Engag- more democratic groundrules,astheyderive incentive tochangeontheirownaccordtowards More isneededhowever. Political eliteshave little Power tothepeople Structural change in a fledgling democracy is Structural changeinafledglingdemocracyis institutional arrangements” along withtheir valuesandattitudes, makeorbreak democracy isthe acknowledgementthat people, Key tounderstandingpolitical changetowards

- - - - - Comparative InternationalDevelopment, Democracy: Response toHadeniusandTeorell’, Welzel, (2006).‘Emancipative L.andInglehart,R. Values and countries, Diamond, L.(1994). democracy, Diamond, L.andPlattner, M.eds(2008). Literature Institute inPoliticalPsychologyatStanfordUniversity. of LeidenandmostrecentlycompletedtheSummer Masters degreeinPoliticalSciencefromtheUniversity Democracy been withthe in AsiaandAfricaforthepasttwoyearsshehas worked forthe ment professionalandanactivememberofD66.Shehas Annemieke Burmeister London:Lynne RiennerPublishers. Baltimore:JohnsHopkinsUniversity Press. (NIMD)inTheHague.Annemiekeholdsa Netherlands InstituteforMultiparty United NationsChildren’s Fund Political cultureanddemocracyindeveloping isaninternationaldevelop- Vol. 41,No. 3:74-94. How peopleview Studies in (UNICEF)

idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Annemieke Burmeister Political culture and democracy 17 18 Marrying liberalismwithIslam the ArabSpring? How liberalis in SidiBouzidasked forjusticeanddignity. Many The answer tothisquestionisthat theprotesters was thisstreetvendor hopingtoachieve? iated him.Was this notanoverreacting? What after thepoliceconfiscated hiswares andhumil- Tunisian townSidiBouzidon December17, 2010 Mohamed Bouazizisethimselfonfireinthe We alsodidnotunderstandwhythestreetvendor why theywere doingsoandwhat their aimswere. and Syria.We hadnocluewhowasprotesting, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain,Morocco, Jordan,Libya worried whenmillionstookthestreetsinTunisia, tine. Nowonderthat peoplewere surprised and far beyondthewhereaboutsofIsraelandPales- In fact,manypeople’s knowledgedidnotstretch few peoplewere abletopointoutSyriaonamap. disturbingly limited.BeforethewarinIraqvery Our commonknowledgeoftheArabworldis By And thisrequiresanopenmindonourpartaswell. a wayofmarryingliberaldemocracywiththeprinciplesIslam. revolutionary politicalsystem,theArabpeoplewillhave tofind orIslamicparties?Intheconfusingpost- to electanti-democratic But what, asseemstobethecase,ifArabpeopleusethisfreedom it wasaboutthefreedomofpeopletochoosetheirownwayinlife. In itsmostbasicway, theArabSpringwasa Koert Debeuf

prison, yourwife might be forced togive herbody along withyourfamily. Inordertogetyououtof police action,youwere tortured,sometimes bribes. Ifyouwere protestingagainstanarbitrary authorities which didhardlyever move without depending onhalfofficialor even non-official a massive scalepeoplewere forced intoillegalwork, with legalguidelineswasalmostimpossible.On the day. Startingabusinessinanaccordance police were arbitrary, dependingonthemoodof interested inthelifeofpeople.Actions worked foritself, totallycorruptanddis- to live thelifeofsheep. Thesystemlived and the waytowardsabetterfuture.Theyalmosthad fact that thesysteminwhichtheylived blocked however wasnottheirpoverty as such;itwasthe poverty andextremepoverty. Their main problem as Bouazizi;livingontheborderlinebetween of themwere inthesameprecarioussituation liberal revolution;

to choosetheir ownwayinlife. revolution; itwasaboutthefreedom ofpeople most basicway, theArabSpring wasa lution againstdictatorship andtyranny. Inthis facet oflife.Inshort,thisArab Springwasarevo cracy, aboutthesecretservices controllingevery of thepolice,aboutattitude ofthe bureau It wasagainstthearbitrarinessandbrutality people fromforgingabetterlifeforthemselves. poverty, butabouttheinjusticesthat blocked changing thesystem.Itwasnotsomuchabout the redflagofTunisia.Therevoltwasabout not covered withthegreenflagofIslambut television: thecoffinofMohamedBouaziziwas One TunisiangirlusedastrongimageonItalian ties that we intheWest usuallytakeforgranted. nothing todowithIslam,butcertainliber our initialfearsandimpressionstheuprisinghad well known–itisalsooftenforgotten.Despite Arab Springstartedbecause –althoughitis I have beenrepeating thestoryofhow happy state ofthecountry. president givingspeechesontelevisionaboutthe living intherichestvillasandyouwouldseeyour meantime, youwouldseegovernment officials to oneofthehigh rankedpoliceofficers.Inthe liberal

- “ monarchy andthat theywantedrights for knew that theywantedtoendthedictatorial the oneof1789,wasnotdifferent.TheFrench their discord.Therevolutionofallrevolutions, blame theTunisians,EgyptiansorSyriansfor what hastocomeinplace.Itwouldbeunfair the revolutionhassucceeded,theydisagreeon do very well knowwhat theywanttoend,butonce But likeevery revolutionthepeopleonstreet better lifeforthemselves” people fromforging a the injusticesthat blocked poverty asitwasabout It wasnotsomuchabout changing thesystem. The revoltwasabout

idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Koert Debeuf How liberal is the Arab Spring? 19 20 Aya Dimashkieh reaching andmotivating moreyoungpeople. activities andsharingexpertiseshouldhelpin the high rate ofyoungpeopleinprisons.Joint about youthunemployment,socialsecurityand Movement nomic instabilityinLebanon.The abroad, alsobecause ofthepoliticalandeco- people withpotentialandcapacitiestravel comply withthelivingstandard.Thoseyoung ment, andthesalariesfor(starter)jobsdonot tions. InLebanonthereishugeyouthunemploy an obstacleforyoungpeopletofulfiltheirambi for all.Thepoliticalandeconomicsituation is speech, humanrights andopenopportunities eration. We sharemutualgoals:freedomof approach politicalyouthorganisations forcoop pinions heard.Thesecivilsocietyorganisations gain influenceinthegovernment tohave itso- Lebanon hasanactive civilsociety, strivingto Lebanon cooperation in Intergenerational aligns withNGOs toraiseawareness , Future Youth Movement Future Youth , Lebanon

- - - the presenceofIslamistmovements. InTunisia in withtheconfusionArabworldwas Times ofrevolutionarevery confusing.Mixed an Islamiconeinstead. ple foughtagainsttheregimeofShahandgot is truefortheIranianrevolutionof1979. Thepeo of theinitiators ofthe1917revolution.Thesame taken over byLenin’s communists,whogotrid story goesfortheRussian revolutionwhichwas that hadbeenpreviouslyoverthrown. Thesame agreed onwhichsystemshouldreplacetheone the ThirdRepublic that theFrenchmoreorless how toimplementthesevalues.Itwasnotuntil everyone, buttheystruggledforeighty yearson one canbeanatheist. Theyunderstandbeing world, peoplejustdonotunderstand howsome synonym of‘atheism’. Inmany partsoftheArab intheArabworld.To‘liberal’ manyearsitisa elites. Thereisasecondproblem withtheword liberalsystemfavouredonlythe ods, theso-called open uptheirrespective economies.Inbothperi after theyear2000whenmanydictators triedto the fifties,whendictators tookover andsecondly firstly, theperiodafterfirst World Waruntil to two, nottoobright periodsintheirhistory: refersoften in theArabworldword‘liberal’ regime? What problematises thisquestionisthat Do theArabpeoplewantaliberal(-democratic) with theright alternative onceingovernment. what they donotwant,butitishardtocomeup same commonrevolutionaryproblem:theyknow in thefirstelections.ButIslamistsface most stableoppositiongroupsecuredthemawin combined withthefactthat theywere seenasthe The creditsfromthisearlyandbrave criticism spent manyyearsinprisonorhadtomove abroad. been staunch criticsofdictatorship. Theirleaders and EgyptEnnahdatheMuslimBrothershave are very well organised.Moreover, bothinTunisia both have alargefollowingamongthepeopleand at leastnotinanorganizedway. Nevertheless, Arabia, were hardlypresentduringtheuprising, conservative visiononIslamimportedfromSaudi it hadstarted.TheSalafis,whoendorseamore the protestersonTahrir Squarethreedaysafter nearly over. InEgypt,theMuslimBrothersjoined Ennahda onlyjoinedtherevolutionwhenitwas

- - - Spring wasinspired byliberalvalues.Butit will All thingsconsidered,itisclear that theArab writers andphilosophers. Bagdad –whichproducedworld classscientists, one istheAbbasidperiod– caliphate of and science/state were separated. Themostfamous there were periodsinArabhistorywherereligion al –youcaneven callitsecular–ones.Secondly, tions ofIslamiclaw, underwhichalsovery liber- of shariaasTaliban. Therearemanyinterpreta such thingas First ofall,let’sremindourselves that thereisno ism, butthetwoarenotnecessarilysofarapart. might soundasthecompleteoppositeofliberal racy withtheprinciplesofIslam.To ourearsthat will have tofindawayofmarryingliberaldemoc well astheircountry’s.Butat thesametime,they ing injusticeandtorestoretheirowndignity as They believe that thesefreedomsarekeytoend freedom ofassociation, freedomofreligion. tions, freedomofspeech,press, The peoplewantdemocracy, freeandfairelec So, arethese revolutionsliberal?Yes, definitely. as oneofthegainedfreedomsrevolutions. to publiclyprofesstheIslamicfaithisalsofelt religious structures. That iswhybeingallowed tors wasoftentobreakthebackboneof hundred percentIslamic,thepolicyofdicta And althoughthesecountriesareninetytoone- Islam, justliketheydidinEgyptandTunisia. say that the Brotherhood fear oflosingtheelections.The were liberal,theywouldnotsaysoinpublic paigning, they toldmethat even thoughthey to buildasoundpartystructureandoncam this partyonhowtoformelectorallists, I went toTripoliprovidetrainingthetopof his partyareconsequentlycalled‘liberals’. When his Mahmud GebrilwontheelectionsinLibyawith in theregionprefernottouseword‘liberal’. is simplyonebridgetoofar. and Judaism,butnotbelievinginaGodat all edly insistthat theytrulyrespectChristianity from adifferentreligion andwillinfactrepeat This isthereasonwhymanyliberalparties National AllianceForces. would corrupt the word ‘liberal’ and wouldcorrupttheword‘liberal’ National AllianceForces the sharia.We have tostopthinking Inthemediaheand Libyan Muslim were against

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he wasdirector. he foundedaliberalthinktank,Prometheus,ofwhich Parliament andtheEuropeanParliament.In2008 of Leuven,fortheFlemishParliament,Belgian Bologna. HeworkedaspoliticaladvisorfortheMayor studied AncientHistoryattheuniversitiesofLeuvenand representing theALDEGroupinArabWorld. Debeuf European Parliament.CurrentlyheislivinginCairo, Verhofstadt, PresidentoftheALDEgroupin Koert Debeuf “ in andhelptocreate aliberalArabregion. this asanopportunitytoopenourminds,step Islamic formofliberalism,we shouldconsider ing onthedifficultiesinconceptualisingan the sametime.Insteadoffearingfaithandfocus Poland whereliberalpartiesarevery Catholic at a situation ishardlyuncommon;takeforexample ties inwhichreligion playsacrucialrole.Such and combinethemwithlocalregionalreali take sometimetoturnthesevaluesintopractice, not necessarilysofarapart” liberalism, butthetwoare the completeoppositeof ears that might soundas principles ofIslam.To our liberal democracywiththe to findawayofmarrying The Arabworldwillhave istheformerChiefofCabinetGuy – 2009 2009

idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Koert Debeuf How liberal is the Arab Spring? 21 22 A pluralconcept for dignity The liberalstruggle Their actionto paintthewater offountains to runawayfrompoliceandsecret serviceagents. of Damascus’streetsbyheart, inordertobeable always woresneakersandknew thelabyrinth in civildisobedienceandpeaceful protests, described thenetworkofyoung peopleengaged crushed astheyaretoday. Hergroup, as she uprisings inSyriawere notbeingsoseverly with herinalargeEuropeancity. Atthat time the a jobthat allowed hertotravel, Iwasabletomeet repression oftheAssadregime.Sinceshehad and activistnetworksspeakingoutagainstthe woman. Shewasinvolved inpeacefulprotests In thespringof2011,ImetwithayoungSyrian By Marietje Schaake. policy aimedtowardstheregion,accordingtoEuropeanpolitician landscapes, shouldbepartofourEuropeanperspective andthe The manifoldinterpretations ofthisconceptinpluralistpolitical ‘dignity’. Butwhat doesthisconceptmeantotheArabpeople? The Arabrevolutionwascharacterisedbyastrongcallfor Marietje Schaake

ical, socialand culturalterms.Itimpliesthe ineconomical,polit- implies self-determination The notionofdignity isinherentlyliberal, asit people inasecularstate. Theycalled fordignity. ocratically electedgovernment torepresentthe man rights, livinginfreedom,andseeking adem activists, describedaspirations ofclaiminghu opposition aface.She,likemanyotheryoung scribed bythisyoungwomangave theSyrian survival. Thecouragebutalsothecreativity de then. Prioritieshave sinceshiftedtowardsmere would beeven morechillingtodayasitwas blood-red asaprotestagainstthekillings,

- - - tional mediadid notalwayshave thedirectaccess sessment ofthesituation wasthefact that tradi and howtogather support.Complicating theas world. Theyknewhowtoreach outtotheWest, emerged asdefactospokespersons totheoutside English, perhapsworkedorstudied abroad, Rather itwasself-selecting.Thosewho spoke provide arepresentative crosssection ofsociety. explained bytheuseofsocialmediathat donot Additionally, partofthedistortedimagecanbe in eachofthesecountriesvariedquiteabit. on dignity couldbedistilled.Clearlythesituation Benghazi andDamascus,notonesinglemessage via internetfromthestreetsofTunis,Cairo, Based onthefragmentedimagesreachingus with ourvalues. even aminorityaspiredtosocietiescompatible calls forfreedomdeserved ourattention ifonly Stienen inthisissue), theneedtosupportvalid not revoked(alsodescribedinthearticlebyPetra seeking theassurancethat theirbasicrights are needs tolistenthestrugglesofwomeninEgypt some ofthesefearsproved legitimate (oneonly mist power grabthat wouldbackfire.Andwhile loud voicesintheWest warnedagainstanIsla- in NorthAfricaandtheMiddleEast,increasingly ings. Sincetheearlydaysofdemonstrations not diminishedsincethefirstdaysofupris tion movements throughouttheArabworldhas Uncertainty abouttherepresentation ofopposi not represent Clearly, theyoungwomanmentionedabove did context. Freeofdogma,churchorstate. economic, political,social,culturalorreligious whetheritisinan increased self-determination, economically independent.Dignity maymean tion ofgovernment orfindingmeanstobe ping withoutrepression,speakingoutinopposi and fairelections,fortheotheritmeansworship may beexperiencedthroughparticipating infree things todifferentpeople.Foronepersondignity sal humanrights, andthereforemeansdifferent more subjective conceptthanforexampleuniver to othersinareciprocalmanner. Dignity isa just claimedbytheindividual,butalsogranted own identityanddestiny. Ideally, dignity isnot choice tolive asonewishes,toshapehisorher the voiceof the Syrianopposition.

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- - - litical leadersto account. responsibility, toholdthenewly electedpo- electorate, tomanyasensational newcivic ment ofanIslamicstate. Itisnowup tothe hood, rather thanonthewishfor establish after yearsofsocialprograms intheirneighbour based theirvoteonconfidence andgratitude len fromthepublicdeserved achance.Others party bysayingthat peoplewhohadnotyetsto the MuslimBrotherhoodorforSalafistNour ed. InEgyptIheardpeoplejustifytheirvotefor liberal voices,whowere scramblingtogetstart contrast withthelongrepressedandfragmented A well organisedpoliticalorganisation stoodin of socialworkandforeign fundingandguidance. litical partiesenjoyedanadvantageofdecades tion ofanumberdifferentthings.Islamistpo Their firstelectoralsuccesses were amanifesta port duringthedecadesofoppressionandfear. for theirmaterial, economicandspiritualsup groups were openlyrewardedbytheArabpublic After theoustingofseculardictators, Islamist and fromliberalsspecificallyarestillevolving. years ago, responses fromtheWest ingeneral Africa andtheMiddleEastbeganalmosttwo emerging leaders.SincetheuprisingsinNorth to hesitation inforgingrelationships withnewly tionally, theuncertaintyoftransitionisleading of repressionpresentnewchallenges.Addi- sion arelegitimate, therealityisthat newforms Although theaspirations tolive withoutrepres Two yearson,we arefacedwithnewdilemmas. long ruledbyWestern backedseculardictators. volved inthetransitionsofsocietiesthat were view ofthecomplexitiesanduncertaintiesin Spring have beenreplacedbyamorerealistic Initial joyandwishfulthinkingover anArab ity: Itweet, thereforeIam. gies asproofforanewrealisation ofindividual enlightenment withthemassive useoftechnolo European ticised equivalentofthe18th-century media, theArabspringperhapsbecamearoman youths asexamplesofArabthepeople.To these and tweeting, well-educated, secularandmodern media eagerlyembracedeloquentlyblogging During thecourseofupheavals,Western needed toreportonevents ontheground.

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idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Marietje Schaake The liberal struggle for dignity 23 24 “ things todifferentpeople” therefore meansdifferent universal humanrights, and concept thanforexample Dignity isamoresubjective the beliefthat lawsshould bemadeinaccordance 64,5 percent),buttherewasa slight increase in people remainedstable(from 62,9percentto should bemadeinaccordance tothewillof the secondwave. Supportfortheideathat laws 67,8 percentin thefirstsurvey to81,2percent in ence what peoplevoteinelections, went from spondents sayingthat religion shouldnotinflu second oneafterwards.Thepercentageofre andthe conducted beforetheprotestskicked-off in ademocracydecreasedbetween thefirstsurvey The opinionontherolethat religion shouldplay as well asoftheirambitions,changeover time. People’s perceptionoftheirmosturgentneeds on therise. the politicalupheavaleconomicnotionwas mocracy wasontherise,butinaftermath of political developments thenotionofpoliticalde vision ofservices)ideals.Beforetheheights ofthe elections) toeconomic(reducinginequality, pro ally perceived, differsfrompolitical(freeandfair remains very high. Butthewayinwhichit isactu veys showthat supportfor‘democracy’ assuch on what aspirations peoplearehaving.Thesur after theoutbreakofuprisings,helpshedlight countries inthemonthsimmediately beforeand the in NorthAfricanandMiddleEasternsocietiesis project that providesinsight intopublicopinion after theuprisings,arestillinflux.Aninteresting to people,andwhichprioritiestheyidentified people? Thenotionsofwhat democracymeans pretation: what does‘democracy’ meantothese This leadstoarelated, butdifferentissueofinter Arab Barometer. Surveys conductedinseven -

- - - - economic factors and quality of life are of primary economic factorsandqualityoflifeareprimary notion isencouraging,andindicates that socio- ical termstoamoreeconomicallymotivated not compatible. For manypeopleintheWest theseconceptsare to seegovernance onthebasisofreligious laws. is preferredover theocracy, theywouldlikeit will ofthepeople.Whileaseculargovernment time peoplebelieve that thelawshouldreflect shari’a lawenjoyswidesupport,andat thesame Islam were incompatible. Thesefiguresshowthat second survey consideredthat democracyand Interestingly, only30,2percentinthefirstand with shari’a(from67,3 percentto73,4percent). nity toothers. A negotiated visionofashared tablish reciprocityingranting freedomanddig can alsobeusedpragmatically; asa mirrortoes lens throughwhichwe canseethetransitions,it lective maynotonlyserve self-determination asa the conceptofdignity asbothindividualand col In theaftermath ofauthoritarian rule,developing a significant roleinshapingthiscontext. North AfricaandtheMiddleEastreligion plays a localcultural,socialandpoliticalcontext.In is indeedessentialthat valuesareembeddedin people totakeownershipoftheirownfuture,it ple maybebetterunderstoodandsupported.For a newlensthroughwhichtheaspirations ofpeo tries intransition.Theconceptofdignity offers ways areneededtoengagewithpeopleincoun countries likeEgyptandtheGulfStates. New find themselves pressuredoreven oustedfrom society organisations workingonhumanrights Labelled aspushinga‘Western construct’, civil pressure inArabcountriesaftertheuprisings. versality ofhumanrights isincreasinglyunder our support.Thisiseven moreurgentastheuni liberal movements andpartiesparticularlyneed be shyinsupportingliberalvaluesgeneral; opments? AsEuropeanliberals,we shouldnot way inwhichwe shouldrespondtothesedevel- What doesthisallimplyforEuropeandthe the newlygainedpower inthat respect. Islamists have toshowwhat theywilldowith economically driven perceptionofdemocracy, concern. Asthepublicismovingtowardsamore The shiftfromperceivingdemocracyinpolit-

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- old dictatorships were never allowed todevelop. tablishment ofcivilsocietyactors, whounderthe partners. Anotherobjective issupportingthees rule oflaw, whilecontinuously lookingfornew democratic states, governed onthebasisof many Arabcountriesaspossible intofreeand ers willsupporteachotherinordertochangeas and Democracy’tookplace.Theparticipating lead meeting ofanetwork‘Arab leadersforFreedom taken inSeptemberCairowhentheinaugural all Arabcountries.Afirststepinthat directionwas communication between differentliberal forcesin liberals shouldpursue,istofostercooperation and mains tobedone.Oneoftheobjectives European Despite positive developments, alotofworkre lence have forcedthemawayfromthescene. protests againsttheirextremismresultinginvio the attack ontheUSEmbassyinBenghazi,where Islamists have sufferedaseriousblowafter Minister intheLibyaninterimgovernment. their fellowliberalAliZidanintheseat ofPrime the electionsofJuly7th,have successfullyput liberals underMahmoudJebril,afterwinning party intheupcomingJuneelections.Libyan are joiningforcestotakeontheIslamistNahda coalition ofliberalfractions,inTunisia,liberals a lotofworkremainstobedoneinbuilding North AfricaandtheMiddleEast.WhileinEgypt light theopportunities forliberalsthroughout scape. Therearesomedevelopments that high voices aspartofamorepluralistpoliticalland They shouldbeassistedinstrengtheningtheir The conceptofdignity isfamiliarforliberals. and majoritiescanlive inharmony. and areinthismannerreflectedlaw, minorities notion ofdignity prevail andself-determination protecting againstnewabuseofpower. Whenthe manner, ideallytherearesufficientsafeguards translate toacollective visioninareciprocal checks andbalances.Whenindividualaspirations societies. Itshouldprovideamechanismofclear lead tolawsthat dojusticetothediversity within needs tobeinclusive ofdiverse voices,andshould developing rulesandlaws,abottomupprocess tries intransition.Especiallytheprocessof future willbeessentialforpopulations ofcoun

- - - - - on ForeignAffairs (AFET). (ALDE). Sheisamemberoftheparliament’s Committee Marietje Schaake “ rights remains apriorityeverywhere. and diverse. Theneedforbasicrespecthuman The situation ineachofthesecountriesisunique Tunisia, Libya,Egypt,Bahrain,Yemen andSyria. impact oftheuprisingsthat tookplacein isn’t asingleconclusiontobedrawnyetfromthe and howwe canworkwithitpragmatically. There explore what itmeanswithindifferentcontexts, deserveself-determination, ourear. We needto nity, whichareclearlylinkedtoaspirations of challenging transitions.Theclearcallsfordig vest inthecountriesofArabworldthat face dictatorships anddivision.Itisimportanttoin we canshareEurope’s experiencesofovercoming While we cannotforcetheadoptionofourmodel, mination anddemocracyisalwaysuncertain. The outcomeofanyprocesstowardsself-deter political context” a localcultural,socialand values areembeddedin it isindeedessentialthat ship oftheirownfuture, For peopletotakeowner- is a Member of the European Parliament isaMemberoftheEuropeanParliament - - -

idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Marietje Schaake The liberal struggle for dignity 25 26 or getworse? As aresultoftherecentprotestsandrevoltsinArabworld, willeconomicprospectsgetbetter Libya, Tunisia,Yemen andTunisiamore than more positive viewontheeconomicfuture.In countries wherearevolutiontookplace,have a year. Asthetableshows,peopleinArab economies stillgrewbynearlyfive percentper before theoutbreakofunrest,respective is only3,6percentonaverage. Inthetwoyears is slow. Thepredictedeconomicgrowthfor2013 aftermath oftheArabSpringeconomicrecovery uation improve aftertheArabrevolution?In the other. Withrespecttothelatter, didthesit- (unemployment, risingprices,inequality)on one hand,andthelackofeconomicperspective the lackofpoliticalfreedomand‘dignity’ onthe tests intheArabWorld fallintotwocategories: The mostoftenmentionedreasonsforthepro Better /Worse By Facts &figures Source: Jordan Morocco Algeria Palestinian Territories Iraq Tunisia 67 Yemen Egypt 76 Libya Adriane Charbon gallup / Surveys conductedin2012 % Getbetter 30 39 87 77 23 41 41

two-thirds ofthepopulation believes that the for goodgovernance inthefuture. percent and42respectively hasanyhope but thegovernment stayedinplace.Hereonly23 Jordan andAlgeria,were protestsalsooccurred, in thefuture.Thiscomparisontocountrieslike tion believes that theywillhave goodgovernance Libya andYemen, alargemajorityofthe popula was overthrown. Forinstance,inEgypt,Tunisia, tive feelingincountrieswere thegovernment greatly. Apparently, thepeoplehave amoreposi the prospectsofpopulation canalsodiffer respect to‘good governance’, reportsshowthat countries thispercentageismuchsmaller. With economic situation willimprove. Intheother % Getworse 59 45 26 32 41 16 21 8 3

- - in theArabWorld adherestoIslamwhichisthe of theworldpopulation. Themajorityofpeople has apopulation of380million,aboutsixpercent 60 percentoftheworldsoilreserves. Theregion contains 22countries,whichtogetherpossesses ing tothedefinitionof World Banktheregion Morocco intheWest toIranintheEast.Accord- Middle East’andcovers anextensive area,form The term of protestswithintheso-called The ArabSpringisatermthat referstoawave MENA region Legend Western Sahara Mauritania Protests andgovernmental changes Susutained civildisorderandgovernmental changes Civil war Revolution mena

standsfor‘NorthAfricanand Morocco Mali Algeria mena region. Tunisia

Libya Urdu andYiddish. Greek, Hebrew, Kurdish,Luri,Syriac,Turkish, languages, Armenian,Azerbaijani, Beloetsji, that arespokenincludeAbchazo-Adygeïsche region areArabicandPersian. Otherlanguages The mostwidelyspokenlanguagesinde countries, likeEgypt,Iraq,KuwaitandMorocco. law existspartiallyinthelegalsystemsome only allowed religion inmostcountries.Shari’a Protests outsidethearabworld Minor protests Major protests Egypt Sudan Syria Jordan Iraq Saudi Arabia mena Yemen

Iran Oman

idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Facts & Figures 27 28 or protestmarchinthepast3years? Have youattendedademonstration Cross-country InternetUsage Internet Source: ArabBarometer, FirstWave Participation ofresidentsinProtests if thedemonstrations canbecalled wide theimpactwasconsiderable,itisdebatable became thecreator ofhistory’. Althoughworld – exactlyoneyearago. Theprotesteronceagain tests wasoxymoron until–suddenly, shockingly to the mostimportantpersonof2011.According Time Magazine in theArabworld.Inresponsetotheseprotests world newswasdominated bythemassprotests set firetohimselfon17thofDecember2010,the fruitsellerMohamedBouazizi After 26-year-old Protests Time, Source: ArabBarometer, FirstWave Yemen Kuwait Morocco Algeria Palestine Jordan Country ‘massive streetandeffective globalpro More thanonce even proclaimed‘theprotester’ Never Once 89% 4% 7% 8% Jordan 69% 20% 69% 33% 76% 78% Percentage ofthepopulationthatdonotuseinternet mass 67% 25% Palestine Algeria protests.

- - 78% 13% 19% 9% ticipate inanyprotestsduringtheArabSpring. of thepopulation inthesecountriesdidnotpar – relatively low. Thismeansthat alargemajority any demonstrations is–despitetheArabSpring that inthelastthreeyearshasparticipated in and Yemen, thepercentageofpopulation Jordan, Palestine,Algeria,Morocco, Kuwait strators that went tothestreetsprotest.In it wasonlyasmallgroupofoftenyoungdemon In mostcountrieswhereproteststookplace, 80% 65% 7% 16% Morocco Kuwait 15% 71% 14% Yemen

- - case inTunisia.Thewinnerof theelectionsin slower thanexpected,however. Thisisalsothe sition todemocracyintheArab worldgoesmuch one ofthehighlights oftherevolution.Thetran this countrywheretheArabSpring began,were hours tobeablecasttheirvote. Theelectionsin people wasbig andtheTunisianvoterswaitedfor Tunisia tookplace.TheenthusiasmofTunisian On October23rd,2011thefirstfreeelectionsin would youchoose? government, orademocraticgovernmentthatledtoanunstableandinsecureTunisiawhich If youhadachoicebetweenstableandprosperousTunisiathatwasruledbynon-democratic Democracy all communication. Duringtheprotestsuse during theprotestsgreatly hinderedordisrupted that theblockingofFacebookbygovernment of Tunisiansfromthesamesurvey responded tionally, 28percentofEgyptiansand29 demonstrations andspreadawareness.Addi- Tunisians saidtohave usedFacebooktosetup the Arabworld.NineoutoftenEgyptiansand kept theworlduptodate onthesituation in It madeorganiseddemonstrations possibleand played animportantroleduringtheArabSpring. debate, onecansafelysaythat socialmedia Although theextentofinfluenceissubjectto Internet Source: WilliamsandAssociates, Salem,Massachusetts. September 2011 DK/REF government Democratic gevernment Authoritarian

cratic government hasonlygrown. of Tunisiansthat isinfavourofastable demo democracy. Research showsthat thenumber the majorityofTunisianpeople stillfavours Despite thedifficultprogress ofdemocratisation radical Salafistoppositionparty undercontrol. sion. Inaddition,thepartystrugglestokeep to limitrights ofwomenandfreedomexpres Tunisia -theIslamicpartyEnnahda–continues where alsosmallerandthaninTunisiaEgypt. observation that theprotestsinthesecountries Yemen isrelatively small.Itisperhapsatelling Jordan, Palestine,Algeria,Morocco, Kuwaitand with accesstotheinternet(andsocialmedia)in table showsthat thepercentageofpopulation apply toallcountrieswere protestsoccurred.The 27,7 millionpeople.Thesefigureshowever do not Facebook usersintheArabcountrieswent above countries. Onthe5thofAprilamount of socialmediamorethandoubledintheArab Januari 2012 DK/REF government Democratic gevernment Authoritarian

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idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Facts & Figures 29 30 Ahmed Nassouf dom anddignity. fans unitebecause ofacommonquestforfree fans ofdifferentclubshasbeenestablished,the Ultras isasecularEgypt.Anallianceoffootball tors theUltraswillprotest.Theobjectives ofthe Until thegovernment willgoaftertheperpetra find theperpetrators andbringthemtojustice. game. Thegovernment hasnever reallytriedto was incitedbyfansoftheotherclubafter in Port SaiddozensofUltrasdiedinviolencethat strations. LastFebruaryduringafootballmatch power. Theyarealwaysinthefrontlineofdemon the peoplefromoldregimethat arestillin Ultras arevery criticalofthegovernment and in newspapersandinternetmagazines.The are appearingdailyintalkshows,ontheradio, and theyhave great communication skills. They they usedmotorbikestoserve asanambulance with uniforms,logo’s etc.Duringtheprotests The Ultrashave theirowncorporate identity, supporters affiliated tothe ‘Ahly’ footballclub. of this.Itisawell organisedgroupoffootball them motivated. TheUltrasareagoodexample youth totheTahrir squareandmanagedtokeep lising peoplefortherevolution.Theyrallied Bloggers andactivistsplayedabig roleinmobi for asecularEgypt Football fans , Youth branch Free Egyptianparty

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Beeld: iStock bedroom the in Spring revolution: other The By and womeninEgypt. on herrecentencounterswithmen her ownpersonalreflectionsbased change drasticallyaswell. Shegives relations between menandwomen Arab worldcanonlysucceedifthe Stienen. Apoliticalrevolutioninthe the Arabrevolutions,sayswriterPetra about thepositionofwomenafter We shouldnotonlybeconcerned Petra Stienen

idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Petra Stienen The other revolution: Spring in the bedroom 31 32 “ or areligious figure” Without beingcontrolledbyourparents,thestate able towalkintheparkandbuildafuturetogether. It isadreamtojustfallinlove witheachother, tobe Zeinab isconcerned aboutherson’s future. with child,therevolutionissuccessful forme.’ I canbefreetodowhat Iwantasasingle woman in theoffice, at homeandonthestreet. Onlyif act. Therearestilllotsofsmall Mubaraksaround, minds ofpeople,atotalchange inhowwe inter what shouldhappenaswell: arevolutioninthe pyramid have contributedhardlyanythingto changesat thetopof in herdailylife.‘The The revolutionhasnotyetmadeamajorimpact of them?’ how manywomenhave nohusbandtotakecare of men.Have theyever lookedaroundandseen home, toprevent themfromtakingawaythejobs that women shouldbegoodmothersandstayat ‘They keepcomplaining Brothers andSalafists. er. Zeinabisupsetbytheattitude oftheMuslim Egypt’s householdsareheadedbyasinglemoth According tostatistics, about12percentof and scanty, butinareasonableneighbourhood. has herownincome,andapartmentissmall compared tomanyotherEgyptianwomen.She her. Yet Zeinabisstillinaprettygoodposition son Hamiddoesnotallowhertotakehimwith state tomakemoremoney, butthefather ofher her asamistress.Shewouldlove togoaGulf past fortyandmeetsonlymarriedmenwhowant the chancesthat shewillmeetaman,asis the vicesquad.Zeinabisquitedesperate about receives menovernight, theymight complainto not openly, because iftheneighbours suspectshe a newrelationship. Butthat isnoteasy, certainly been asinglemotherforlongtimeandwants she ismoresecularthanreligious. Zeinabhas eighties. Zeinab isMuslim,intheory, inpractice We studiedtogetherat Cairouniversity inthelate Zeinab isoneofmyclosestfriendsinCairo.

- - partner. Butdon’t forgetthat oursocietypushes he willbegoodtoher, that hewillbealoving he willbecomethehusbandofawife.Ihopethat ‘I’d liketogive himmorespacebecause ultimately This organisation has invitedwomenandafew Conference forWomen, I thinkofZeinabat theopeningof can showherhairandstillbe respected’. being Iwillstayasam,aproud womanwho desires inmychoiceofclothing, soforthetime responsible forsupressingsomebody’slustand the headscarf. ‘Somehowitupsetsmethat Iam to demonstrate. Zeinabstillhasn’t decidedabout against womentoprevent themfromgoingback Council even condonedsexualizedviolence not improved after2011–theSupremeMilitary such behaviour. Thetreatment ofwomenhas percent ofmenadmittedthemselves guiltyof en encountersexualviolence.Interestingly, 62 foreign womenand83percentofEgyptianwom Egyptian CentreforWomen's Rights, 2011 revolution.Accordingtoa2008studybythe already reachedepidemicproportionsbeforethe and harassmentagainstwomenonthestreetshad other. InEgypt,forinstance,sexualizedviolence freely withoutbeingharassedinonewayoran of theArabworld,itisdifficultforawomanwalk ments inthestreetsofCairo. Asinmanystreets as protectionfromtheincreaseofnastycom For awhileZeinabthoughtofwearing ahijab and religion.’ stay trappedintheshacklesoftradition,culture want tomarrysomeonewhodoesnot.Andsowe Because therearemanywomenwhostilldonot everything, thewedding, thedowry, thehouse. boys intoarolepattern. Hemusttakecareof organizedbyEl-Karama. 98percentof Regional

- - to eachother avoidtrippingontheirheels. Looking at mynewfriendsIseethem clinging has alargeconstituencyinthis neighbourhood. to reachtheTVstudio. TheMuslimBrotherhood tive Faisalarea,sowe have towalktenminutes the narrowstreetsofpopulous andconserva gious AzharUniversity. Thebuscannotgetinto group andaoffemalestudentsthereli liberal tostrictlyIslamic,willdebate withour dated: five menofdifferentpolitical trends,from revolution. Thedesign oftheprogramisabitout a the roleofwomeninsociety. We areinvitedto meeting womenwhohave adifferentvisionon some femaleactiviststokeepanopenmindwhen ferent things.Itturnsouttobeeven difficultfor and practiceforfeministactivistsaretwodif- Later that day, Ifindoutthat sometimestheory occupation. under SaddamHusseinandduringtheAmerican rights inIraq ,fromherownexperienceasalawyer of anIraqiactivistaboutthestruggleforwomen’s est office.’AnIraqiactivistshasapassionate story used totheideathat awomancanholdthehigh dominated society, Ijustwantyounggirlstoget anyway. ‘Although Istandnochance inthismale- tv the constitution.’BouthainaKamel, aformer ultimately thenewpresidenthastoadhere present positionIhave morepower, because she doesnotwishtorunforpresident.‘Inmy judge intheConstitutionalCourt,explainswhy in themedia.Tahany Gebaly, thefirstfemale antees ofwomen’s rights andtheroleofwomen tion ofwomen,howtoachieve betterlegalguar three issues:howtoincreasepoliticalparticipa into somethingassociated withtheoldregime. of women’s rights, thuschangingthesubject al-Assad ofSyriahadappropriated thesubject such asSuzanneMubarakofEgyptandAsma since theformerfirstladiesofmanycountries, olutions might happenhereaswell. Especially a backlashonwomen’s rights aftertheArabrev- experiences inAlgeriaandIraq,itisclearthat the revolution.Havinglearnedfromprevious the opportunitiesandthreats forwomenafter men fromthewholeArabregiontospeakabout bbc During theconference,agendafocuseson presentertellswhyshewantstorunforoffice Arabicdebate onwomen’s rights afterthe

- - - - - ference tocontinue therather disorganisedde stay withlessthantwenty womenfromthecon world outthere,differentfrom hers.Finallywe something ofanewideathat thereis another Suddenly Iseesomethingchanging inhereyes, needs tobeprotected ‘then youaremuchmorethanonlyabodythat ‘But habibti,mydearest,’Ispeaktohersisterly, The eyeslight up. ‘Yeah, sure’. someone wholoves toread?’ And afriend,neighbour, daughter, sisterand ‘So thenyouwillbeadoctor, wife andmother. my studies.’ ‘Absolutely, preferablyimmediately after ‘Do youliketogetmarried?Andhave children?’ ‘Yes, very much.’ ‘So youwanttobeadoctor?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘You arestudyingmedicine?’ I tryadifferentapproach: cover yourself, sothat menwillnotbe tempted.’ who wanttobreakyourbeauty. Andithelpsto an isprotected,soyouwillnotfallpreytomen ‘Therefore itisgoodthat awom flirting withme. with aglintinhereyes.Itisalmostasifshe the waywe look.‘You arelikearose,’shereplies tance, andaskthegirlswhat theythinkofusand stand eachother. ButIsuppressmyownreluc read theirbodylanguagetocheckifwe under when Ionlyseetheireyesandthere’s nowayto I finditdifficulttocommunicate withsomeone approach us.‘Are To behonest, youafraidofus?’ uation. Twowomeninniqabandblackgloves desperate, notknowinghowtodealwiththissit the bus.TheyoungLebanese sion, theyturnaroundtoleave usandgobackto wearing femalestudents.Withoutmuchdiscus confronted withagroupoffullycovered niqab with theformat oftheshow, even moresowhen Upon arrival,afewwomeninourgroupareupset by illiteracyandgavingtoomanychildren. women arehinderedinobtainingadignified life violence canbefoundbehindmanydoors,where neighbourhoods, wherepoverty isrampantand their lives are milesawayfromthewomeninthese Despite allthegoodintentionsofconference, …’ bbc producerlooks

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idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Petra Stienen The other revolution: Spring in the bedroom 33 34 economic malaise. is notreallyapriorityintimes ofrevolutionsand about thead.Accordingtothem, sexualpleasure pills’. OtherEgyptianfriendsare lessoutspoken unknown tomany. You bettheyliketouse those decent sexeducation andfuninthe bedroomis undergone genitalmutilation, nobody hashad women inEgypt,MuslimsandChristians,have young menhave hugesexualproblems?Many seriously: ‘Doyourealizethat inthiscountry, itive outcomeoftheArabSpring.Heresponds businessman whetherthisdevelopment isapos- a hundredEurospermonth.IaskanEgyptian where theaverage incomeisoftennomorethan a significant reduction,especiallyinacountry reduced from27LEto10LE(from€ catches myattention. Thepriceperpillhasbeen Almasri Alyoum,apopularEgyptiannewspaper, advertisement forviagraonthefrontpageof comes upinevery conversation. Aconspicuous the themeofsexualizedviolenceagainstwomen During avisittoEgyptinthespringof2012, and travel safelyinbusesandtrains?’ who say:‘Ourwomencansafelywalkthestreets streets, wherearethevoicesofpoliticalleaders it comestosexualharassmentandviolenceinthe and usetheirtalents,iftheywantto?Andwhen of fathers encouragingtheirdaughters tostudy themselves insecondplace.Wherearethestories girls toserve theirbrothersandfather andput In manyfamiliesitisthemotherthat tellsthe women raisetheirkids,especiallysons. unanswered questionsinthisconferenceonhow despite allthenewinsights, therearestillmany the eyesofmynewfriends.Atnight Irealisethat and funmakemeforgetthat Istillcanseeonly tween menandwomenat home.Thelaughter marriage, sexualityanddivisionoflabourbe rounded bysomanydifferentwomendiscussing journalist ishavingthetimeofhislife,beingsur have tosharethebusbackhome.ADutchmale resembling theendofaschooltripwhenwe society shouldbe. in thepaneltellinguswhat theroleofwomenin themselves. Andwe teamupagainstthefive men phere andasenseofsisterhoodamongthewomen bate. We even managetocreate acordialatmos- The evening takesanunexpectedjoyfulend, 3,50 to€ 1,30),

- partners inevery fieldoflife.Thiswillcertainly women caninteractwitheachotherasequal media andeducators toensurethat menand change requiresanactive strategy ofpoliticians, root withoutpersonalfreedoms.Fundamental is right that politicalfreedomswillnever take halts theprogressofwholesociety. Ithinkshe fear offemalesexualityandthehatred ofwomen lution takesplaceaswell. Accordingtoher, the only succeedifasocial,culturalandsexualrevo that thepoliticalrevolutioninArabworldcan American magazine hate us’, publishedat theendofApril2012in dothey otherwise, accordingtoherarticle‘Why The Egyptian-AmericanMonaEltahawythinks Petra Stienen by ourparents,thestate orareligious figure.’ build afuturetogether. Withoutbeingcontrolled each other, tobeablewalkintheparkand said tome:‘Itisadreamjustfallinlove with between partners.AsSamir, aSyrianfriend,once relationships areformedinEurope:theequality me that thisiswhat theyappreciate intheway societies. take time,given theconservative nature ofArab Zeinab andmanyotherArabfriendshave told isawriterandArabist. Foreign Policy. Sheargues

- in sharpcontrast withtherestoredoldorder, whom headmires.Thedaysof Napoleonstand always carryingaroundaportrait ofNapoleon, struggles tofindhiswayupthe socialladder, the lastyearsofBourbonRestauration. Julien after theJulyRevolution of1830,anditchronicles Stendhal publishedhisnovel justafewmonths world that isstilldominated bythearistocracy. but poorJulienSoreldreamsofmakingitina In collide withaslowlydyingaristocratic order. ocratic, egalitarianpromisesofthe19th-century Stendhal (Marie-HenriBeyle), inwhichthedem- rately illustrated in all –decency. Whythisisthecase,mostaccu the highest authority, legitimacyand–mostof tively, asinprovidingpolitical decisionswith lies notsomuchinitsabilitytomanageeffec forgotten that thesupremevalueofdemocracy Thank Godfortechnocrats! Itisasifsomehave only ahindranceintacklingourworstproblem! hampersquickactionandisreally debt-crisis, lip-service at most.Democracydoesn’t solve the tribute someEuropeanspaidtodemocracyseems would finallytakethenecessarymeasures.The Monti, manywelcomed Montiastheonewho Berlusconi wasreplacedbythe‘technocrat’ Mario of Papandreou’sshenanigans. In2011,when European counterparts:theywouldhave none measures, hewasquicklyputinplacebyhis holding areferendumonhisproposedausterity Greek prime-ministerPapandreousuggested racy hasbeenthevictimofsevere neglect.When Ever sincetheEurozonecrisisbrokeout,democ Europe hasbeencarelesswithitsdemocracy. revolution. morality lieat theheartofevery discussed: humandignity and The RedandtheBlack events. InthiscolumnStendhals Literature oftenmirrorscurrent Kleinpaste The RedandtheBlack, The RedandtheBlack theyoung,intelligent willbe (1830)by -

- Hans vanPinxteren. het Zwart),563p. Amsterdam,2007. Translation: Stendhal, view forthefuture. dignity, Europe doesn’t provideavery hopeful but abouthuman ormostlucrative decisions, much aboutthe‘best’ Democracy anddemocratic culturesarenotso tive. Itisnever justaboutmoney, Stendhalsays. In thissensethenovel containsanacuteperspec to live in:workingintheserviceofaristocracy. wants tolive inandtheworldwhichheisforced and causes theagitation between theworldJulien Revolution, permeates throughStendhalsnovel, society, stemmingfromthevaluesofFrench society. Thepromiseofademocratic, egalitarian become anacknowledgedmemberoftheFrench equal sothat hecanclimbthroughtheranks,and rial wealth. Hesimplyhopestoberegardedasan other. Julienshighest aspiration isnotjustmate two worldswhichareunabletounderstandeach Julian andmonsieurdeRênal arelivingin he nowhastospendonJulienssalary. rather tight, onlyworriesabouttheextramoney victory over monsieurdeRênal. Thelatter, being takes theraisebecause heconsidersita sold: ‘Meremoney, howbanal!’heponders.He However, Juliensdignity cannotbeboughtor But insteadofanapology, heoffersJulienaraise. job: theyoungmanisquitepopularinVerrières. notables intown)isafraidJulienmight quithis a pettyfeudaboutstatus withsomeoftheother confronts him.MonsieurdeRênal (involved in monsieur deRênal, afterwhichJulienangrily feels humiliated afterbeingpubliclyscoldedby Verrières, isespeciallyillustrative. OnedayJulien monsieur deRênal, mayorofthesmalltown One scenebetween Julienandhisemployer, themselves firstandforemostaretoblame. be anotherRobespierre, thearistocratic elites of theFrencharistocratic society. Ifthereisto the materialism, shallownessandcorruption in whichprivilegedominated. Stendhalattacks The RedandtheBlack dignity. Whenitcomestosuch (HetRood en moral

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idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Auteur Titel 35 36

Beeld: iStock By western involvement isrequired. digm changetowardsfemaleactivismhascometoafullstop. Active rights ingeneral,butalsotowomenparticular. Theunfoldingpara- The escalating actsofwarinSyriaarenotonlydetrimentaltohuman onstrations, protecting thembyactingashuman Women have alsodefendedyoungpeopleindem sion-making processesintheir communities. Indeed, womenhave becomepartnersindeci tion, have beenactive inpolitical discussions. experience throughobservation and participa women inparticular, havinggainedsignificant has growninSyriaduringtherevolution,and of thepoliticalspectrum.Theawareness sons forvariouspoliticalbodiesandonevery side the country, andothershave actedasspokesper ful demonstrations invariousSyriancitiesacross against sectarianism.Theyhave organisedpeace for democracy, freedom,dignity, civilpeaceand has beenimpressive. Women have ledcampaigns revolution hasbeengoingonnowtothisday– and throughoutthenineteenmonthsthat the Syrian revolution–fromthevery firstmoment The visibilityandparticipation ofwomeninthe A paradigmchange? in Syria Women’s rights Rula Asad and Kawa Hassan - - - - - ple inproviding medicalsupplies,fund-raising, have foundrolesbehindthefrontlines,forexam no longerasafeplaceforanyone. Instead,women from theiractive presenceinthestreets,asitwas visibly, actsofwarhave ledwomentostepback lash tothepoliticalparticipation of women.Most of theoppositionhave broughtasubstantialback- operations andthegrowthofarmedelements The escalation oftheSyrianregime’s military Stepping backfrom streets participate inpolitics? last? Isthereaparadigm shiftinthewaywomen inspected. Thequestionis:willthesechanges passengers reducedthelikelihoodofcarsbeing ing useofthefactthat thepresenceoffemale activists byescortingthemacrossborders,mak and therehave beenreportsofwomenprotecting barriers between securityforcesandprotesters,

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idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Rula Asad and Kawa Hassan Women’s rights in Syria 37 38 “ political oppositiongroups” really materialised intoreal rights have untilnownot concerns andclaimtheir women tovoicetheir The newwaysopento groups that supportSyrian womenandwhere Facebook hasprovidedsucha platform; several guarantees women’s rights andequality. establishment ofacivil,democratic state that need forasafeplacetodemand anddiscussthe the militarisation oftheconflict.There isaclear the ideaswhichwouldotherwise besilencedby freely againstoppressionandinjustice–tovoice Facebook, andbloggingasaplatform tospeak actively usingsocialnetworkingsites,especially dom providedbytheinternet.Indeed,theyare in houses,andhave takenadvantageofthefree their activities.Women startedtoorganisesit-ins women tothinkofalternative waysto continue Such restrictionsontheirmovement forced From thestreets tosocialmedia her children. not tothinkofreturninghim,oreven tosee on herface–hadpackedthingsandtold and protest,paintedtheflagofindependence band –whohadat firstencouragedhertogoout was rapedshecamehometofindthat herhus ‘shame’. Onerapevictimtoldusthat aftershe protests ordirectaction,forfearofattracting women arebeingbannedfromparticipating in tality hasresurfaced,forinstanceinthefactthat and femaleactivists.A‘macho’ masculinemen represent anothermajorsetbacktoSyrianwomen being kidnappedandraped,sinceAugust2011, making theirvoicesheard.Reports ofwomen diverted awayfromclaimingtheirrights and result, women’s energyandeffortshave been and providingcareforstrickenfamilies.Asa

- - 30% quotaforwomenwouldbeimplemented. members despiteanearlierstatement that a of The participation islow. Outofatotal200members litical oppositiongroups,we findthat women’s tion groups.Lookingat themostimportantpo not reallymaterialised intorealpoliticalopposi concerns andclaimtheirrights have untilnow These newwaysopentowomenvoicetheir YouTube. ken oftheirexperiencesinvideospublishedon women whohave sufferedassault have alsospo have beenstartedonFacebook.Furthermore,some people candiscussaSyrianrevolutionforwomen roles. HudaZein, aformermemberofthe female membersfrombeingeffective intheir vailed inpoliticalopposition groups, preventing Second, a‘macho’ masculinementalityhaspre themselves astheonlyprioritiesfordiscussion. tion andtheneedforhumanitarian reliefimpose for tworeasons.First,because thecomplexsitua of thegroupsinwhichtheyareactive. Thisis also hesitanttoputwomen’s issuesontheagenda The realityisthat politicallyactive women are Marginalisation group as‘civilized’. dow dressingintendedtoconvey animageofthe mention ofwomen’s rights isno morethanwin – believe, however, that suchageneral,superficial female politiciansactive inthosepoliticalgroups rights. Most women andfemaleactivists–even find justoneortwosentencesaboutwomen’s crimination –instead,intheirmanifestoswe issues ofconcerntowomenorpreventing dis any clearorseriousstatement aboutaddressing en’s issues.Indeed,nogrouphasyetputforward no clearlyspecifiedpositionorprogramsonwom- new revolutionaryrolesandsacrifices. low politicalrepresentation doesnotreflecttheir ists inthefield.Indeed,womenagreethat their working inthesegroups,aswell asamongactiv situation hasfuelledresentmentamongwomen though noaccurate figuresareavailable.This ilar inthe Council doesnotexceed7%.Thesituation issim- Women’s representation intheKurdishNational The factisthat existingoppositiongroupshave Syrian NationalCouncil National CoordinationCommittee, just24arefemale Syrian al

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------women insociety, theeconomy, andinpolitics.’ otherwise we willhave failedto create aspacefor are representedduringthetransitional phase– tablish ourownpoliticalparties, toensurewe Mouna Mostafa,said:‘We have tosetupandes itantly. Amemberofthe found theirownpoliticalmovements, albeithes- secondary importance,hasledsomewomento issues ofconcerntowomenwillbeseen ronment forwomenandanincreasingfearthat the marginalisation ofwomen’s rights issue. related tothecurrentcrisiswillbeusedjustify sation for thefamiliesofmartyrs,andotherissues It isfearedthat issuesofreconstruction,compen Forms ofDiscriminationagainstWomen tion ofthe dom, andcompleteimmediate implementa laws, whichbothlimitwomen’s rights andfree question ofreformingcurrentcivilandcriminal as theyarenow. Specificconcernsincludethe be marginalisedinanypost-Assadscenario, just are afraidthat theissuesthat concernthemwill mit that wasahugemistake.’Asresult,women cated andbloodysituation inSyriainstead.Iad we alwaysgotengagedindiscussingthecompli issues inourmeetingsanddiscussions,but in thecommunity, we hadto includewomen’s National CoordinationCommittee The recentdeterioration ofthepoliticalenvi Convention ontheEliminationofAll Syrian NationalCouncil, says:‘As women ( cedaw ). -

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- “ ers inEgyptdeclaredthat theyareinfavourof tradicts Islamicprinciplesisvoid’. Muslimbroth source oflegislation, andthat anylawwhichcon October 2011that Chairman MustafaAbdulJalildeclaredon23 of Kadafi, In hisfirstspeechinTripoliaftertheoverthrow their politicalpositionhasrapidlydeteriorated. and passionately participate inrevolutions,while ( countries intheMiddleEastandNorthAfrica These dualdevelopments arealsoevidentinother Precarious paradigmchange:Nowornever mena equality” voices that callforgender is requiredtosupport Syrian active roleofwestern actors on theirown,however. An Women cannotdothis ) regionwherewomendidpro-actively National TransitionalCouncil sharia lawwouldbe‘thebasic ( ntc )

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idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Rula Asad and Kawa Hassan Women’s rights in Syria 39 40 Party Egypt Ahmad Ibrahim out oilorsugar, insteadoffocusingonideas. persons andoncampaign toolssuchashanding es arenotalwayshelpful,however. Theyfocuson tion andelectioncampaign courses.Thesecours for humanrights, andorganisepoliticaleduca of active civilsocietyorganisations. Theyfight fighters oncamels.Nowadaysthereareacouple the demonstrators fromthearmedmilitiasand effective insecuringtheTahrir square,protecting The MuslimBrotherhoodbycontrastwasvery tion, thoughtheirmembersjoinedthemasses. did nothave aspecificinfluenceontherevolu public debate ororganiseevents. NGOstherefore only fewmembersandarenotabletoinfluence real power andinfluenceinEgypt.Theyhave It isprobablysadtosay, butNGOsdonothave but noideasinEgypt Sugar andoil, , Youth branch Democratic Front

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- or never. Thechangesthat didhappeninrevolu ate changeseemstohave disappeared.Itisnow countries, andthemomentumtoreallyeffectu- participation isunderpressureinallofthese in Tunisiansociety. for equalfreedomsandrights ofallsections against thesepeopleconstituterealdangers and womenthebrutalattacks ofSalafists the collusionofEnahdawithliberalorientedmen However, itsambiguity towardswomen’s rights, has claimedtoretainasecularconstitution. dignity revolutions,thepoliticalpartyEnahda dict withsharia’. InTunisia,thecradleofthese women’s rights ‘as longastheydonnotcontra- democratisation anddonorassistanceintheMiddleEast. University, Baghdad,Iraq.Hewritesabouttransitions, and studiedEnglishGermanatAlmustansyria international relationsfromtheUniversityofAmsterdam, Society inWest Asia.HeholdsaMaster’s degreein where hecoordinatesKnowledgeProgrammeCivil Kawa Hassan and DiplomacyattheSyrianInternationalAcademy. in 2006(journalism),andstudiedInternationalAffairs rights activist.ShegraduatedfromDamascusuniversity Rula Asad other newactorsincivilsociety. at strengtheningthecapacitiesofwomenand In addition,theycansupportprojectsthat aim tion andpromotionofuniversal humanrights. This willensuregenderequality, andtheprotec embedding women’s rights intheconstitution. tors canprovidefundingforprojectsthat aimat carious paradigm intoclearpolicies.Western ac for genderequalityandtotranslate thisnewpre tors isrequiredtosupportSyrianvoicesthat call their own,however. Anactive roleofWestern ac cy, againstallodds.Individualscannotdothison tionary timesshowsthestrengthofhumanagen Therefore thenewparadigm ofactive women’s isanindependentSyrianjournalistandwomen’s worksasKnowledgeOfficeratHivos

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- - - - You stayawayfromour MasterthePresident. isawarning attackers snarlsat him:‘This pass himby, butnoonestops tohelp. Oneofhis breathe, standup, shoutordefendhimself. Cars face andstomach,onhisneck andlegs.Hecannot surrounded byfourmen.Heis hithardinhis outside toinspectthedamage heisimmediately comes toahaltagainstthesidewalk.Stepping Suddenly, hiscarisbeinghitfrombehind,and he slightly noticestheunusuallyquiettraffic. is onhiswayhome.Lostinownthoughts, of thebiggest oppositionnewspaperinEgypt weekday afternooninCairo. Theeditor-in-chief Please visualisethefollowingsituation. Justa inarevolutionaryJournalists Egypt Power ofWords By journalists duringrevolutionarytimes. dives intoEgyptianhistoryandexploresthepositionroleof an importantroleinbringingaboutpoliticalchange.HananFahmy ‘no’ might beexaggerated, journalists andreportersusuallyplay Can revolutionshappenwithoutpresscoverage? Thoughasimple Hanan Fahmy …

times isofcourse bynomeansarecentaffair. The importanceofjournalists duringoppressive Egyptian revolutionary history history ingeneralandtheArab Springinparticular. the roleofjournalistswasinEgyptian revolutionary and independence.Inthisarticle Iwillshowwhat and helpcitizensintheirfightforrights, justice crucial. Withwords,journaliststeach,inspire their roleinbringingaboutpoliticalchangeis ists payaheavypricefortheirwork.Nevertheless, leaving thejournalistinastate oftotalconfusion. Next timeitwillbeyourhead’. Themendisappear, In Egypt,oneoftenhearsstorieslikethis.Journal-

idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Hanan Fahmy Power of Words 41 42 “ could notorwouldpublish” for freedom.Bloggerspublishedwhat thenewspapers internet pagesstartedtoplayalargerroleinthefight Alternative mediasuchasFacebookgroupsandother papers enjoyed morefreedomundertheSadat As comparedtotheNassarperiod, thenews- Forced relocation of thiskindis‘Somefear’byTharwat Abaza. ship, demandingfordemocracy. Afamousstory names toexpresstheiropinion aboutdictator ones usingrealincidentsandhistorical also wroteliterarystoriesorrewrotehistorical from wordswithdoublemeanings,journalists double meaningstobypasscensorship. Apart their messages,nowhowever usingwordswith 1960. Withoutmucheffect.Journalistsstillwrote give anexample,henationalised the pressin important roleaftertherevolutionof1952.To President GamalAbdelNasser, whoplayedan affect thepeoplewasvery well understoodby tary monarchy. 1923, whenEgyptofficiallybecameaparliamen independence. TheRevolution continueduntil to theBritishconsul-generaldemandcomplete Zaghloul hadledtheofficialdelegation that went Zaghloul andpeoplewent outintothestreets. authorities hadexiledstatesmen SaadPasha newspapers reportedthat theoccupyingBritish lution inMarch1919.That isthemomentwhen largely initiated andinspiredtheEgyptianRevo- magazine, andotherpublications ofjournalists –spreadfrommouthtomouth.His Mocking’ Elnadeem withhismagazine‘Jokingand illiterate, thewordsofjournalists–likeAbdallah about revolution.ThoughmanyEgyptianswere journalists playedanimportantroleinbringing which lastedfrom1882till1952forexample, During theoccupation ofEgyptbyGreat Britain, The wayjournalistsandtheirpublications

- - censorship ofthepress,however, President regime inthe1970s.Thoughheendedformal its polities.And theyknewwere effective. general heavilycriticisedthe government and movements. Thissyndicate andnewspapersin mostly ofpeoplefromopposition partiesand Syndicate. namely bytryingtoregaincontrol over thePress tried tomonitorthepressinamoresubtleway, as well aswestern countries.PresidentSadat then and credibilityintheeyesofEgyptianpeople regime lostagreat dealofdemocratic legitimacy out anyformoflegalprocess.Consequently, the found guiltyandimmediately imprisonedwith against thestate’s economicreforms.Mostwere tent amongstthepopulation andincitingstrife were arrestedandaccusedoffuellingthediscon Cairo, aswell asinothercities.Manyjournalists ing pricesoffoodetc.Therewere riotsallover Sadat government, promptedbytherapidlyris like theright toworkasafreejournalist. to moreadequately defenditsmembers’rights, cate, enablingthelabourunionsofjournalists tried strengtheningtheroleofPressSyndi- the government orchoosingforexile.Others ists refusedthearbitraryrelocation, e.g.bysuing ees that couldbesimplyrelocated. Manyjournal government consideredjournaliststobeemploy Ministry ofElectricityorinBata Shoeshops.The times forcedtotakeonotherjobs,suchasat the supervised journalism.Journalistswere some And nevertheless, hefoundedacouncilthat journalists intheirfightagainstdictatorship. Anwar Sadat triednewtechniquestoparalyze At that time,thesyndicate’s boardconsisted In 1977theEgyptiansrevoltedagainst

- - - - - At that time,thechairman ofthePressSyndicate ernmental papersrefusedtoaccept thisnewlaw. newspapers, butalsothosethat worked at gov this timenotonlyjournalists fromopposition which suppressedtheirrelative freedom.And dates tobeelected. orotheroppositionparties’candi al-democratic more thanonce,makingitimpossibleforliber- Also, thegovernment manipulated theelections governmental organizations inthis newspaper. prohibited thepublication ofadvertisements by the regimeimposedheavychargesonthemand intofinancialdifficultiesbecausepolicies –came tion partyinEgyptandcriticalabouteconomic owned bythebiggest opposi liberal-democratic indirect way. Alwafdnewspaperforexample– the army. Butrepressionmostlytookplaceinan the country, exceptthepresident,hisfamilyand unwritten rule:theycouldcriticiseanyofficialin affiliated withthem, were obliged torespectone through. Oppositionpartiesandnewspapers The changeswere however notalltheway Mubarak regime people morefreedomofexpression. allowed thepressmorefreedomandgranted Mubarak tookpower. Hereleasedthedetainees, president Sadat wasassassinated andpresident journalists. Justonemonthaftertheseevents, public figuresarrested,amongthem well-known his policiespresidentSadat hadmorethan3000 In anattempt tosmothertheresistanceagainst of wordisgreater thanthePower ofPresident’. Zoharey, isknowntohave said that ‘thePower The chairmanofthePressSyndicate, Kamel opinion aboutdictatorship, demandingfordemocracy” real incidentsandhistoricalnamestoexpresstheir also wroteliterarystoriesorrewrotehistoricalonesusing “Apart fromwordswithdoublemeanings,journalists In 1996,journalistsrevoltedagainst anewlaw

- - president Sadat aswell aspresidentMubarak, democracy. Because ofhispoliticalcriticism public figure well-known forhisfiercefight a memberoftheboardPress Syndicate anda ments andbecamepoliticalactive. Quoadouswas Quodous, youngpeoplejoined oppositionmove George Isak,Wael AbbasorMohamed Abdel representing them.Inspiredbyactivistsas Egyptians lostfaithinpoliticalpartiesadequately banned bytheCommitteeofPartyAffairs.Much a courtrule.Theweekly newspaperAlshaabwas The weekly newspaperAldostourwasbannedby cised thePresident.Theyagainpaidaheavyprice. law’ofMubarak, andcriti broke the‘unwritten ‘Kafaiah’, whichmeans ‘enough’. Moreover, they ly emergingrevolutionarymovements suchas These newspaperspublishedarticlesaboutnew- founded, ownedbyactorsintheprivate sector. In the1990s,independentnewspaperswere Losing faith steps ofitsheadquarters. ple have frequentlydemonstrated at thedoor symbol forfreedom,andfromthat timeonpeo was notissued.ThePressSyndicate becamea journalists gainedtheupperhandandlaw papers ownedbythegovernment. Eventually, also showed theirsupportandboycottednews- for morefreedomofexpression.Thepopulation solidarity withthejournalistsintheirstruggle Opposition partiesandpublicfiguresshowed country. Journalistsbeganalarge-scalestrike. damaged thecharacterofEgyptasademocratic tried toconvincethePrimeMinisterthat thislaw Egypt, whichwasownedbythegovernment. He ofthebiggestwas editor-in-chief newspaperin -

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idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Hanan Fahmy Power of Words 43 44 (Republican Party),Tunisia Wijdan Kaabi economic civilsocietyorganisations. with membersfromhumanitarian,culturaland brella networkassociation party. ThesepeoplejoinaNGO. Thereisanum but notasamemberof, oraffiliated to, apolitical people whowanttocontributetherevolution sive roleinsteeringthedebate. Therearelotsof political parties,NGOsmediate andplayadeci the protests.Whenthereareconflictsbetween civil societydoesplayavery importantroleafter not reallyplayanorganisational role.Incontrast, a commoncause. Civilsocietyorganisations did party oforganisation -ralliedinthestreetsfor pendents –peoplenotaffiliated toapolitical During therevolutionyoungpeopleandinde in Tunisia NGOs asmediators , Youth branchofthe Les couleursdelaTunisie Parti alJoumhouri

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Social media sentences. Essa, whointotalreceived nearlyadozenprison oftheAldostournewspaperIbraheem in-chief reporters were sentencedtoprison,likeeditor- South Asia.Consequently, andagain,many tries, especiallycountriesinSouthAmericaand tions andoppositioninforeign developing coun Newspapers alsopublishedstoriesaboutrevolu onstrate againstMubarak’sre-election. In newspapers,peoplewere encouragedtodem shape duringthePresidentialelectionsin2006. he wasarrestedmanytimes. Wafd partyinEgypt. paper, a dailynewspaperoftheliberal-democraticneo- Hanan Fahmy needs tobeanswered. be inbuildinganewEgypt,isquestionthat now events andinspiringpeople.What theirrolewill portant roleinthesechangesbycovering these began inEgypt.Journalistshave playedanim- After 18daysMubarak’sregimefellandanewera manding adecentlifeforall,freedomandjustice. against dictatorship on25thofJanuary2011,de the Egyptianyouthputinmotionrevolution and AhmedMaher. Inspiredbypeoplelikethese, examples areAsmaMahfouz,AsraaAbedelFattah could notorwouldpublish.Afewprominent dom. Bloggerspublishedwhat thenewspapers started toplayalargerroleinthefightforfree as Facebookgroupsandotherinternetpages in morecreative ways.Alternative mediasuch nalists increasinglytriedtoinformthepublic In ordertoavoidgovernmental scrutiny, jour- The dissatisfaction ofthepeoplereallytook iseditingmanageroftheAlwafdnews-

- - - - Lawyers anddemocratic change The ruleof law By lawyers andordinarypeople.Itistherethat themagichappens. suggestion: focusoninformalcircuitsandcontactsbetween role oflawyerswas,andwillbe,inbringingaboutchanges.His are crucialinthisrespect.Mauritius Wijffels analyseswhat the establishing anewruleoflaw. Independentlawyersandjudges The uprisingsintheMiddleEastaremostfundamentallyabout Mauritius Wijffels

idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Mauritius Wijffels The rule of law 45 46 “ as theirmalecounterparts” mena uprisings. Femaleactivistsandlawyersinthe many ofwhomhave playedapivotalroleinthe The in thisrespect in EgyptandMorocco? implement thisprotection.What is thesituation judges mustbegiven theright toolsandspaceto to all.Ontheotherhand,those samelawyersand in solidlywritteninstruments applyingequally held toprotectmustbelaiddown unambiguously rights andfreedomsthat lawyersandjudgesare must firstberemoved. Ontheonehand,basic and maintainingtheirfreedoms,twoobstacles people oftheirnations inexercisingtheirrights al andsocialcallingofhelpingtoempower the and othercountriescanlive uptotheirprofession Before lawyersandjudgesinEgypt,Morocco First thingsfirst deavour toachieve alevel playingfield. similarities inthewaylawyersandjudgesen shows certaindifferencesbutespeciallystrong status ofthelegalcommunityinbothcountries in theirsocieties.Acomparisonofnotesonthe positive andconstructive roleforlegalminds had beenstrivingduringmanyyearsforamore munity andcivilsocietyinEgyptMorocco Either way, countlessmembersofthelegalcom avoid beingtoppled,aswasthecaseinMorocco. stay inplacebyquicklygivingsufficientlyto and socialdemandswhereasothersmanagedto as theystubbornlycontinuedtorejectbasiclegal for awhile.Certaindynastiesfell,likeinEgypt, well asadegreeofsocialjusticehadbeenbrewing the strongdesireforrespectofrulelawas authoritarian ruleintheMiddleEastunfolded, as the2010and2011popularuprisingsagainst Whilst mostoftheplanetwastakenbysurprise mena areat leastasarticulate andhighly visible isfullofvery independentwomen, -

- the headofstate with aspecialjudicialcouncil should enjoymoreindependence byreplacing too, itiscurrentlybeingproposedthat judges basic socialandeconomicrights. AndinEgypt terpart doesbutitenumerates alarger numberof or humanrights quitethewayitsMoroccan coun Constitution doesnotcreditinternational law been acrimonious.ThecurrentEgyptiandraft Constitution isstillongoingandhasat times the processsurroundingcreation ofanew to remove itsautocratic regimeearlyin2011, of theCourtCassation. by thehighest judgeinthecountry, thepresident replaced byaspecialjudicialcouncilvice-chaired pervision bytheministerofjusticehasbeen tanglement fromtheexecutive: theultimate su judiciary, therebyfulfillingalong-awaiteddisen Moroccan Constitutionfeatures anindependent separation ofthethreeclassicalpowers. Thus,the human rights andfundamentalfreedomsthe recognition andlistingofalargenumberbasic international lawover national law, theexplicit provisions. Theseinclude:thesupremacyof Constitution containingsomevery encouraging without bloodshed,Moroccopromulgated anew of draftingandfollowinganational referendum As earlyas1July2011,afteronlythreemonths forms oflegislation andtheirimplementation. ultimate normative touchstoneforallensuing Constitutions areuniversally consideredthe Mother ofAllLaws:thenational Constitution. need forlegislative reform,startingwiththe Both EgyptandMoroccohave recognisedthe Although EgyptwasthesecondArabcountry

- - ous publicapprehensiveness aboutthereliability dures, have seriouslyexacerbated the already seri which hasfrequentlycharacterised courtproce the pastdecadesandlack of transparency judges have beenappointedanddismissedover try likeMorocco, thearbitrarinesswithwhich Thirdly, thepastdoesnotjustgoaway. Inacoun it willbeunclearwhat ruleapplies. and judgesinestablishinglegalcertaintybecause munity, thisproposalislikelytoobstructlawyers those laws.Insteadofempowering thelegalcom ing decreesbylawsandtoconstantlyupdate impossible toswiftlyreplacethecountlessexist rooted inlaw. Inpractice,however, itwillprove stitutional proposalthat anysanctionmustbe governance. Thismalpracticehasledtoacon- to settlematters inbreachofthelaworgood stance, ministerialdecreeswere largelyabused ples theyhave justadopted.InEgypt,forin implementation oftheloftynormsandprinci- all clearhowbothcountrieswilldealwiththe in MoroccothanEgypt.Secondly, itisnotat en’s andgirls’rights gettingamuchbettercut in thetwoConstitutionsat handwithe.g.wom on variousaspectsofthenewsituation. an examplefortheregion.Thebadnewstouches hailed bymanyasamassive move forwardand Especially theMoroccanConstitutionhasbeen forward incomparisonwiththeirpredecessors. difficult todenythat theyrepresentamajorleap meeting thedemandsof‘street’, itwouldbe der severe criticismfornotgoingfarenoughin is that whilstbothConstitutionshave comeun good newsandthereisbadnews.The fessions. Assoofteninlegalpractice,thereis and insufficientempowerment ofthelegalpro tioned twoobstacles:lackofqualitylegislation tutional reformssufficetoaddresstheaforemen The questionarisestheniftheseandotherconsti Good newsandbad involving detentionandduress. bigger roletoplayindecisionsonanymeasure the prosecution,judgeswillalsogetamuch highest judicialinstitution.Attheexpenseof Supreme ConstitutionalCourt,thecountry’s in chargeofappointingthemembers Firstly, notallrights areequallywell protected -

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------syndicates andassociations toprovidetheir ents. Inaddition,fullindependence allowsthese as therelationship withsuspects,litigants orcli conflicts ofinterest,financial securityas well ence, integrity, fairness,professional secrecy, tion withregardtokeyissues suchas:independ phrased standardsthat enjoyworldwide recogni with numerouslegalexpertsandcontainsolidly extensive international researchand consultation Bar Association. Theseinstrumentsarebasedon Legal Profession Prosecutors Judiciary, as the fessional capacitytointernational standardssuch ernance, management,economicmeansandpro elsewhere, itwillallowthemtoelevate theirgov financial independence.Ashasbeenthecase empowered withpolitical,administrative and greater popularitywithsocietyat largeiftheyare in enhancingtheirprofessionaswell asgaining the large. Judgessyndicates andbarassociations in legal professionalsforthegoodofpeopleat fostering knowledgeable,well-trained andfair for lawyersandjudgeshave proven helpfulin stable, efficientandindependentassociations a lostopportunity. Inotherpartsoftheworld, nity throughtherespective Constitutionsseems This failuretofullyempower thelegalcommu formal associations Empowering judgesandlawyers: democratizing state andotherleadinginstitutions. pressure torealizetheseobjectives bygradually has notfadedandgovernments remainunder The callfordignity, ruleoflawandsocialjustice scapes willneedtimetodevelop andbalanceout. post-revolution andpost-reformpoliticalland tions andimplementation willbesolved. The law orcustom. imum qualitystandardsinlinewithinternational or lawyerswithclearlydefinedprotectionmin Constitutions donotappeartoprovidejudges the independenceofjudiciary, thenew means lastly, despiteat leastformallypromoting bad, even thewell-intended. Fourthlybutbyno of thejudiciary-makingalmosteverybody look Time willtellwhethertheseflawsininstitu mena UN BasicPrinciplesontheIndependenceof the countriescanbecomemoreeffective andthe UN GuidelinesontheRoleof aspublishedbytheInternational International Principlesforthe

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idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Mauritius Wijffels The rule of law 47 48 Democratic Party Sarah Karameldin together. NGOs andpoliticalparties(inopposition)work it willsucceed.Inthat respectitisessentialthat uprising willbebetterorganisedthereisachance the timewasnotyetripe.Ifafollowingpopular spring inNorthAfrica,wasnotwell organised, ment. Therevolution,inthewakeofArab to commityourselfananti-government move sion bythegovernment, itisnotat allrisk-free personal interests.Thereiscontinuousrepres change, buttheyarepoorandoftenfollowtheir up. ThemajorityoftheSudanesepeoplewant number ofpeople.Every daynewmemberssign their objectives aresharedandadoptedbyalarge Darfur andtheBlueNilestate. the streets.Themovement isactive inKhartoum, members handoutflyersandspeaktopeoplein ment believes inpeacefulcalmresistance,its were wonbytheexistinggovernment. Themove ed andimprisoned,especiallyaftertheelections ists ofthe people tovoteforoppositionparties.Manyactiv the deficienciesofgovernment andinducethe to choosetheright way, toraiseawarenessabout and thecountry. Theyhelptoinspiretheyouth it isnotworkingforthebenefitofpeople objective istochangethegovernment, because the were establishedinSudan(e.g. At theendof2009firstyouthmovements movements inSudan Influential youth Though theyouthmovements areinfluential, 30th January Youth Social ResistanceMovement , Sudan , Youth branchofthe and Griffna Change Now, ). Theirmain Liberal were arrest or

- - - - tice that theArabuprisingshave claimed:not the government accountabilityandthesocialjus a logicalnextstepintherealization ofthedignity, of judgesandlawyerswill,infact,onlyrepresent national standards.Suchformalempowerment and internationally –tomeetthoserelevantinter given thepracticalsupport–bothdomestically in Morocco, Egyptandother mal institutionsrepresentingjudgesorlawyers public opinionand,ifneedbe,eachother. with moreeffective protectionvis-à-vistheState, it willarmortheinstitutionsandtheirmembers Apart fromimprovingknowledgeandskills, members witheffective, ongoingeducation. without itsnumerous informalcircles,inwhich mit, lifeintheMiddleEastis simply unthinkable West thanmanypeoplethere arepreparedtoad resent amuchbigger keyfactorforsuccess inthe Arab society. Even thoughinformalcontacts rep cussed above, relate withinformalcircuitswithin two worldsisthewayformal circuits, asdis of themajorculturaldifferencesbetween these ry, however. TheMiddleEastisnottheWest. One These formalassociations areonlypartofthesto The casefortheinformalassociations mocratizing State andotherleadinginstitutions. sure torealizetheseobjectives bygraduallyde not fadedandgovernments remainunderpres call fordignity, ruleoflawandsocialjusticehas As theprotestsofMoroccanjudgesshows, scapes willneedtimetodevelop andbalanceout. selves andrequireproperimplementation. Constitutional reformsarenotenoughbythem An unusualscenehighlighting oncemorethat to pressurizethemwhileperformingtheirtasks. pension scheme–withouttheseitemsbeingused working conditions,properremuneration anda Constitution includingjobsecurity, reasonable of theirindependenceguaranteedbythenew Rabat demandingtheactualimplementation judges gathered beforethe As recentlyasOctober2012,some2.300Moroccan are expectedtodefend. for thepeoplewhoserights andfreedomsthey only forlegalprofessionalsthemselves butalso It wouldseemdesirable,therefore,that thefor Clearly, thepost-ArabSpringpoliticalland Court ofCassation mena countriesbe - in -

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- - - - - “ before therevolution isthe a part.Anotherfamouslegalactor established in theinformalcirclesofwhich ElNadimforms if notavailablein-house,lawyers areidentified the targetgroupgetsaccessto legalaidresources: it alsoengagesinsocialsupport andmakessure In cooperation withotherNGOsand individuals ment andrehabilitation tovictimsoftorture. reputation inprovidingpsychologicalmanage Cairo basedNGOwhichhasbuiltupanexcellent and monitoringactivities, Apart frombeingrenownedforitscampaigning ment withtheempowerment ofcivilsociety. There arealsoolderexamplesoflawyerinvolve for food,moneyandmoralsupport. members oftheFrontconstantlyliaisetoarrange tion. Nexttohelpingwiththelegalpaperwork, protestors, especiallyincaseofarrestanddeten their private practice,providingassistanceto range Egyptianlawyerswhovolunteernextto organisations andindividuals,includingtop- the ProtestorsofEgypt revolution. Theso-called Human Rights, branched outfromthe ering roleinthiscontext.Manyinitiatives have Arab Spring(seethearticlebyIrisKolman). outpaced thestate andprovokedthefamous informal circleskeptgrowinguntiltheyalmost and slower action-wise,thealreadytraditional As state institutionsgrewweaker content-wise to stiflinglegislation inthefieldofcivilsociety. rapidly inrecentdecades–nottheleastdue gimes hashelpedspreadingtheseinformalcircles are made.Infact,theweight oftheautocratic re often themostimportantcontactsanddecisions Lawyers have playedanimportant,empow- most importantcontactsanddecisionsaremade” its numerousinformalcircles,inwhichoftenthe Life intheMiddleEastissimplyunthinkablewithout an NGO pre-dating theJanuary2011 anNGOpre-dating isaninformalallianceof Egyptian Organizationfor Front fortheDefenseof El NadimCentre Hisham Mubarak Law isa

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- - rights issuesandachieving womenempower gender issues,mainstreaming women’s andgirls’ Foundations’ effortstoraiseawareness about Female lawyersplayaleading roleinthe ways beforeitobtainedNGO status in 2004. its activitiesindifferentinformal andformal study groupandspenttwenty yearsdeveloping freedom andsocialjustice–startedasafeminist it considerspartofalarger, global strugglefor forms ofdiscrimination againstwomenwhich foundation -strivingfortheeradication ofall and the uses muchofherspare-timesupportingtheFront Ragia Omran,anEgyptiancorporate lawyer, who ter-parts, asisthecasewithrenownedactivist articulate andhighly visibleastheirmalecoun activists andlawyersinthe have playedapivotalroleintheuprisings.Female ever, ofvery independentwomen,manyofwhom stirred seriousemotions.The Development reports,whichhave therefore is toanextentconfirmedinthe that theyhave nostatus at allandthisperception perception ofthestatus ofArabwomenisoften support isbynomeansa‘male’ affair. Western It isimportantat thispointtostressthat this speech. a boostfortheprotectioncivilians’right tofree ‘Hitler’s incinerators’. Theverdict clearly reflects who hadsuggestedthat protestersbeburnedin obtaining judgmentagainstanEgyptianofficial East andwhichhasrecentlybeensuccessfulin promotes freedomofexpressionintheMiddle Network forHumanRightsInformation, activists suchasin2010theleaderof built upareputation fordefendinghumanrights Center, alawfirmrather thananNGO, whichhas Egyptian NewWoman Foundation. mena mena un areat least as ArabHuman isfull,how which This Arab

idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Mauritius Wijffels The rule of law 49 50 Abdel Kader overcame socialprejudiceinher with theabove, EgyptianlawyerDr. Nariman and defendingwomen’s andgirls’rights. Inline ing andtrainingcoursesaswell asmonitoring throughcampaignment andself-determination to bringabout legal andsocialchange.Instead activists whointheendbrought andcontinue than notreachedothers the lawyersand processes beforetheuprisings have moreoften velopment moneyinvested indemocratisation at itselfandadmitthat themanymillions inde at alltimes,theWest shouldalsotakeahardlook ever. Whilemaintainingitshumanrights agenda each otherforalongtimetocome–perhaps circles willcontinuetocoexistandcomplement local dynamicswhereformalandinformallegal Middle East,itwillhave torespectandworkwith fully tothedemocratic developments inthe ed partylikeD66–wantstocontributemeaning If theWest –andinparticulararuleoflawmind The wayforward groups incivilsociety. ferring skillsandknow-howtodirectlyaffected hanced informalcivildisputemediation bytrans to lengthycourtprocedures.Hence,lawyersen disputes inarapidandeffective way-asopposed fectively seekredressthroughmediation tosolve whereas thesecondgroupwasencouragedtoef anisms wheninvolved ininformalmediation was trainedtoapplysoundtechniquesandmech mediators andasbeneficiaries.Thefirstgroup empowering membersofcivilsociety, bothas the strongMoroccantraditionofmediation by level: shewasinvolved inaprogramtappinginto fessionals helpempowering peopleat aninformal initiatives, isanotherexampleofhowlegalpro Leila Hanafi,involved withmanyinternational Finally, high-profile Moroccan-Americanlawyer in thelegalprofession. women incivilsocietyandrelative newcomers asherapproachbothempowers is double-edged cialize incasesofdomesticviolence.Hersword women andtotrainyoungfemalelawyersspe reduce theamountofviolencedirectedtoward Law andCultureofPeaceOrganization, and morerecentlyfoundedthe direct surroundings,becameanactivistlawyer Egyptian Women’s aimingto

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------East relatedprivatepractice.Heisalsothefounder Mauritius Wijffels of lawandsocialjustice. West expecttohelpbringingaboutdignity, rule ent formsofempowerment. Onlythencanthe amounts ofmoneyorperhapscompletelydiffer legal circlesandwhethertheyreallyneedvast tors forchangewithintheformalandinformal would dowell determiningwhoarethetrueac states, politicians,lawyersandcivilactivists its highest representatives, the orous locations andfrequentformalvisitsby of conferencesabouttheArabSpringinglam- Latin America. which promotestheruleoflawinMiddleEastand and chairmanofAmsterdambasedMELBAFoundation, isaDutchlawyerwithMiddle eu , itsmembers-

- - for us,butsociety itselfthat feelsresponsible. ize thoseideas.Itisnotthestate that fixes things through howthingscouldbe betterandthenreal zenship: risinguptothechallenge, thinking rate socialresponsibility. Thisisalsoliberalciti resulted incompaniestrying to takemorecorpo oil platform that neededtobedemolished, finally Spar affair. Thedebate abouttheoutdated Shell and possibilities!’Lookforexampleat theBrent more often:‘You yourself have abilities,capacities accomplish this.Politicians shouldthereforestate And thesecretis:government simplycannot not nearlydoingenoughtofulfiltheirneeds. ble? Almosteveryone thinksthegovernment is fine, but we aredoingbadly.’ Howisthispossi lands. Itturnsoutthat peoplesay:‘Iamdoing tells usaboutthestate ofaffairsintheNether- Netherlands InstituteforSocialResearch, often Paul Schnabel,sociologistandDirectorofthe on theirresponsibility. I wouldliketoenablepeopleactuallytake is ultimately unstoppable.Asasocial-liberal group ofindividualsislargeenough,theirpower and howdifficultproblemsmight seem,ifthe shows that, however repressive astate might be, Trust inpeople’s ownpower. TheArabSpring this isarealisation ofonethepillarsD66: fate ofothersandforsocietyasawhole.To me, ent, butalsofeelasharedresponsibilityforthe citizenship’.‘liberal Citizenswhoareindepend goals insociety. Pureexpressionsofwhat Icall came togetherandactively foughtforcommon amples ofchangesbroughtaboutbecause people Very differentevents, ofcourse,butallgoodex in 2003.AndtheArabSpringwastwoyearsago. Ahold The BerlinWall fellwhenIwas12years old. citizenship Liberal Koolmees ceo AndersMoberglowered hisbonus

------for D66 Wouter Koolmees ernment hasdonethejobforyou. rather than tohave waitedpassively untilthegov to have putnecessarychangesinmotionyourself, act upontheirpersonalideals.Itsurefeelsbetter to takematters intotheirownhandsandactually ing so, we providepeoplewiththepossibilities bank paystomuchsalariesandbonuses.Bydo- bank accountnumber-whentheybelieve their another bank–withoutlosingtheirpersonal by makingsurethat peoplecaneasilyswitchto investments madewiththeirpensionfund.Or by givingtheminsight inandcontrolover the own ideasandidealsaboutchange.Forexample to ensurethat peoplethemselves canrealizetheir more. Butasapolitician,Iseeitmymaintask also thelessactionorientedpartiesshouldfocus the right example. Thisissomethingonwhich and again.Andofcourse,politiciansmustset encourage theirpersonalstrengths. to makepeopleawareoftheroletheyhave ,and liberal party, toletpeopleseetheseimbalances, fund. Hereliesanopportunityforusasasocial- investor buyinvest inchildlabourviahispension sumer wear clothesmadebychildren,andasan Someone canrejectthisasacitizen,butcon are neatly linedup. Take forexamplechildlabour. importance that thevaluesofthesethreeroles tor’. Foractualliberalcitizenship, itisofgreat ent ways.As‘citizen’, as‘consumer’ andas‘inves can manifestthemselves insocietythreediffer Supercapitalism, dent Clinton.Reich istheauthor ofthebook Social AffairsandEmploymentunderPresi- thoughts ofRobert Reich, formerMinisterof From hereitisnowonlyasmallsteptothe The callfor‘moralleadership’ isheardagain isamemberofDutchparliament inwhichhearguesthat people

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idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Auteur Titel 51 52 Welleman By the MakingofaNewEra. cellent readin interested intheMiddleEastandeffects oftheArabSpring,theywillfind anex pressure. CanweactuallyspeakofanypositivechangesintheArabWorld? Forthose elections inTunisia andEgyptminoritywomen’s rightshavebeenputunder a full-fledgedcivilwarwithmorethan30.000fatalities.Islamistpoliticalgroupswon on theoutcomesofmovement.Today thepopularuprisinginSyriahasbecome Almost twoyearsaftertheArabSpring,itistimetotakesomedistanceandreflect THE MAKINGOFANEWERA COUNTER-REVOLUTIONS AND ARAB SPRING,REVOLUTIONS, THE BATTLE FORTHE Boris vanWestering The BattlefortheArabSpring,Revolutions,Counter-Revolutions and ISBN-13: 9780300180862 Yale UniversityPress Era Counter-Revolutions andtheMakingofaNew The BattlefortheArabSpring,Revolutions, Lin NoueihedandAlexWarren Bibliografische gegevens (2012)

idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Boris van Westering The Battle for the Arab Spring 53 54 Arab countries.Theauthorsdescribe thata which seemedtobenormalpracticeinmost with averyperverseformofelitecorruption between therichandpoorincombination in thecombinationofincreasingdivide but aconvincingargumentcanbedetected democracy? Itisnoteasytopickandchoose ences? Oristhesocietyunpreparedfor lience oftherepressiveregimes?Foreigninflu open societies?Canitbeexplainedbytheresi why Arabcountriesdidnotdevelopintomore historical contextanddigsintothequestionof The firstsection, The bookcanbedividedintothreemainparts. years ofrepression’. of all,itisabattlefordignityandjusticeafter build familiesandfuturesoftheirown.Most the rightofyoungpeopletogrowupand battle forsatisfyingjobs,decenthousingand that aggressivelypresseditsinterests.Itisa encroachment oftriumphantUSsuperpower of Europeanempires,byColdWar andbythe through thepastcenturybyriseandfall battle foridentityofaregionbuffeted follows: Noueihed andWarren describethisbattleas that unleashedthebattleofArabSpring. provide aconvincingcontextofthecauses of the‘cacophonyoverlappingbattles’and providing thereaderwithacompleteoverview these questionsthoroughly. Theysucceedin from theirtripstotheArabregionanswer wikileaks, andhavetappedfirst-handmaterial combined extensiveresearch,newsarticles, Arab Spring pulation fromclaimingtheirdignity and ‘political powerlessness’slowed theArabpo combination of‘economichopelessness’ and scale revolutionthroughouttheregion.What que Tunisian individual,soonbecameawide- What startedasansingleprotestofoneuni stand now?Theauthorsof did exactlyhappen,andwheredoestheregion ‘The battlefortheArabSpringisa LinNoueihedandAlexWarren, Roots ofRage, The Battleforthe providesmore

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- - for theArabSpring.Underlyingfactorsof countries sharesimilarpatternsintheirbattle and Syria.Accordingtotheco-authorsthese ken byTunisia, Egypt,Bahrain,Libya,Yemen, analyze thedifferent revolutionarypathsta Spring in2011. Tunisian JasmineRevolutionandoftheArab made himthemartyrandsymbolof on fire.Thisactofself-emulationeventually street vendorMohammadBouazizisethimself Tunisian cityofSidiBouzidwheretheyoung calling forchange,untilthatdayinthesmall tical forcesemerginginthenew-look republics Warren writethatSaudiArabiasupports ‘poli narchies fromtherevolution. Noueihed and its powerandinfluencetoprotect othermo and thebirthplaceofIslam,SaudiArabiaused Spring. and finalsectionof the regionisverywelldevelopedinthird from affecting thekingdomsandemiratesin its regionalroleinpreventingtheArabSpring The foreignmeddlingofSaudiArabiaand all strategicplaces. order bysendingitsmilitarytroopsandsecuring crushed andSaudiArabiaintervened,restoring monstrate peacefully, thedemonstrationswere to claimmoreequalpoliticalrightsandde where theShiacommunitysawanopportunity solution. Interestingly, inthecaseofBahrain flict withabsolutelynoroomforapolitical Libya, andSyriaistrappedinamilitarycon- tervention preventedalongtribalconflictin as theywereinTunisia andEgypt.Foreignin strations. Notallrevolutionswereassuccessful satellite television,whichsparkednewdemon images werespreadthoughsocialmediaand extreme violenceagainstthecrowds.Bloody regime wasoftendisproportional,employing triggered byasmallevent.Thereactionofthe deficit ledtosocialunrestanddemonstrations, unemployment, corruption,andademocratic In thesecondsection,NoueihedandWarren Asthewealthiestcountryinregion The BattleoftheArab -

- - - - - future. they canchangetheirworldand shapeits The peopleoftheregionhave learnedthat tic aboutthefutureasuncertainitmaybe. democracy. Noueihedand Warren areoptimis tions, andnottotryoffer blueprintsfor pect thelocaldynamic,learnfromitsimplica- A messagetotheWestern countriesistores ditions toasuccessfultransitiondemocracy. co-authors, Tunisia hasthe mostfavorablecon ple incitieslikeSidiBouzid.Accordingtothe create jobsandabetterfutureforpeo level ofsuccesswillcomeintheircapabilityto groups. Formanyintheregion,foremost practices, safeguardtherightsofminority cratic institutionsandencouragedemocratic need towritenewconstitutions,createdemo decades beforewecanseerealprogress.They leaders arehuge,anditwilltakeyearsoreven The challengesaheadforthenewlyelected in theeconomicsphere. religious practicebutratheroftheirsuccess will choosetheirpartiesnotbecauseof authors areconvincedthatintheendvoters not allfallinthesamecategory. Assuchthe among theIslamistspartiesandtherefore the ArabSpring’.Thereisalotofdiversity loss fordemocracyisfalseinthecontextof Islamist politicalpartiesnecessarilyequalsa warn usthat‘thenotionawinforthe during theelectionsinEgypt,yetauthors like theMuslimBrotherhoodgainedpower winter. ItistruethatIslamistpolitical groups that theArabSpringturnedintoanIslamist that Western mediaarewrongtoconclude emirates. Spring willaffect theArabmonarchiesand moment wecannotexpectthattheArab authors cometotheconclusionthatfor regional andinternationalinterests.’Theco- that werenotthreateningtoitsownbroader Noueihed andWarren areoftheopinion

- - - - - education, journalismandhumanrights. collaboration withtheMiddleEast,relatedto Project Manager specialisedininternational Boris vanWestering human rights. East, relatedtoeducation,journalismand international collaborationwiththeMiddle Consultant /ProjectManagerspecialisedin Boris vanWestering isanindependent is an independent Consultant / isanindependentConsultant/

idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Boris van Westering The Battle for the Arab Spring 55 56 For moreinformation andregistration, pleasegoto:www.d66.nl/idee orwww.jongedemocraten.nl – – – – The symposiumwillgive aplatform to: people ofthecountriesNorthAfricaandMiddleEast tobringaboutstructuralchange? particular willbehighlighted tounderstandfuturescenarios,analysingthequestion: what isnextforthe on thecountervailingpower ofpeoplethemselves duringtheArabSpring.Therolesofcivicstakeholdersin Initiative onSaturday 12thofJanuary, 2013.SupportedbytheessaysinIdeeedition,seminar focuses a symposiumwillbeorganisedincooperation withTheYoung Democrats andTheInternational Democratic inPeople’sOn occasionofthisIdeespecialedition‘Trust ownPower –CivicActivismintheMiddleEast’, 12 January ‘The ArabWorld: Two Years PoweredbyPeople’ Symposium public discussion. perspectives fromtheregion; academic andjournalistreports; Political speakers; Location Venue Time Date

Saturday 12January

13h:00 to17h:00 Studio K

Timorplein 62,Amsterdam,The Netherlands idee

postbus 66 58 for Belarus? No spring cent interview he mournedSaddamHussein and himself thanonthegeneralpopulation. Inare had abigger impactonPresidentLukashenka hardships. InfacttheArabSpring hasprobably world: civil-war, politicalchaosandeconomic tive effectsoftheongoingrevolutionsinArab aganda wasvery effective indisplaying thenega and resignation. In themeantime,state prop tutions have establishedageneralfeelingoffear society forthelasttwoyears.Thesecurityinsti- tightening itsgripontheoppositionandcivil quickly nowtheBelarusianregimeisseverely the democratic struggleinBelarus,have vanished Arab worldwouldhave positive implications for Any hopesthat the‘Revolution ofDignity’ inthe By question withrespecttoBelarus. in otherpartsoftheworldaswell? DanielGeorgeanalysesthis eventually leadtoarevolutionagainstundemocratic regimes the onethat startedinTunisiaandspreadviaEgypttoYemen, people andaffectingpoliticalsystemsinothercountries.Will Revolutions have thetendencytospreadlikea‘virus’, inspiring Daniel George

- - - finally breakall tieswiththeEuropeangovern It isunlikelythat theregimewasprepared to against hisenemies. Gadhafi’s trail,sendingout martial threats paranoid Lukashenka,afraidthat he might follow anymore. Ifwe lookcloser, we caneven seethe the EuropeancountriesandRussia isnoteffective that between his oldstrategy ofswing-diplomacy vious that theBelarusianPresidentunderstands the illegitimacyofforeign intervention, itisob- guments aboutthebenefitsofdictatorship and European, civilizedman’. Syrian PresidentBasharAl-Assad‘an absolute inthesamebreath calling Muammar al-Gadhafi, 1 Hidingbehindhisar

- - grip oncivilsociety, reflectinglong-gone times, high rate foryears. keeping thepollsforLukashenka at astable plemented bycheaprates forutilities andgas, European countries-high livingstandards sup - comparedtoothereasternand south-eastern pledge forstabilitywasmostlyunderlinedbythe ers. Itshouldberemindedthat thegovernment’s latter forming thebiggest groupofregime-support ships, especiallyforworkersandpensioners,the increase offoodpricesandfurtherfinancialhard and pensions.Theyear2011alreadysawasteep keeps threatening thestabilityofprices,wages the Belarusianpeoplewhileeconomiccrisis is strugglingtoupholdthesocialcontractwith of thedictatorship. OntheonehandLukashenka government contributedtothelatest consolidation withdrawal ofaffectionbythebefriendedRussian to reemploypoliticalcooperation andapartial Rubel, theEuropeansanctionsandreluctance including atoughdevaluation oftheBelarusian The economiccrisisthat hitBelarusin2011– strategy. employed thereafterarecertainlyawell-planned over-reaction, yettheStalinisttendenciesthey actions intheelectionnight might have beenan power- andbusiness-interests.Inthislight their improvement, especiallyifitwouldhurttheir regime arenotopentoanychangeordemocratic 2010 clearlyshowthat thehardlinerswithin Lukashenka andhissupporters.Theevents since ment’ isandwasnotapplicabletowards that the‘policyofchangethroughrapproche tem. Somestakeholdersstillhardlyunderstand slightest opposition againsttheprevailingsys employed againstanyonewhovoicedonlythe ers oftheregimewere surprisedbytherigidity it gress that hadbeenmade.Even long-timeobserv months following,basicallydestroyedallpro harsh actionsduringtheelectionnight and in civilsocietyandeven politicalopposition,the allowing asubstantialdevelopment ofcapacity of politicalandculturalrelaxation from2008, tial electionsonDecember19,2010.Afteraperiod Lukashenka’s predictablevictoryinthepresiden protesters that tooktothestreetsagainst ments whenitdecidedtocrackdownonpeaceful On theotherhandautocrats tightening

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- - - - after Lukashenka startedhisnewest crusade customers intheEuropeanUnion. and 1,83milliontonstoLatvia, thetwo biggest oil, including5,8milliontons totheNetherlands 12.940.000 tonsofsolvents refinedfrom Russian January toAugustof2012Belarus exported support forthat samedictatorship. Onlyfrom interests that earnbillionsinmoreorlessdirect ship, whiletheyarealsoprotectingbusiness tion andcivilsocietytogetridofthedictator millions forthesupportofBelarusianopposi It isaparadox whenEuropeangovernments give term changeisnotonlyunlikely:it’simpossible. nity andespeciallytheEuropeanUnion,short- intensified pressurefromthe Western commu Spring? Firstofallithastobeclearthat without So what canbedonetostimulate aBelarusian sions ofthesecurityinstitutions. extent ineffective undertheincreasingrepres Belarusian civilsocietyhasremainedtoalarge operation. Stilltheintensifiedsupportof the ideathat changecanbebroughtthroughco to theregimeandburyingstrategy basedon 2010, cuttingmostofitsdirectpoliticalchannels drastically reviseditspolicyaftertheevents in for short-termchange.TheWestern community the mostoptimisticobservers seeingapossibility very stableformorethantwenty years,withonly Belarusian dictatorship hasalreadyproved tobe ing, especiallywhentakingintoaccountthat the the latest developments donotlookvery promis Belarusian PresidentialAdministration. Indeed ment that ismerelyapublicextensionofthe rently beingprocessedbythepowerless parlia appeared at firstinJuneofthisyearandiscur material’) againstthestate. Arespective proposal activities (‘thedistributionofterroristideasand includes politicaloppositionandnon-violent will bejoinedbyaredefinitionof‘terrorism’ that increasing paranoia.Itislikelythat thismeasure ment, arejustoneexampleofthegovernment’s meeting underthethreat ofintensive punish mer of2011,nowputtingbasicallyanypublic direct reaction tothe ‘Clapping Protest’ in the sum- introduced tothecriminalcodeasamoreorless mergence ofpoliticalalternatives. Theadditions approval andthefearofcivilunreste- is areactiontothegeneralpublic’s decreasing 2 In2011,that’s - - - -

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idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Daniel George No spring for Belarus? 59 60 Rafik Balrwin,ShebabBenghaziLibya(SHEBL), political representation andpower yet. society, butthat thisroleisnottranslated in large whenitcomesto‘street politics’andcivil be addedthat theroleofyouthmovements is political current Brotherhood (like an IslamicbackgroundconnectedtotheMuslim Libyan civilsocietybetween organisations with themselves aswell. Sowe perceive arealsplitin other partsofthepeoplearestartingtoorganise hood -wasgoodat mobilising‘their’people,but the organisations tomaketheirvoicesheard.Sofar change. People areorganisingthemselves in a traditionofcivilsociety. we cansaythat pre-revolutionLibyadidnothave ised menmorethanorganisedwomen.Ingeneral dren’s associations. Apparentlyhefearedorgan NGOs formen,butdidallowwomen’s andchil Interestingly, theKadaffi’s regime didnotallow ganisations that couldbecalledNGOs. councils tookthisrole,togetherwithsomeor dependent civilsociety. Government controlled there washardlysomethingwe wouldcallanin could notbeanybigger. Beforetherevolution between Libyabeforeandaftertherevolution When civilsocietyisconcerned,thedifference civil societyinLibya No traditionof After therevolutiontherehasbeenagreat Ikhwan –connectedtotheMuslimBrother- Tahallof. Ikhwan Asafinalnoteitshould ) andthemoreliberal

- - - - in adirectanddecisive way. Unfortunately mem oligarchs who arrangetheexternalcooperation glomerate ofBelarusianstate businessesandthe there isnootheroptionthantacklingthecon regime isfoundedonbusinessandprofit.Thus Union have tounderstandthat thecoreofthis bolsters theregime.Politicians intheEuropean supporting theBelarusianpeoplebutprimarily authorities, itisclearthat thiscooperation isnot oil productsiscompletelycontrolledbystate specifically thebusinessofsolvents andother 8 billionDollars. total tradeofthe rose by221%.Inthefirstsixmonthsof2012, against civilsociety, EuropeantradewithBelarus some mistakes ofthepastandforexamplenow Donors andimplementersalready understood proven conceptscanbecomeacompletefailure. ideas ofbuildingcivilsociety might work, other Belarus isnotSerbiaorTunisia andwhilebasic active observation rather thanthird-handreports. granted, butalsotounderstand localrealitiesby ist onthegroundandtakelocalownershipfor Furthermore itisimportanttolistentheactiv an improved verification ofprogramgoals. are morefocusedonoutcomesthanquantityand common efforts.Thisalsoneedsapproachesthat tween thedonorsandimplementersformore funding policiesandabettercoordination be specifically demandsareviewandadjustmentof the supportgiven toBelarusiancivilsociety. This plementers have toincreasetheeffectiveness of governments andindependentdonorsim- Secondly, theEuropeancommunity, itsnational dictator. beneficiaries withdrawingtheirsupportforthe worth atry, ifonlyforthesakeofexactlythose its capabilitytopreserethestatus quoisat least economy, buttheprospectofregimelosing speed upthedisintegration oftheBelarusian the economicalbeneficiariesofregimewould in thismatter. Of coursehardermeasuresagainst to possiblehardshipsfortheBelarusianpeople blacklists. Itisonlyalacklusterexcusetorefer several high-profile Belarusiancompanies offthe Slovenia specificallyshowinginterestinkeeping economic sanctionsinthepast,withLatvia and ber states have notfoundagreementontough 3 eu Inasystemwheretradeand withBelarusamountedto - -

- - cooperation’ and‘speaking withonevoice’. In should be‘adjustment ofpolicies’, ‘intensified nity, governments, donorsandimplementers of years.Thekeywordsforthe Western commu a drasticchangeforthebetter inthenextcouple In conclusion,itisvery unlikelythat we willsee fied development. vide abaseforusingbestpracticeandanintensi cooperation forbuildingcivilsocietycouldpro menters that includesprojectsoncross-border an increasedregionalfocusofdonorsandimple the preservation ofadictatorship ontheborderof possible channelsthat directsupportforthe racy inRussia andalsomakeclearthroughall on humanrights abusesandthelackofdemoc the EuropeanUnionshouldtakeatougherstance gion (Russia, Belarus,Ukraine). Governments in ing tothecoreproblemthat effectsthewholere course thisisabluntexaggeration, butit’spoint would thencomewithoutfurtherefforts.Of moting democracyinRussia instead–therest and themoneyefforttobeinvested inpro for democratisation inBelarusshouldbestopped past have sarcasticallysuggestedthat allsupport the EuropeanUnion.Someimplementersin of influence;onethat shouldnotdiffusetowards government clearlyregardsBelarusastheirzone economical relations staystrongandtheRussian countries have cooleddownduringthelastyears, Moscow. Althoughtherelations between thetwo ally dependentonthepoliticalsituation in influence. Democratic changeinBelarusisgener would liketopointoutisthequestionofRussian The thirdandmostproblematic implication I the tideingeneralpublic. innovative projectsthat have thepotentialtoturn nomic reformandEuropeanintegration through initiatives that promotedemocratic change,eco intensified supportforindependentmediaand international effortsshouldconcentrate onan open tochangethanothers.Lastbutnotleast students andwomen–focusgroupsthat aremore Specific attention shouldalsobegiven toyouth, tivists inevery communityacrossthenation. than ondubiouspartnerswhoclaimtohave ac focus moreonsupportinglocalinitiatives rather eu isinnowayacceptable.Atthesametime

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- - w.hre9.r/nnw/021/3637; 23.10.2012 www.charter97.org/en/news/2012/10/23/60377/; 3 www.naviny.by/rubrics/economic/2012/10/19/ic_arti 2 www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/whats-so-good- 1 Notes Aachen, Germany. for FDPandtreasurerofthe Youth Working Groupofthe Daniel George ety isworththeeffort. but thestruggleforademocratic andliberalsoci will needstrongcommitmentandalongbreath, one stepaheadat alltimes.TheBelarusianSpring his supportersshouldnotbeallowed tobeat least a fortunate momentinhistory, thedictator and to actively promotechangeinsteadofwaitingfor his adversaries. IftheWestern communitywants of disagreementsandparticularinterestsamong the pastLukashenkaalwaysmadevery gooduse cles_113_179619/; 19.10.2012 19.10.2012 in-europe-8218912.html; about-democracy-anyway-an-audience-with-the-last-dictator- (IFLRY). HeisamemberoftheAachencitycouncil istheprogrammemanagerofBelarus International FederationofLiberal Junge Liberalen branchin -

- idee December 2012 Civic activism in the Arab world Daniel George No spring for Belarus? 66 postbus 61 62 tunisia-live.net English languagenewswebsiteinthatcountry:www. Asma Ghribi Aachen, Germany. for FDPandtreasurerofthe Youth Working Groupofthe Daniel George Wafd partyinEgypt. paper, adailynewspaperoftheliberal-democraticneo- Hanan Fahmy he wasdirector. he foundedaliberalthinktank,Prometheus,ofwhich Parliament andtheEuropeanParliament.In2008 of Leuven,fortheFlemishParliament,Belgian Bologna. HeworkedaspoliticaladvisorfortheMayor studied AncientHistoryattheuniversitiesofLeuvenand representing theALDEGroupinArabWorld. Debeuf European Parliament.CurrentlyheislivinginCairo, Verhofstadt, PresidentoftheALDEgroupin Koert Debeuf Institute inPoliticalPsychologyatStanfordUniversity. of LeidenandmostrecentlycompletedtheSummer Masters degreeinPoliticalSciencefromtheUniversity Democracy been withthe in AsiaandAfricaforthepasttwoyearsshehas worked forthe ment professionalandanactivememberofD66.Shehas Annemieke Burmeister and DiplomacyattheSyrianInternationalAcademy. in 2006(journalism),andstudiedInternationalAffairs rights activist.ShegraduatedfromDamascusuniversity Rula Asad About theauthors (IFLRY). Heisamember oftheAachencitycouncil isanindependentSyrianjournalistandwomen’s (NIMD)inTheHague.Annemiekeholdsa isTunisian journalist,workingatthefirst istheformerChiefofCabinetGuy iseditingmanageroftheAlwafdnews- istheprogrammemanagerofBelarus Netherlands InstituteforMultiparty United NationsChildren’s Fund International FederationofLiberal isaninternationaldevelop- Junge Liberalen branchin (UNICEF) – 2009 2009

for D66,sheworkedasatraineeattheDutchEmbassy Democratic Initiativefoundation Maartje Jansen democratisation anddonorassistanceintheMiddleEast. University, Baghdad,Iraq.Hewritesabouttransitions, and studiedEnglishGermanatAlmustansyria international relationsfromtheUniversityofAmsterdam, Society inWest Asia.HeholdsaMaster’s degreein where hecoordinatesKnowledgeProgrammeCivil Kawa Hassan human rights. the MiddleEast,relatedtoeducation, journalismand Manager specialisedininternational collaborationwith Boris vanWestering Latin America. which promotestheruleoflawinMiddleEastand and chairmanofAmsterdambasedMELBAFoundation, East relatedprivatepractice.Heisalsothefounder Mauritius Wijffels Petra Stienen countries andemergingtrends. He worksat ship betweenmodernisationandtraditionalculture. Technopolis Haroon Sheikh on ForeignAffairs (AFET). (ALDE). Sheisamemberoftheparliament’s Committee Marietje Schaake commissioned bytheDutchMinistryofSecurityandJustice. Arab Spring, writer of ment StudiesattheUniversityofAmsterdamandisco- Iris Kolman United ArabEmiratesandEgypt. about the in Tunisia. Furthermoresheorganisedtrainingsessions From ResiliencetoRevolt:MakingSenseofthe International CriminalCourt followsthemasterInternationalDevelop- inthefieldofphilosophyonrelation- areportbytheUniversityofAmsterdam Cyrte Investments worksasKnowledgeOfficeratHivos isawriterandArabist. wrotehisPh.Ddissertation iscoordinatorofthe is a Member of the European Parliament isaMemberoftheEuropeanParliament isaDutchlawyerwithMiddle is an independent Consultant / Project isanindependentConsultant/Project researchingdeveloping (IDI).Priortoworking International inJordan,the Embedding