48 research outputs found
The counter-power of civil society and the emergence of a new political imaginary in the Arab world
No full textFirst published online: 26 September 201
European identity and external others in history textbooks (1950–2005)
No full textThis article argues that the symbolic borders of Europe and the existence of external Others have been at times more important than Europe's center or its actual physical boundaries, especially during the first decades after the foundation of the European Communities. Analyzing textual and visual sources taken from some ninety French, Italian, and German history textbooks published between 1950 and 2005, the various sequences in which European integration has been constructed are highlighted. Communism, the first external Other, provided the first minimum common denominator for a nascent political Europe. It was not until the end of the Cold War that a projection of a distinct European identity appeared. Nevertheless, the role of new external Other(s) remains important for the evolution of the discourse of a European identity. This article draws attention to the Others, seeking to embed the Others' perspective in narratives of Europe
Palestinian civil society : foreign donors and the power to promote and exclude
No full textPublished version of EUI PhD thesis, 200
Fatah-Hamas Rivalries after Gaza: Is unity impossible?
No full textEven if Israeli Operation ‘Cast Lead’ seemed at first to have driven a decisive wedge in the prospect of resumed unity between Fatah and Hamas because of President Abbas' mild condemnation of the Israeli operation in December 2008, both main Palestinian political factions decided to launch a process of reconciliation under the aegis of the Egyptian government last February. Seven months after the two sides' commitment to unity talks, a final deal still has to be signed. The two main stumbling blocks on the road to unity remain a formal agreement in terms of institutional power sharing and the question of resources linked to security management in the Territories
1989, contested memories and the shifting cognitive maps of Europe
No full textAddressing attempts to define a common European memory on the theme of the Holocaust, and transformations of the Cold War discourses on totalitarianism and democracy. The article conceptualizes the persistent forms and new constellations of alterity that reproduce an East-West divide. The article shows that cognitive debates about Europe hint at constantly shifting relations between various parts of Europe and between Europe and its neighbors. A relational conceptual vocabulary is proposed to describe the debates on Europe following 1989. Cleavages and social distancing can be expressed in terms of different temporal locations (allochronism) which, when merged with a normative stance, can lead to a situation of heterochrony
A nahda of charitable organizations? Health service provision and the politics of aid in Palestine
No full textUntil recently, the topic of charitable organizations seemed to have fallen in disgrace. Social scientists have given little attention to this sector of associational life. Instead, a great deal has been written on the issues of democratization through pressure groups or on the transformation of social movements into professional organizations while assessing the overall impact of development promoted by donors. Yet three signs point to the need for a better understanding of charitable organizations. First, new research studying Islamic activism through the lens of social-movement literature has offered innovative results. Second, studies on the impact of aid during the second intifada have revealed that charitable organizations as well as Islamic organizations offered a significant amount of emergency support, sometimes competing with professional nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Finally, the fact that Hamas, also known for running a vast network of charitable organizations, achieved such a significant political success in the 2005 municipal and 2006 legislative elections should invite social scientists to consider whether and how political momentum can also be obtained through activism in the charitable sector
The evolution of western aid for palestinian civil society : bypassing local knowledge and resources
No full text
Hawla al-mujtama’ al-madani fi filasteen : dirasah naqdiyah [On civil society in Palestine : a critical study]
No full text
