The latest Arab Human Development Report, by richly documenting the deep social problems of the Arab world, reinforces awareness among Arab citizens of how far they must go to achieve democratic freedoms, says Fred Halliday.
The latest Arab Human Development Report, by richly documenting the deep social problems of the Arab world, reinforces awareness among Arab citizens of how far they must go to achieve democratic freedoms, says Fred Halliday.
The director of the Ibn Khaldun Centre in Cairo, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, says that he has observed positive signs that Arab states are opening up to democracy. But, he says, the reform process requires that Islamists not be shut out of the political dialogue
Scholars at the Islamic Azhar University welcome civic participation – just as long as it stays apolitical, as Lennert Lehmann writes in his analysis
After the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, thousands took to the street to protest. In Beirut, Bernhard Hillenkamp interviewed social economist Omar Traboulsi about the prospects of civil society in the midst of political turmoil
Ever since 1956, thousands of political prisoners suffered physical and psychological torture. Now a Truth Commission has made it possible for the victims to talk about their experiences - but without charging the perpetrators. Yassin Adnan reports
In spite of the conservative shift following the Iranian parliamentary elections, Michael Gahler, member of the European Parliament, sees good chances for expanding political and economic relations between Europe and Iran.
The scope of the Iranian government's crackdown on dissent since the disputed June 2009 elections is even broader and the abuses more flagrant than previously reported. More on Human Rights Watch...
Renowned Columbia University Iran scholar Hamid Dabashi hosts "The Week in Green: A Window into the Iranian Civil Rights Movement". The weekly program aims to keep audiences plugged in to news and analysis on the pro-reform Green Movement in Iran. More...
In "Ghost Wars", Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Coll tells the secret history of the CIA's role in Afghanistan, from its covert program against Soviet troops from 1979 to 1989, to the rise of the Taliban, to the secret efforts by CIA officers to capture or kill bin Laden in Afghanistan after 1998. More...
AVAAZ.org is an international civic organisation that promotes political action on issues such as human rights, and religious conflicts. The NGO's "Stop the Clash" video has had nearly 1.5 million views. Click here...