Heretical Democracy!

I was recently asked, both as “an activist and a thinker,” how I would choose to define certain basic terms such as democracy and civil society. Well, below is my attempt at defining democracy, comments and corrections are appreciated:

Democracy is a system of governance that is meant to facilitate continuous interplay and negotiations, both direct and indirect, between various interest groups, regardless of how they are defined, be it on the basis of ethnicity, religion, tribe, gender, profession, sexual orientation and/or age, within the framework of a specific entity, state and/or a region, with the aim of achieving: 1) a greater respect for the basic human rights and freedoms of all, 2) a periodic, peaceful and transparent transfer of power, 3) rule of law, and 4) public accountability. Continue reading “Heretical Democracy!” →

A Necessary Euphoric Phase!

After so many weeks of depression, it is only natural now that the news regarding the impeding cooperation with the UN probe will be greeted with much euphoria at this stage. People need it. Yes, and despite developments such as the about-face made by one of Mehlis’s chief witnesses, there is nothing to suggest yet that the crisis is over. Even if Assef and Maher are not among the people to be interviewed at this stage, what does this really signify? The fat lady cannot sing until Mehlis has submitted his final report on December 15. Continue reading →

Managing Evil!

The dilemmas we often have to face in life are less about making a choice between good and evil or right and wrong, than they are about attempting to identify which is the lesser evil. Indeed, managing various sorts of evil in the hope of slowly inching our way towards what is good – this is really what life is all about, most of the time.

Coming to terms with this, however, even when you are about to turn forty, is still very hard to do. Being a heretic does not make it any easier.

A Fund for Syria!

The issue of foreign funding of civil society groups and opposition movements in Syria has always been problematic. Everybody is afraid of the stigma that this might bring. For this reason, the operations of independent civil organizations remain in the hands of volunteers and part-timers.

But, and while the role of such individuals in the management of civil institutions is always welcome and critical, civil institutions cannot be established and managed solely on this basis. Fulltime commitment is needed, and the attention of the civil activists should remain focused on the tasks at hand. Continue reading “A Fund for Syria!” →