Civil Society constitutes a range of interest groups and political parties that occupy the space between the individual and the state. The notions of democracy and civil society are inextricably liked-democracy fosters the development of civil society as it allows freedom of association to the individuals. This space then links the individuals to the state. In the backdrop of wave of political liberalization sweeping through the region since the early 1990s, the debate on democratization in West Asia has been associated with the study of three crucial issues, namely whether civil society exists in the region? What are its strengths? What are its weaknesses and what the future holds for its existence? Evidence from the political processes of some countries of the region – such as Jordan, Turkey and Gulf States – reveals that civil society has strengthened in the region in the recent past.
This book is an attempt to understand the notion of civil society and its relations with democracy and state in the context of West Asia.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sujata Ashwarya Cheema
Sujata Ashwarya Cheema is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for West Asian Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. She did her M.A. in International Politics and M.Phil. and Ph. D. in West Asian Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. She taught briefly at the Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi.She was awarded Graduate Fellowship (2002-03) of the Government of Israel to conduct research at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. She was also the recipient of Hermes Post-Doctoral Fellowship (January-October, 2007) at Maison des Sciences de lHomme (MSH), Paris. She was also awarded a visiting fellowship (2009) at the MSH under the Indo-French Social Scientist Exchange Programme. She was also associated with the Times of India and Hindustan Times as a journalist. Her areas of teaching and research interest include Israeli politics and foreign policy, Arab-Israeli conflicts and politics in West Asia. She has published research papers in national and international journals of repute.
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