Tariq Dana

Tariq Dana is assistant professor of Political Science at Hebron University. He received his PhD in Politics from Santa’ Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy. His research interests include neoliberalism, globalization, development, civil society, social movements and NGOs. Among his publications include a book chapter entitled “Alternative Development or Development Alternative? Post-development Theory and Prospects of Social Movements in Palestine” (forthcoming, 2012), which will be published in Another Approaches to Development by Bisan Center for Research and Development, Ramallah, Palestine. He is also working on forthcoming book chapter that critically explores the intersection between human rights and human security in the Palestinian NGOs operations (2013), which will be published in Saul Takahashi, ed. Human Rights, Human Security, and National Security: the Intersection, Praeger Security International in Santa Barbara. Currently he is working on a research project titled “A Neoliberal Conflict Zone? The Transformation of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict.”

Lecture: “Palestinian Civil Society: What Went Wrong?”
Saturday September 22, 2012 at 14:30 to 16:30 – Campus in Camps Al Feneiq Center, Deheishe Refugee Camp by Dr. Tariq Dana

In this lecture we will discuss critical dimensions of Palestinian civil society’s structural transformation as well as the implications and consequences of this process on the ground. The lecture sheds light on the transformative trajectory of Palestinian civil society throughout the last century. In particular, we will compare between structural differences of the contradictory versions of Palestinian civil society in both pre and post Oslo periods. To do so, we will identify overlapping factors that contributed to the process of structural transformation that radically shifted a wide segment of civil society actors in Palestine from mass-based movements known for their active role in the anti-colonial struggle to highly professionalized, apolitical, globally informed and neoliberal-oriented NGOs. The lecture will start by providing a theoretical background on the interrelationship and interaction between civil society, NGOs and the hegemonic neoliberal globalization.