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Keynote Speech:
Sadashi Hukuda
Lectures on: Nationalism, Islamism, and Social Identity in the Muslim
societies
Lecture 1
"Roots of Revolution: A Comparative Analysis of the Social Dynamics
For Change in the Middle East"
Isam al-Khafaji(University of Amsterdam)
Lecture 2
"The Cultural Crisis and the Future of the Arab Civil Society: The
Debate of Enlightenment and Liberalization"
El-Sayed Yassin(al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies)
Lecture 3
"How Did the Disappearance of the Religious Reform Have a Part in
the Stumble of the Arab Renaissance Projects? "
Maher al-Charif(Institut Francais d'Etudes Arabes de Damas)
Lecture 4
"Crises of Global Modernism and Radical Social Movements: Japan and
Egypt"
Eiji Nagasawa(University of Tokyo)
Comments
Isam al-Khaffaji
Takeji Ino
Hiroshi Matsumoto
Reception
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In the last decade of the 20th century, the Middle
East witnessed drastic changes. Among the most noteworthy were the Gulf
Crisis/War and the Middle East Peace Process. However, the efforts to
establish the “new regional order” after these developments were
thrown into turmoil at the turn of the century; the al-Aqsa Intifada broke
out in Palestine in the autumn of 2000, symbolizing a setback in the Peace
negotiation; the economic sanctions imposed on Iraq were practically
dismantled despite a lack of Iraq’s clear compliance with the U.N.
resolutions. Meanwhile, at the dawn of the new century, symptoms of change
appeared which can be understood as the formation of civil society; Iran
under the Khatami regime has been highly praised for its movements toward
democratization; Syria under Bashar al-Asad is reportedly preparing for
political and economic reforms. Islamic movements, particularly in Egypt,
have undergone a transformation from political activism in the 1980s to
less political grass-rooted social movements in the 1990s. In the context
of so-called “Globalization,” it is possible to understand the
symptoms in Iran, Syria and Egypt as being the results of the absorption
of “Global Ethics” such as civil society, human rights and political
liberalization, into the societies of the Middle East. On the other hand,
the examples of Palestine and Iraq are symbolic of the collapse of the
international political system and regional security systems based on
“states.” This means that Globalization has had different impacts on
states and societies of the Middle East, and that it is necessary to
discuss them separately.
The Institute of Developing Economies (IDE), one of the largest and
oldest Japanese research institutes dealing with Third World countries,
will hold a workshop titled Social Movements and Political Dynamism in the
Middle East In the Era of Globalization on October 9, 2001. Here in the
IDE International Workshop, we will analyze the current transformation of
society in the Middle East under “Globalization,” shedding light on
its influence on social consciousness and on its effects on political
structure.
Also we are to analyze the notions of the social identities and the
way of mobilizing them in the political movement. A special focus will be
put on the notions of Islamism and Nationalism and the correlations
between them.
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