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Non-Governmental Organisations in Palestine. Last Resort of
Humanitarian Aid or Stooges of Foreign Interests?
by Layla Bahmad
2008, 291 S., brosch., 49,- EURO, ISBN 978-3-8329-3393-7
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Content: Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) have gained
more and more relevance in the development process in Near Eastern
developing societies. The traditional civil society in the Middle
East, which used to be in charge of tribes or large families, has
been altered by new groups, which are organized around new social
structures, interests and goals. NGOs have not only become important
players in the social welfare sector, but also vehicles of particular
values among the democratic concepts which are communicated and
based within civil society. This is true for the Palestinian society
where NGOs not only function as agents of democratic concepts but
also fulfill a para-state role because of an absent Palestinian
state. Based on this, a polarity between civil society and state
is lacking which has been replaced by the Israeli occupying power
and Palestinian NGOs.
The author provides detailed insights in the work and background
of the NGOs in Palestine. Because those NGOs are based either on
a democratic creed or an Islamic tradition, the competition between
these NGOs for funding from the West contributes to the strengthening
of fundamentalist reactions. Layla Bahmad concentrates on the system
of aid which stems from the Islamic tradition.
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