Mohammad Abu Hajar

Institute

University of Kassel (UKS, Germany)

Research Cluster

3 - Partnership in knowledge production - Eurocentrism

Supervisor

Prof. Dr. Aram Ziai

PhD Project Title

Civic activism in post-2011 Syria and the role of NGOs

Abstract

In March 2011, people took to the streets in many different cities across Syria, demanding freedom, political pluralism, an end to the Baath Party’s monopoly, and the repeal of emergency laws (Ismaiel, 2011). As the demands grew more radical and came to include the overthrow of President Assad and his regime, the spontaneous movement organized itself, and in the wake of the uprising, new spaces emerged for the country’s suppressed social movements to articulate their views.

With this development, various non-governmental organizations intensified their efforts to network with the emerging, still-young movements. While international development organizations operating in Syria had been working in a vacuum until 2011, the uprising created spaces and gaps that made the country one of the most attractive markets for aid funded by the international aid sector and non-governmental organizations.

While the work of these organizations in 2011 focused primarily on directly supporting the democratic struggle and providing the equipment and resources activists needed for their nonviolent resistance—such as satellite internet, cameras, and educational workshops on methods of peaceful resistance—their role later, around mid-2012, increasingly shifted toward introducing categories within the postcolonial narrative of “technical progress.” Categories such as capacity building, good governance, peacebuilding, urban planning, education, and empowerment—after empowerment had been stripped of its power (Baltiwala, 2007) – and good governance replaced the original interest in nonviolent resistance and a peaceful transition to democracy.

Many scholars have pointed out that this form of NGO intervention led to the professionalization and depoliticization of grassroots movements; the aim of this study is to examine the validity of this argument in the Syrian context and to further investigate the role of international NGOs in their intervention in Syria.

Bibliography:

Educational Background

  • 2014: Master’s degree in Advanced Economics, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, with a thesis on the economic impact of immigration on the economies of host countries
  • 2012: Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Hashemite University, Jordan, with a focus on advanced economics

Work experience

  • June 2016 – March 2018: Project Leader for the Syrian-German initiative “Adopt a Revolution,” Berlin, Germany
  • June 2012 – March 2016: Editor for political topics, Baladna Radio, Syria, as well as working remotely from Rome and Berlin
  • June 2009 – September 2010: Accountant, Almansour Trading Company, Tartus, Syria

Social/Political Engagement

  • 2005–2011: Member of the “Syrian Communist Party” (Kassioun)
  • 2009–2011: Elected member of the Syrian National Committee for the Reunification of Communists
  • 2011–2014: Co-founder of the “Free People of Tartus” Coordination Committee
  • 2012–2014: Member of the Revolutionary Office of the Local Coordination Committees in Syria.
  • 2015–2018: Co-founder of the “Syrian Nushata’a” network in Berlin
  • 2008–present: Founder and producer of the Mazzaj Music Band, Syria.
  • 2016–present: Founder of the Ausländerbehörde Music Band, Berlin

Scholarships

  • 2010: University of Philadelphia Theater Festival: Best Supporting Actor.
  • 2012: Erasmus Mundus Master’s Program
  • 2019: Rosa Luxemburg Foundation: Full scholarship for doctoral studies

Publications