Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Role of NGOs and Human Rights Initiatives in Democratization

亚利桑那州立大学博士候选人安吉·阿卜杜勒莫奈姆（Angie Abdelmonem）将在詹姆斯·埃德尔（James Eder）博士的指导下，研究非政府组织（ngo）和基层社会运动如何在民主化努力中参与国际人权话语。这项研究是在埃及开罗进行的，尽管开罗是最近民主化社会运动的一个重要焦点，但对正在展开的实地进程进行的可信的正式科学探索却很少。该研究人员在该领域的独特培训和持续工作允许一个可行的研究项目，该项目通过对三个埃及非政府组织和社会运动的参与性观察，对活动家，志愿者和当地公民的采访，以及对邻里居民的调查，将强调民间社会实体在使公共领域安全参与方面所采用的策略，以及所取得的成功和面临的挑战。在埃及政治动荡和民主转型的当前背景下，迫切需要了解这些动态，在那里，历史上边缘群体在公共领域的参与正在积极受到质疑和界定。本研究建立在人类学中关于非政府组织和人权的文献不断增长的基础上，对于提供对跨国社会变革的政治的独特理解具有重要意义。通过强调当地NGO工作者和居民的声音和生活经验，它将揭示在公共和日益全球化的社会中构建公民社会参与新理念的公民行动的复杂性。这个项目将进一步使科学家了解非政府组织和其他行动者如何评估和重新配置民主化努力。了解非政府组织的话语和规划如何增加进入公共领域的机会，改善日常现实，是找到创建可持续民主的解决方案的基础。这个项目也有助于研究生的教育。

Arizona State University doctoral candidate, Angie Abdelmonem, under the guidance of Dr. James Eder, will investigate how non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and grassroots social movements engage international human rights discourses in democratization efforts. The research takes place in Cairo, Egypt, which despite being an important focal point for recent democratization social movements, there is very little credible formal scientific exploration of unfolding processes on the ground. The researcher's unique training and ongoing work in the area allow for a feasible research project, which through participant observation with three Egyptian NGOs and social movements, interviews with activists, volunteers and local citizens, and surveys among neighborhood residents, will underscore the strategies employed, as well as successes and challenges faced, by civil society entities in making the public sphere safe for participation by socially marginalized individuals. There is a critical need to understand these dynamics in the current context of political upheaval and democratic transition in Egypt, where the participation of historically marginal groups in the public sphere is actively being contested and defined.This study builds on the growing literature on NGOs and human rights in anthropology and is significant in providing a unique understanding of the politics of transnationally inspired social change. By emphasizing the voices and lived experiences of local NGO workers and residents, it will reveal complexities around citizen action in constructing new ideas of civil social participation in public and an increasingly globalizing society. This project will further allow scientists to understand how NGOs and other actors assess and reconfigure democratization efforts. Understanding how NGO discourses and programming are increasing access to the public sphere and improving daily realities is fundamental to finding solutions toward the creation of sustainable democracy. The project also contributes to the education of a graduate student.