The Human Reality and Politics
by
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The developing countries are still experiencing changes that pose fateful challenges in various fields, including, in the first place, economy, poverty, backwardness, degradation of the state of the environment, deterioration of the status of women, increasing impact of the electronic communication media on the behavior of the individual, the group and the state, increasing weakness of the state vis-à-vis increasing influence of the pressures of globalization. The developing states and societies are facing many problems, including the inferior status of women, the existence of the patriarchal system, lack of a considerable amount of intellectual and political freedom, the negative effect of cultural invasion. The treatment, which is descriptive, analytical, deconstructive and critical, is needed in examining the problems and challenges facing the developing peoples. These flaws are a legacy stemming from internal and external reasons which lasted for centuries. These defects are not limited to the developing countries. They are spread all around the world. However, this spread varies from one people and the other, from continent and the other, and from one culture and the other. It seems that such defects are more spread among the developing peoples. Contribution to the achievement of knowledge by members of a people of their miserable reality and to salvage them from their dilemma is only realized with frank and unrestricted treatment. It is extremely difficult to achieve progress and intellectual, cultural, social and political awakening without the availability of certain circumstances, including adoption of the political and social democratic system, establishing and promotion of civil society as a means to preserve the democratic system, and the creation of a large space for intellectual freedom in the various domains of the state and society.
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About the Book
This book is a collection of descriptive and analytical articles. The articles, which were recently written, deal with developments and events at the local, regional and global levels. It is the view of the author that forward and backward change is caused by dynamic seen and unseen factors of different qualities, full freedom is imaginary, politics is a major driving force in society, and that, to improve human relations, there is a need for a better communication between human cultures. Dynamics of change implies that all factors are relevant in the explanation of developments. The author maintains that reality is wider than explanation and that, in order to help in the achievement of peaceful existence, there is a need to narrow socio-economic gaps nationally and internationally.
About the Author
The author, Taysir Najm Nashif, was born in Tayyiba, located between Haifa and Jaffa. He earned a B.A. degree in political science and Arabic language and literature from the Univ. of Jerusalem, and an M.A. degree in Middle Eastern studies from the Univ. of Toronto. In 1974, he earned a Ph.D. degree in political science from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He served as assistant professor at the Dept. of Sociology of the Univ. of Oran, and assistant professor of Arabic language and culture at the Dept. of Critical Languages of Temple Univ. He also served as a translator and reviser, and later as chief, at the Arabic Reporting Section at the United Nations, NY. He was a member in several associations, including the Middle East Studies Association, Association of Third World Studies and the American Political Science Association. A number of Dr. Nashif’s books and articles, in both Arabic and English, were published. Titles of three of his published books are: Society, Intellectuals and Cultural Change in the Developing Countries, The Palestine Arab and Jewish Political Leadership under the British Mandate: A Comparative Study, and Social Justice and Intellectual Suppression.