Social scientists have effectively theorized the importance of nostalgia for the political, social, and cultural future(s) of contemporary states and citizenry. As nostalgia changes the meanings of contemporary state for its citizens, it refashions ideal pasts where hopes for different political futures are located. Nostalgia also aids in the formation of new communities of belonging and trust that pose challenges to the workings of global capitalism and the state. Charitable associations and charitable giving provide an important venue to empirically document and analyze such formations. This is especially pertinent in contemporary Turkey where Ottoman past has resurfaced as a legitimate and rich reservoir for crafting a morally and ideologically "just" and "compassionate" Republic. Based on ethnographic and archival research at several associations that focus on poor relief and charitable donations, this paper documents how nostalgia for a beneficent Ottoman past and suspicion toward current state institutions provide an important paradigm for understanding the relevance of charitable giving and charity, both in the governance of poverty and in the formation of new communities of belonging for volunteers, donors, and employees of contemporary charitable associations in Turkey. The paper will situate such nostalgia for an idealized Ottoman rule within the current political economy of Turkey, as both a response to, and a result of corrupt governance and the decline of the welfare state. Under the current Justice and Development Party (JDP) government, welfare provision and associations that spearheaded such provision became effective strategies to consolidate neoliberalism, globalization, and the JDP project of joining the European Union. Hence, if the state is taken to be a discursive, diffuse, and representational construct, then the delegation of poor relief to civil society organizations increasingly support and enable both the representational and real existence of the neoliberal state. The paper will contribute to the literature on neoliberalism, civil society formation, and political economy by critically analyzing the logics and logistics of associations in addressing poverty while countering the vision of a secular state as the only viable option for successful identity politics.

This paper diverts from the premise that effects of globalization on associational activity create an uni-directional, uniform process, leading "foreign" ideas and practices to be either celebrated or rejected. By analyzing the assembled practices, ideas, and representational strategies of secularist and Islamist charity organizations in Turkey, contrary to scholars who see a clear-cut difference between these two constituencies, I argue that the ethos of neoliberal giving is central to their operations. In the last thirty years, neoliberal political and economic policies have made social service provision by non-governmental organizations a global phenomenon. Amidst the global celebration of the power of civil society organizations to act as intermediaries between providers and beneficiaries, philanthropy in Turkey has increasingly become an issue loaded with political tension between Secularist and Islamist constituencies. What is the proper form of givingv has become a central public question, fueled by the increasing public visibility of charitable organizations accompanied by accusations of corruption. This paper examines the politicization of philanthropy in Turkey in conjunction with the global politico-economic structure (neoliberal governmentality) by focusing on two dimensions of the interaction between the local and the global: adoptions and adaptations. Adoptions refer to the ways in which charitable organizations borrow from global, and often Western, models of philanthropic practices and activities, and how they chose to implement these practices and activities in their own organizations. Adaptations refers to the ways in which these "foreign" repertoires of philanthropic practices are combined with local, national and religious repertoires, resulting in hybrid forms of associational activity which often contest, contradict and criticize other combinations of philanthropic ideas, practices and representations. This paper will focus on the nuances in the alternative assemblages and discourses of giving utilized by secularist and Islamist actors and organizations in Turkey, whilst at the same time situating this political contestation about philanthropy within the global conjuncture of neoliberalism where social policy alternatives are almost always confined within a language of giving. With this argument, this paper will on the one hand bring together the literatures of civil society, globalization and philanthropy, whilst on the other hand contributing to the study of secularism and post-Islamism in the Middle East.

With the emergence of the Islamic Republic following the 1979 Revolution in Iran, the conservative and religious clerics who seized power have tried their utmost to disconnect Iran from the world and the globalization process. The American hostage crisis, eight years of devastating war with Iraq (1980-88), isolation, economic sanctions and the nuclear issue have all helped further strengthen the belief of the theocratic regime that the world is set to ruin the ideological goals and achievements of the Islamic state. The conspiracy theory runs deep among the ruling conservative clerics and every effort has been made to disassociate the young and the educated Iranians from the world and the globalization process This paper is a study of the aftermath of the June 12th 2009 elections when the incumbent president Mr. Ahmadinejad was declared the winner following widespread rigging and ballot fixing. When millions of Iranians took to the streets, the reprisal of the conservative government of Ahmadinejad was harsh and brutal. The widespread publicity of the shooting of Neda Agha Sultan shocked the world and the government reacted by expelling foreign journalists and limiting further access to the internet. Despite all efforts by the Islamic Republic to silence the protest movement, the Movement, has gained greater momentum. While there is no organization or a single leadership leading the Greens, yet a chain of common elements tie them together. The research intends to show how the opposition by the use of social networking, and the internet, recreated and re-invented ingenious ways to reach out to the world as citizen journalists. At a time of poorly organized and inept institutional control, the Green Movement has managed to make significant progress that has shocked the world and has set a precedent on the efficient use of the internet for mobilization and opposition.

This paper seeks to answer the question of what effect international funding has on the goals and structure of women's NGOs in Egypt and Jordan. The paper begins with an examination of history of women's associational activity in the two countries of study. History shows that women's participation in civil society prior to US foreign aid involvement was not only present, but vibrant and multi-faceted. The second section of the paper details how the goals and structure of women's organizations have now changed in light of international involvement. The paper examines two sets of constraints under which women's organizations operate today: first, the bureaucracy of USAID and various foreign policy concerns that might affect funding; and second, culture, and government systems used to register and monitor NGO activity within Egypt and Jordan. The findings conclude that despite the lack of democracy in Egypt and Jordan, local political conditions are not inimical to the operation of women's organizations. Although Egypt's and Jordan's political structures differ significantly, both governments are open to the operation of women's organizations, whether these organizations focus on women's health, education, or even political participation. The greatest negative impact on the structure and goals of these organizations comes from US foreign policy concerns, and the bureaucracy associated with the US government funding apparatus. Thus, this paper finds that in today's globalized world, with an increasing emphasis on the merits of foreign aid as a diplomacy and democracy-building method, many US political and bureaucratic concerns still hamper encouragement of foreign associational activity.