The International Journal
of Not-for-Profit Law

Volume 7, Issue 4, September 2005

This issue of the International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law opens with a special section on civil society, the law, and the media in the Middle East. Kareem Elbayar provides a comprehensive overview of NGO laws in ten major Middle Eastern countries. Negar Katirai follows with a specific look at Iran’s NGO regulations — both the laws as written and the procedures as practiced, which often differ. Finally, a report from the United States Institute of Peace explores the complicated and sometimes conflicting roles of media based in the Middle East.

Our other articles begin with a painstaking study of NGO-government cooperation in selected European countries, written by Nilda Bullain and Radost Toftisova of the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law. Next, Robert C. Lowry of the University of Iowa summarizes empirical research he undertook, examining how civil society in particular American states is influenced by religion, education, and regulation. Wilton S. Dillon of the Smithsonian Institution — a self-styled “philanthropoid” who was both follower and friend of Margaret Mead’s — offers a reflective appreciation of Richard B. Gunderman’s essay in our previous issue. We close, finally, with incisive book reviews by Al Lyons of Indiana University and Yuko Kawato of the University of Washington.

We gratefully acknowledge the generous assistance of the U.S. Institute of Peace, HTML wizards Kareem Elbayar and Erin Means, and our expert authors.

Stephen Bates
Editor
International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law
sbates@icnl.org