In conjunction with the American Political Science Association (APSA) Middle East and North Africa (MENA) conference titled New Landscapes in MENA Politics Research, the Arab Political Science Network (APSN) organized a panel featuring representatives from research and policy institutes in the Arab world. The panel examined the opportunities for and challenges to social science research from the perspective of regionally based institutes. This session complemented and contributed to the deliberations of the fellows, as well as other colleagues and researchers, participating in the conference.
The years following the Arab uprisings created renewed interest in research on issues from state-society dynamics and civil wars to regime/authoritarian resiliency and counterrevolutions. There has also been new research on mobilization and social media; the politics of gender and women; migration, displacement, and citizenship; and the intersections of politics, climate, and public health.
While considering these developments, as well as the often-inhospitable research climate across the region, the panelists (and attendees) are invited to reflect on:
- What kind / type of research agendas and ideas guide these research institutions? In what ways the COVID-19 pandemic, on-going civil strife across the region, increasingly authoritarian practices and the Ukraine war will impact research agendas and studies?
- What new priorities and realities should researchers and funders pay attention to?
- How can we utilize existing and advance new interdisciplinary approaches to help us understand and study some of these topics?
- How can we create and maintain supportive and collaborative networks of research, funding and mentoring that advances rigorous methodological and pedagogical training and publications?
Tin Hinane El Kadi is the co-founder and co-director of the Institute for Social Science Research on Algeria (ISSRA).
Romain Ferrali is an Assistant Professor of economics at the Aix-Marseille School of Economics.
Nadim Houry is the executive director of the Arab Reform Initiative (ARI).
Mohammad Abu Rumman is the founder and academic advisor of the Politics and Society Institute in Amman.