The Arab Political Science Network (APSN) organized a roundtable to discuss the experiences of minority groups in nation-building and identity formation processes across the Middle East and North Africa region. Discussions around national identities and the place of minorities in nation building projects have been a longstanding controversial issue in the MENA region. On another level colonialism played a major role in identity formation in the MENA region by introducing itself as a protector of minorities. This has had a big impact on the discourse of minorities and nation building.

In this roundtable we ask: How does race and ethnicity affect processes of national identity formation in the region? How do different minority groups interpret these processes, negotiate their place in them, and push against some of their manifestations? The discussion will identify the role of politics, geography, and culture in shaping the place of minorities in the dialogue over national identity across the Arab countries. It will highlight the effects of political conflict, historical state-society dynamics, and geopolitical interests in the formation of national identities.

Panel Chair:

Nermin Allam

Assistant Professor of Politics at Rutgers University-Newark

Moderator:

Abdulwahab Kayyali

Independent Researcher and Consultant

Speakers:

Bessma Momani

Assistant Vice-President, Research and International, Office of Research

Full Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo

Romain Ferrali 

Assistant Professor, Aix-Marseille School of Economics

Shamiran Mako

Assistant Professor of International Relations, Boston University

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.