In 2022 the ACSS formed a working group “Contexts of Violence in the Arab Region” with a focus on regional and country perspectives on strategies employed by states, societies and actors to navigate various predicaments in the Arab region in the aftermath of the Arab Spring events, the following wave of uprisings starting in 2019 and the relentless attack of Covid-19.
All these developments opened up new questions about the states of violence in the Arab region which is not always expressed through open conflict or political dissent. Violence is also seen as deeply structural and enduring as with sectarianism, gender inequalities, class divisions, displacement and increasing securitization and militarization of all aspects of life. Different actors strive for structural change, for more open public life, accountability and transnational justice, while others work towards safeguarding entrenched privilege and power.
The ACSS Working Group includes four lead researchers and four research assistants representing Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt and Tunisia.
– Amirah Silmi assisted by Fairouz Salameh, Palestine
– Ali Kassem assisted by Ziad El Jbeily, Lebanon
– Choukri Hmed assisted by Ahmed Bilel Kotti, Tunisia
– Youssef El Chazli assisted by Fatma Mosaad, Egypt
