Social Movements, Protest and Contention in the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa - Einzelansicht

Middle Eastern and North African societies have often portrayed as traditional and static, silently suffering under strong authoritarian states. Arab Spring of 2011, however has shaken the established assumptions of developmentalist, modernist, cultural essentialist and/or (neo)-orientalist accounts, as the demonstrations that erupted first in Tunisia and then in Egypt created a wave of square protests in many different regions, including the Global North. Those waves of protests not only displayed the dynamism of non-state actors, but also transformed the political structures and social formations of many countries in the MENA region, for better or worse.

“Social Movements, Protest and Contention in the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa” lecture series aims to contribute in the discussion on the changing states and societies of post-Arab Spring era in the MENA region, by focusing on the social movements and dynamics of contention from 2011 onwards. There is no doubt that MENA region provides a fascinating laboratory for social movement studies (STS), but we aim to go beyond the structuralist tendencies of STS to give adequate attention to ideas and ideologies, emotions and affects, various modes and forms of agency, networks, spatio-temporal contexts and material practices that influence social mobilizations.

We bring young and bright scholars of MENA, mostly from the region, to discuss different country cases, as well as different types of social movements and protests such as the women’s protests in Iran, Turkish speaking queer solidarity in Berlin and youth mobilizations in North Africa. Besides individual cases, we also aim to explore conceptual issues and challenge some of the established assumptions of social movement studies. Students and other participants are encouraged to join us and bring their curiosity with, and help us to explore the questions on the main political and social dynamics of social movements and contention in the region, the role of the state and non-state actors as well as transnational dynamics, regional and global powers, and geopolitical constellations.

The lectures will be held bi-weekly in Huas 7, Room 227. We will start on Thirsday, 24 October 4 pm.

Further information will soon be avaiable on the homepage of the Centre for Citizenship, Social Pluralism and Religious Diversity..

https://www.uni-potsdam.de/centre-citizenship/