T H E  C I V I L  S O C I E T Y  P R O J E C T ​

The Civil Society Project is a series of workshops attended by a network of researchers seeking to understand the role of civil society in the Middle East, particularly following the Arab Uprisings. The Forum on Arab and Muslim Affairs has coordinated with the Arab Studies Institute, the Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship, and the Legal Agenda to organize three workshops to date.

Publications

The Project has thus-far produced NGOs in the Arab World Post-Arab Uprising, a collection of field-based research that contributes to the literature on the impact of the Arab Uprisings on civil society throughout the Middle East. It does so by examining the development of non-governmental organizations in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, and Palestine.​

Audio & Video

The Civil Society Project's workshops are archived via Status Audio Journal, where lectures from the 'Exploring an Agenda for Active Citizenry' can be heard and discussions from the Academia and Social Justice Panel can be viewed in full. 

Featured Workshops

Exploring an An Agenda on Active Citizenship aimed to shed light on the dynamics of ​civil society and citizen activism in the region, and to promote an understanding of the historical, political, economic and legal factors affecting this activism. It also aimed to gather collective wisdom as to the short-and long-term potential for continued citizen engagement, fill knowledge gaps, assist the Asfari Institute to develop its research agenda, and point the way to future programming. (February 2015, Beirut)
NGOs in the Arab World Post-Arab Uprisings​​. The creation of new organizations, non-profit corporations and non-governmental organizations alike, were among the primary consequences of such international interest. Despite their salient role, the precise status of these organizations (i.e., number, origins, funding sources) and their implications has received little scrutiny. The dearth of such research has left a gaping hole in the analysis of transformative social change and ongoing conflict throughout the region. (October 2015, Beirut)
Academia and Social Justice.
​ Faculty and students at institutions of higher learning have often played an important, galvanizing, and sometimes even game-changing role in their societies’ demands for equity, equality, and social and political justice. They have done so in their academic and research production, and in direct social and political activism within the community, sometimes paying a heaving price for this activism. The conference queries aspects of this relationship between academia and social justice, past and present, in the Arab region and internationally. (March 2016, Beirut)