2018 Workshops

 

September Workshop: Rabat, Morocco

“The Evolving Role of Political Institutions in the Arab World”

The 5th program in APSA’s MENA Workshops series began with a one-week workshop from September 24-28, 2018 in partnership with the Center for Studies and Research in Social Sciences (CERSS). The workshop was led by co-leaders Ahmed Jazouli (Independent Scholar, Morocco), Tofigh Maboudi (Loyola University Chicago, USA), Asma Nouira (University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia), Abdallah Saaf (Mohammed V University, Morocco), and Peter J. Schraeder (Loyola University Chicago, USA). Twenty-three PhD students and early-career scholars attended as fellows. Together, attendees explored the relationships between formal political institutions and political liberalization in the MENA region. Using a broad interpretation of formal political institutions that included government agencies, legislative and judicial bodies, political parties and organizations, electoral rules and systems, local government, and constitutions, fellows examined core questions and theories of formal political institutions as well as the implications of these theories for political representation, channeling citizen interests, government performance, and more broadly, political liberalization. Classroom discussions were enhanced by visits to the Moroccan Parliament and the National Council for Human Rights. More broadly, the workshop included sessions on research design and manuscript preparation, best practices and approaches for conducting field research, and scholarly networking. Fellows also shared their own research on topics related to political institutions in the MENA region. See the Reading List.pdf and Schedule.pdf for more information.

Following the September workshop, fellows had three months to revise their research for presentation and further feedback at a follow-up workshop to be held in January 2019 at the University of Tunis-El Manar.

2018 Fellows

• Ms. Abeer Al Wajih – University of Tunis El-Manar, Tunisia
• Mr. Amar Rouabhi – Bouira University, Algeria
• Mr. Amir Abdul Reda – University of Toronto, Canada
• Mr. Ari Tatian – Vrije University, Belgium
• Ms. Aziza Ibrahim – American University in Cairo, Egypt
• Mr. Badr Karkbi – University of Bordeaux, France
• Ms. Caroline Abadeer – Stanford University, USA
• Ms. Engy Moussa – University of Cambridge, UK
• Ms. Ester Sigillo – Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy
• Ms. Farah Hegazi – Duke University, USA
• Ms. Fatma Raach – University of Tunis, Tunisia
• Ms. Imane Terhmina – Yale University, USA
• Mr. Islam Abdelbary – University of Plymouth, UK
• Mr. Karl Karim Zakhour – Stockholm University, Sweden
• Ms. Kirstie Dobbs – Loyola University Chicago, USA
• Mr. Michael Schumacher – Loyola University Chicago, USA
• Ms. Nellie Bohac – Loyola University Chicago, USA
• Mr. Raad Al-Tal – University of Aberdeen, UK
• Ms. Razan Malash – Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
• Ms. Samia Ahmed – Gedarif University, Sudan
• Mr. Sari Madi – University of Montreal, Canada
• Ms. Shorouk Elzayat – Cairo University, Egypt
• Ms. Taghreed Alsabeh – Loyola University Chicago, USA
• Mr. Yahia Benyamina – University of Oran 2, Algeria
Fellows of the 2018 Rabat Workshop visit the Moroccan Parliament in Rabat

January Workshop: Tunis, Tunisia

As a follow-up to the September workshop in Rabat, fellows were invited to a workshop in Tunis from January 28 to February 1, 2019. Daily sessions were structured around research panel presentations, providing significant opportunities for feedback from peer discussants and leaders. The schedule also included several sessions on professional development topics, a visit to the Moroccan Parliament, and a guest lecture from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (see the Schedule.pdf for more information). Concluding their participation in the 5-month MENA Workshops Fellowship, alumni were given three years’ complimentary membership to APSA and are eligible to apply for small grants to support their further research.