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Seminar  held 17 April 2014 at Salt Galata in Istanbul, Turkey: "Writing Revolution"  - Voices from Tunis to Damascus with Layla Al Zubaidi, editor of the book and Director of Heinrich Boell Stiftung - South Africa,  Yassin Al Haj Saleh, Samar Yazbek via skype  and Senay Ozden.

Publications

DJ Set on barbed wire rooftop at dawn

Beirut's Underground Music Scene

Photo Documentation
A very inspiring creative project Hajar utilized a historical-political lens, to carefully delineate artists, community and the use of space within Beirut’s quick pace of change. Given the lack of research on the dialectic between music and crises in the region, this historical lens is applied to understand recent developments that begin from the October 2019 Revolution, extending through to the complete collapse of the economy and banking system, and the August 2020 explosion. The photos coupled with over twenty interviews aim to re-imagine and recreate our spaces and collective identity with values that extend far past appreciating certain genres. This project chooses to focus on the vibrant and creative forces which stand in constant dialogue with the worn and broken.
Photo of the Holiday Inn Building in Beirut

Political Perspectives in Lebanon After the Thawra

Paper
The staunchest criticism of the sectarian political model came from the civil society. Lebanese citizens have called for the abolition of this regime for more than a decade. The topic became a rallying cry for all Lebanese during the 2015 "You Stink" movement and more recently during the 2019 revolution (thawra). 
Benita's Paper cover

“People like me, they have to bypass”

Research Paper
My nationality is my right has a long history in Lebanon. In a country, that does not treat its citizens equally; women cannot pass their nationality to their husbands and children if they have a binational marriage. To this day, this law is still on papers. In this paper, Benita argue that the performative citizenship of the children in these families is not only expressed through their political and social activism for a more inclusive citizenship law. Rather, by finding coping strategies to exercise basic human rights and by having an affective citizenship meaning they feel Lebanese and therefore state their right to be Lebanese on paper, they are performing Lebanese citizenship.
Diagram

Indications of a Critical Electoral Process Path

Report
The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections -LADE and as part of its mission towards observing and monitoring the electoral process, spotted numerous indications of a critical political path that affects the electoral process.  
Kohl Vol.7 no.1 Cover Photo

Kohl | Vol. 7 No. 1 | Summer 2021

Journal
Our Partner kohl  is finally happy to announce the publication of their latest issue, Counter Archives, encompassing the works of more than 35 writers, researchers and illustrators.  This issue started as “A Revolutionary Archive of 2020,” and acquired a life of its own. It took the shapes and contours of the writing circle Kohl called for in early 2021. The circle met virtually for eight Saturdays. Tearing through the realisms of lockdown, migration, COVID-19, and occupation, they created an oasis for them to grieve, breathe, be in solidarity with each other, and do community differently. 

Stabilization via change? The European Union’s support for human rights advocacy in Lebanon

Paper
Civil society is identified as a key partner for the European Union (EU) and receiver of financial support in the European Neighbourhood Policy, as civil society is closest to the citizen’s needs, for example in terms of human rights. However, the existing body of research questions whether such aspirations for human rights are compatible with the EU’s main priority in neighbourhood, stabilization. To investigate how this alleged contradiction affects the de facto support for pro-democratic civil society organizations, this research focuses on the question “What are the means of the European Neighbourhood Policy to support Lebanese Human Rights Organizations in their advocacy for Human Rights and Democracy in Lebanon?”Interviews with local experts show that the EU Delegation is striving to cooperate closely with civil society actors to support their human rights advocacy but is limited in their capacity to provide funding to HROs due to a shift of priorities in the newest Single Support Framework (SSF). A comparison of the SSF from before and after stabilization became the main priority, confirms this finding.

Perspectives Issue #15 - Unboxing the Game: the Obvious & the Obscure

Dossier
Politics are brimming with metaphoric references to games – be it the famous “Great Game” as the diplomatic confrontation of great powers in Asia at the beginning of the 20th century was referred to, the understanding of strategic moves in a region as a “chess board,” war “theatres” or references to the “players,” the strong of them framed as “actors,” the weak as “pawns”, or the crazy ones behaving like “wild cards.”

The 2018 campaign of the civil society: Breaking through the sectarian system?

On the 6th of May 2018 the Lebanese are voting for their parliament for the first time in 9 years. Elections, supposed to be held in 2013 but postponed repeatedly for security concerns, are held under a new electoral law. There is a huge discontentment with the political system and a high level of political apathy. The garbage crisis of 2015 and the municipal elections of 2016 showed that a huge segment of society does not feel adequately represented by the established political parties. This representation issue has a lot to do with the inherent corruption of the ruling political class and their failure to provide basic public services. Due to the discontent, the 2018 election saw an increase in candidates who do not come from the traditional sectarian parties. These civil society groups, who have their roots in previous protests, try to create a new political discourse around secularism, citizenship and pro-human rights. This paper examines the emergence of the these groups.

‘Islamic Feminism’ in Lebanon: Portraying a counter-discourse

Islam and Feminism, those two words seem like an oxymoron to most people. But it is not to everyone. Starting in the 90's a number of Islamic feminists from different parts of the world took the stage and made their struggle for women‘s emancipation public. This paper delves into the basic concept of Islamic Feminism and attempts to portray the counter-discourse as it is forming in Lebanon.Ann-Kathrin Steger

Throughout the countries of the Middle East, citizens view the state with suspicion. State institutions are often experienced as biased towards the powerful, corrupt and predatory, and as a sometimes violent means to safeguard the position of a ruling elite, or the domination of one part of the population over others. Participation, on the other hand, is mostly reduced to elections of questionable representational value, or relies on informal channels and structures and primordial relations, and thus reinforces existing patterns of subordination and power. 

The program Statehood & Participation supports initiatives that demand accountability and due process and encourage citizens to become aware, active and organized around issues of (gender-) democratic participation, freedom of expression and sustainable development.