Team
The Arab Council for the Social Sciences led the work of this report from its offices in Beirut, Lebanon.[1] Like everyone across the world, we worked in the extraordinary circumstances of the global pandemic. Before it, in 2019, new protests, calling for democratization and rights, had rocked the Arab region, which has yet to absorb the lessons and ramifications of the 2010–11 uprisings (the “Arab Spring”). At its home base in Lebanon, the ACSS contends with the impacts of a severe economic and banking crisis, the October 2019 revolution, and the August 2020 explosion at the Beirut port, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic. All these dynamics have influenced the organization and themes of this report, the kinds of questions researchers were asking, and even their capacity to contribute. Although the report ideally would have covered more themes, geographies, and perspectives, it is a strong testament to the commitment of the participating authors and institutions to knowledge production despite, or perhaps because of, the everyday and long-term challenges they face.
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