Conference Abstracts
The 2010-2011 Rise of Arab Democratic Engagement
Fouad Bou Zeineddine, University of Connecticut
Conference: ISPP 2011
Research Area: Social inequality and social change
| In this presentation, there will be a 10 minute outline, with additional input from the panelists, of the economic and sociopolitical context of the Arab protests that began in December 2010, and a chronology of the diffusion of these popular demonstrations across countries, thus providing common ground with the audience for the subsequent discussion. The discussants represent sociology, public policy, social psychology, and political science, and employ diverse research methods and theoretical frames. They were invited to discuss contemporary political changes in Arab nations because their expertise includes the dynamics of identity processes and their relation to collective action and intergroup violence, how cultural values and psychological motives influence socio-political processes, intergroup contact and distance, political efficacy, and democratization processes. The organizer will take input from panelists and monitor the still-unfolding events until June, and then circulate prepared discussion questions to the panelists, so that the discussion will remain current and timely. |