CFP: Armed Groups and the Arab Spring (Challenges and Opportunities)

Dear All,

The German Middle East Studies Association is organizing its 19th International Congress of Contemporary Research on the Middle East in Erlangen from 4-6 October, 2012. I am organizing a panel titled “Armed Groups and the Arab Spring: Challenges and Opportunities”. Here is the abstract:

As the Arab Spring triggered unprecedented regional events, the majority of the subsequent intellectual and political discourse has chosen to focus on post-revolution institutional and governance issues. While such discussions are critical for ensuring the ‘success’ of the revolution, it ignores key regional (power) stakeholders, namely, armed (non-state) groups. With changing alliances, rising Islamists and fragile state institutions, this panel explores the future of armed groups in a tumultuous Middle East. The panel will specifically focus on how regional events have (or promise to) impact strategies, organizational characteristics, structures and operational logic of armed non-state groups.

You are welcome to submit a paper abstract (300 words) for this panel to somdeeps@gmail.com by June 4th, 2012. Use the above forms while submitting your paper proposal and registration.

Also, it would be great if you could forward it to your departmental email lists. 

For more information on the submission and registration visit: http://www.davo1.de/tagungen/davo2012.html#19th_International_Congress_of_Erlangen

Best,

Somdeep Sen 

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Somdeep Sen