The first session of our centre’s webinar series for 2021-2022 “Beyond Winter and Spring: politics and social contention in the MENA region after 2011” was held on Thursday 21 October 2021. 

The discussion was moderated by Dr. Michele Scala (Sciences Po Lyon, CeSSRA), with speakers: Prof. Andres Teti (University of Aberdeen), Dr. Daniel Tavana (Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), Université Toulouse 1 Capitole), Dr. Stephanie Daher (CeSSRA), and Dr. Rossana Tufaro (CeSSRA).

Prof. Andrea Teti gave an overview of contentious movements in the region, notably Egypt and Jordan, and how they denounced systemic issues in the regimes in place. During his intervention, Dr. Daniel Tavana linked between the study of contentious movements and its trends, such as the expansion of repression and coercion, and electoral trends and competition in the region. 

Dr. Stephanie Daher presented the collective actions trends in Tunisia, such as the high degree of decentralisation, and their persistence over weeks at times despite Covid measures, and geo-spatial solidarity between protesters across various regions. And last, Dr. Rossana Tufaro provided information on the main trends of collective actions in Jordan, including high demands for socio-economic rights (job stability, wages increase, among others), a quest for social protection, and solidarity with Palestine. 

The webinar is available to watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH34aPZ0UFM&t=295s