German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

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Merian Center for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb (MECAM): Imagining Futures - Dealing with Disparity, Phase I

  • The "Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb" (MECAM), founded in 2020, is a platform for regional and international scientific exchange in Tunisia based on the central theme "Imagining Futures - Dealing with Disparity". The centre is located at the renowned Université de Tunis in the Tunisian capital. Its research work focuses on the effects of multidimensional disparity on models, visions and ideas about political, social, economic, and cultural futures.
    BMBF, 2020-2023

    Team

    Cooperation Partners

    Head

    Dr. André Bank

    Senior Research Fellow

    Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

    Lead Research Fellow / Head of Research Programme "Accountability and Participation"

    Research Questions

    The research programme of the Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb encompasses the five thematic clusters "Inequality & Mobility", "Memory & Justice", "Aesthetics & Cultural Practice", "Resources & Sustainability", "Identities & Beliefs" (the latter one under GIGA's coordination) as well as two transversal axes "Comparative Historical and Regional Perspectives" and "Digital Methods".

    Contribution to International Research

    MECAM's contributes to international research excellence in a number of ways: First, it strengthens the perception of the Maghreb as a geopolitical interface of different world regions, among them Africa, Europe, and the Middle East (Mashriq). Second and related, it thereby aims to overcome the often-held, limited perspective of the Maghreb as a "triple periphery". This is done, third, by connecting with a long tradition of Maghrebi theorizing in different fields. Fourth, MECAM substantially enhances German scholarly engagement with the Maghreb. Fifth and more generally, it contributes to tackling persisting asymmetries in knowledge production.

    Research Design and Methods

    The Merian Center for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb (MECAM) considers itself an interdisciplinary, interregional and intergenerational research platform on the Maghreb, the Middle East and beyond. Under the guiding theme "Imagining Futures - Dealing with Disparity", MECAM examines the complex processes of (re-)negotiating future models of society ('imagining futures’) in the region about a decade after the beginning of the "Arab Spring", all within the context of unequal starting conditions ('disparity').

    The German Institute for Global and Area Studies is a partner within the MECAM consortium, along with the University of Marburg, the University of Leipzig and the Forum Transregional Studies in Berlin. In addition to the Université de Tunis, the regional partners are the University of Sfax and the Institut Tunisien des Études Stratégiques (ITES) in Tunisia, as well as other partners from Morocco and Lebanon.

    Project Publications

    MECAM Papers English | 12/2024

    Clientelism and Predation in Algeria: Public versus Private Sector

    Economic theory defines the difference between the private and the public sector in terms of the legal ownership of capital. In other words, the public sector’s means of production are owned by the community through the state while those of the private sector are in the hands of entrepreneurs, who are members of civil society. This distinction between the categories of “public” and “private,” inspired by Western experience, appears insufficient to account for the reality of most countries whose state-building processes have followed paths different from those experienced in the Western world.

    Dr. Mourad Ouchichi

    Abderrahmane-Mira University of Béjaïa

    MECAM Papers English | 10/2024

    Market Logics and Moral Economies During Tunisia’s Shortages Crisis

    Shortages in Tunisia have not resulted in the overt politics of bread riots. Nevertheless, citizens made ethical claims regarding the just distribution of goods. While this does not preclude overt political unrest in the future, it suggests that the bread riot thesis, with its prioritising of claim-making against the state, has overlooked the market as an arena of social intervention.

    Dr. Joshua E. Rigg

    Georgetown University in Qatar

    MECAM Papers English | 07/2024

    Reimagining the Maghreb: Navigating an Autonomous Region in Motion

    Based on its guiding theme “Imagining Futures – Dealing with Disparity,” MECAM, the Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb in Tunis, aims to play a notable role in advancing both current and future knowledge production in the Humanities and Social Sciences within, from, and about the Maghreb.

    Dr. Julius Dihstelhoff

    Prof. Dr. Rachid Ouaissa

    Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

    MECAM Papers English | 07/2024

    State–Society Relations and Sustainable Growth in Tunisia Post-2011

    Social actors’ representative organisations and their effective participation in decision-making should be fostered through more collaborative governance institutions. Building mutual trust between different CSOs would also help here. This would prevent favouritism and provide more beneficial input to the state, both serving to promote more inclusive and sustainable growth for Tunisia.

    Dr. Mohamed Ismail Sabry

    Philipps-Universität Marburg

    GIGA Focus Middle East | 1/2024

    Ten Things to Watch in the Middle East and North Africa in 2024

    From the Gaza War to other regional conflicts and the lasting importance of oil, the Middle East and North Africa region remains pivotal for Europe. We present ten issues that will play a central role in the relationship between both regions in the year ahead.

    Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

    Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies / Editor GIGA Focus Middle East

    Olena Osypenkova

    Doctoral Researcher

    Related Content

    Understanding the Life Cycle of Academic Publishing: From Journal Targeting to Decision Letters and Response Memos

    Workshop | 27/02/2024 - 29/02/2024

    Understanding the Life Cycle of Academic Publishing: From Journal Targeting to Decision Letters and Response Memos

    Publication Workshop at the Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb (MECAM), Centre Merian pour les études avancées au Maghreb, Tunis Organisers: Merian Center for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb, German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) Dr. Julia Grauvogel (Speaker)

    This presentation is designed to demystify the submission and review process of journals and discuss publication strategies with the participants. It covers key aspects of publishing scholarly work from journal targeting to understanding decisions letters and writing response memos.

    Dr. Julia Grauvogel

    Senior Research Fellow / Research Team Spokesperson

    MECAM Travelling Academy "Solidarities in/between the Middle East & North Africa”

    Workshop | 20/02/2023 - 24/02/2023

    MECAM Travelling Academy "Solidarities in/between the Middle East & North Africa”

    MECAM Travelling Academy "Solidarities in/between the Middle East & North Africa”, Orient Institut Beirut, Beirut Organisers: Merian Center for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter (Panelist)

    Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

    Lead Research Fellow / Head of Research Programme "Accountability and Participation"

    New Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in Tunis

    Cooperation | 20/04/2020

    New Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in Tunis

    The GIGA is taking part in the establishment of a Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb (MECAM) in the capital of Tunisia. This research centre will be dedicated to the study of processes of social change that have come about as a result of the Arab protest movements of 2011.

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