Project description
Understanding social stability evolution in the MENA region
Instability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is partly related to the incapacity of political systems to manage deep-rooted societal divisions. The relevant conflicts have been ongoing and often predate today’s nation-states. So far as political parties in the region are concerned, the phenomenon remains relatively under-studied. It also lacks an adequate theoretical research framework. The ERC-funded CLOSER project aims to advance our understanding of social cleavages in the region using new empirical evidence. It will bring together historians, geographers and political scientists who will use archival research, fieldwork, discourse analysis and electoral data within a comparative framework. Despite challenges in accessing data and conducting fieldwork, the project’s goal is to enhance our understanding of stability in the MENA region.
Objective
Chronic instability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is linked to the difficulties political systems face in arbitrating conflicts and divisions within societies. Political parties and party systems play a crucial role in channeling social demands, articulating various political offers, and building compromises. Yet, there exists no comprehensive theoretical framework for the study of party politics in the MENA. The CLOSER project aims to address this gap using new empirical evidence, and to make a substantial contribution to the theory of social cleavages.
This theory was originally developed on the basis of empirical data drawn from the West European party systems. More recently, scholars have used this approach to study party politics in other global regions, contributing to the development of general theory. So far, the MENA has been left out, partly due to the strength of culturalist prejudices inherited from the colonial era and partly to the lack of democratic experience in the region.
Nevertheless, the events of recent decades have considerably enriched the empirical material available for the study of MENA party politics, and the time has come to incorporate this material into the general theory. Because social cleavages began to form during the late Ottoman Empire – and continued through the colonization and decolonization processes – we will focus on the post-Ottoman space within this region.
This project brings together historians, geographers, and political scientists. Due to its interdisciplinarity, it relies on several methods in the frame of an overarching comparative methodology: archive exploration, electoral geography, electoral manifesto analysis, field interviews, and legal analysis.
The main risks are related to access to the field and to relevant data. The potential rewards are a better understanding of the conditions for stability in the MENA and a much-needed contribution to the general literature on party politics.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-SYG - HORIZON ERC Synergy Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-SyG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
11000 PRAHA 1
Czechia
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.