This research project aims to clarify the relationship between power, sovereignty and space concerning the case of the Palestinian refugee camps in the Middle East, by examining modes of governance inside the camps. By modes of governance, we mean: how a camp is managed in terms of relationships to the legal authorities of the host country and to the surrounding municipalities, relationships among groups within the camps, conflict resolution for everyday problems, and the role of moral entrepreneurs who control behavior and public morality in the camp. Many actors contribute to these different modes of governance:
the host authorities, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), various Palestinian political factions and parties, popular committees, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), local and national Islamist groups, civil society and other informal groups, and various local and political commissars.
Many questions shall be raised throughout: How is the space of the camp politically organized? What is the role of each actor in the governance of the camps? What kind of coordination and cooperation occurs between the different actors? Who are the moral entrepreneurs? How have disputes over land/properties/businesses been settled? How are problems between camp dwellers on the both the personal and neighborhood level resolved? What kind of justice (formal/informal) is used when dealing with social affairs? How have disputes between camp dwellers and those outside the camps been settled? What kind of institutional or ad hoc mechanisms are deployed amongst the camps’ popular committees and the different Lebanese authorities in order to manage issues related to justice? How have municipal matters with the neighborhood municipalities been negotiated?
| First name | Last name | Gender | Rank | Affiliated Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sari | Hanafi | Male | American University of Beirut | Lebanon | |
|
Bio: Sari Hanafi is currently a Professor of Sociology at the American University of Beirut and editor of Idafat: the Arab Journal of Sociology (Arabic). He is the Vice President of the International Sociological Association (2014-2018) and previously member of its Excitative Committee (2010-2014). Recently he created the “Portal for Social impact of scientific research: Targeting Research in/on the Arab World”. He was the Vice President of the board of the Arab Council of Social Science (2012-2016). He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales-Paris (1994). He has also served as a visiting professor at the University of Poitiers and Migrintern (France), University of Bologna and Ravenna (Italy), and visiting fellow in CMI (Bergen-Norway). Hanafi was also a former senior researcher at the Cairo-based French research center, Centre d'études et de documentation économique juridique et sociale (1994-2000). He is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters on the sociology of religion, sociology of (forced) migration; politics of scientific research; civil society, elite formation and transitional justice. Among his recent books are: Knowledge Production in the Arab World: The Impossible Promise. (with R. Arvanitis) (in Arabic, Beirut:CAUS and in English, Routledge -2016); From Relief and Works to Human Development: UNRWA and Palestinian Refugees after 60 Years. (Edited with L Takkenberg and L Hilal) (Routledge- 2014). The Power of Inclusive Exclusion: Anatomy of Israeli Rule in The Occupied Palestinian Territories (Edited with A. Ophir & M. Givoni, 2009) (English and Arabic) (NY:Zone Book; Beirut:CAUS), The Emergence of A Palestinian Globalized Elite: Donors, International Organizations and Local NGOs (with L. Taber, 2005) (Arabic and English); Pouvoir et associations dans le monde arabe (Edited with S. Bennéfissa, 2002) (Paris:CNRS). He is the winner of 2014 Abdelhamid Shouman Award and 2015 Kuwait Award for social science. |
|||||
Website |
Scientific field
Sociology & Anthropology
|
Start Year2009
|
End Year 2012
|
|---|
| Funding Agency | Funding Agency Type | Country of Funding Agency |
|---|---|---|
| American University of Beirut | NGO | Lebanon |
No
No