HomeThinking Through Transition in the Arab and Muslim Worlds

Thinking Through Transition in the Arab and Muslim Worlds

Penser les transitions dans les mondes arabes et musulmans

Crises, Narratives and the Circulation of Change

Crises, récits et circulation du changement

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Published on Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Abstract

Français English

The Arab uprisings of 2011 opened sequences of political transformation whose contrasting trajectories continue to challenge the social sciences. Fifteen years on, the variety of outcomes observed — authoritarian restorations, unfinished transitions, state collapse — calls for a critical reassessment of the analytical tools mobilised to think through change in the Arab and Muslim worlds. This study day proposes to examine, in an interdisciplinary perspective, the notions of crisis, transition and rupture, interrogating their uses, their limits, and the conceptual alternatives that might better account for configurations in which instability is not an episode but an enduring condition. 

Announcement

Français English

Study days, 1-2 October 2026

Argument

The Arab uprisings of 2011 opened sequences of political transformation whose contrasting trajectories continue to challenge the social sciences. Fifteen years on, the variety of outcomes observed — authoritarian restorations, unfinished transitions, state collapse — calls for a critical reassessment of the analytical tools mobilised to think through change in the Arab and Muslim worlds. This study day proposes to examine, in an interdisciplinary perspective, the notions of crisis, transition and rupture, interrogating their uses, their limits, and the conceptual alternatives that might better account for configurations in which instability is not an episode but an enduring condition. 

1. Rethinking the Tools: the (In)adequacy of the Notion of Crisis 

The notion of crisis presupposes a structured temporality built around a before, a moment of rupture, and an after. It implies a prior state of relative stability, an identifiable disruption, and the horizon — however uncertain — of a resolution. Yet this sequential logic breaks down when applied to contexts where instability is not an episode but an enduring condition. In such configurations, crisis ceases to function as an operational analytical tool and becomes instead an ambient state, a backdrop to the unfolding of dynamics that it can no longer adequately capture. This study day proposes, as a first step, to examine this inadequacy and its effects — to consider the extent to which the continued use of a vocabulary of crisis perpetuates the implicit teleology of a return to normality or a passage toward stability, which distorts analysis as much as it shapes expectations. It also invites reflection on what alternative concepts might better capture these enduring configurations — and how terrains where crises do not end compel us to reshape the very tools we use to study them. With this in mind, we welcome contributions that step back from the categories commonly used to analyse periods of transformation. Notions such as crisis, transition, or rupture — frequently deployed to describe contemporary political and social change — are not neutral: they guide interpretations of events and structure the analytical frameworks of the social sciences. Drawing from a range of disciplines, these contributions will allow us to interrogate the uses and limits of these concepts in the analysis of the Arab and Muslim worlds, exploring in particular the relationships between continuity and rupture, the temporalities of change, and the different ways of thinking through historical transformation. 

2. Societies in Transition: Mobilisation, Practices and Social Recompositions 

The Arab uprisings of 2011 were initially interpreted as the opening of a cycle of democratic transitions, comparable to those observed in Eastern Europe and Latin America at the end of the twentieth century. Yet fifteen years on, and in most cases, these moments of opening have led either to authoritarian restorations, unfinished transitions, or violent ruptures of the political order. The mobilisations of 2011 constituted moments of political fluidity, characterised by the temporary collapse of the rules of the political game and the opening of new institutional possibilities. These conjunctures, however dramatic, did not necessarily lead to durable processes of democratisation. Counter-revolutionary dynamics and the persistence of powerful security apparatuses have often constrained political transformation, fostering forms of authoritarian resilience or regime hybridisation, and raising questions about the weight of inherited structures (path dependency). In this context, transitional justice emerges as a central but unevenly pursued issue: where mechanisms of truth-telling, reparation or prosecution have been considered, their partial or obstructed implementation has often limited their capacity to refound the political compact and break with prior authoritarian practices. A second axis will therefore be devoted to examining these trajectories through a central question: how can we account for the diverse outcomes following the fluid conjunctures opened since 2011? What is the weight of inherited legacies in determining the outcomes of transitions? Have the crises born of the uprisings produced a deep transformation of the state, or have they essentially generated recompositions of power within largely continuous state apparatuses? By bringing together contributions from different countries and disciplinary approaches, this second axis invites reflection on the relationships between state continuity, regime change and political transformation in the Arab world since 2011, exploring the conditions under which moments of political fluidity may lead to durable institutional transitions, authoritarian recompositions, or deeper crises of the state order. 

3. Narrating Transition: Discourse, Narratives and Memory 

Periods of political transformation are accompanied by an intense effort to narrativise change. Ruptures give rise to symbolic struggles over the interpretation of events, pitting founding narratives against counter-narratives and competing memories. These dynamics contribute to the recomposition of national myths and the emergence of new narratives of collective identification, in contexts often marked by the need to construct a shared account from fragmented memories. Such moments also foster a renewal of narrative forms: genres such as speculative fiction may become tools of political critique and denunciation, circumventing the constraints of direct discourse. Transition also has a symbolic, spatial and material dimension. Transformations of power are inscribed in urban landscapes, architectures and regimes of visibility that structure the geography of power. The iconography of power, sometimes conceived along panoptic lines, can be reinterpreted, subverted or contested. Moments of rupture are accompanied by powerful material gestures — the toppling of statues, the transformation of monuments, the reconfiguration of public spaces — that participate in the visible redefinition of the political order. Finally, these transformations are reflected in linguistic practices themselves: code-switching, register variation, and practices of translation and selftranslation that accompany the circulation of ideas and the recomposition of discursive spaces. This axis aims to examine the relationships between language, narrative, symbols and the materiality of power, analysing how moments of rupture are narrated, staged and inscribed in space and cultural practices. 

4. Transition and Circulation: Transnational Dynamics and Media Spaces 

Political transitions are often analysed through internal dynamics — regime legitimacy crises, elite recompositions, social mobilisations or institutional transformations — all of which relate to endogenous factors specific to national political and social configurations. Yet these processes cannot be fully understood without accounting for the transnational circulations and influences in which they are embedded, which involve exogenous factors closely intertwined with internal dynamics. Contestation and transition unfold within broadly connected political spaces, through which narratives, images, actors and resources circulate. This axis explores these interactions along several lines of inquiry. Particular attention will be paid to media circuits and the circulation of narratives, drawing on perspectives informed by reception theory — investigating how narratives of contestation and transition are transformed according to the audiences they address, and how media play a role in shaping transnational public spheres. The axis will also examine the role of regional political regimes in obstructing democratic processes, and the strategies deployed to contain mobilisations and limit the diffusion of transitional experiences, with the fear of a contagion effect emerging as a key factor in understanding regional reactions to social movements. Contributions may also address the role played by diasporic communities in these transitions — through the circulation of ideas, support for mobilisations, media initiatives or international advocacy. Attention will likewise be given to the influence of social media and digital spaces in shaping transitional processes. In contexts where institutional channels of political representation and dialogue are weakened or absent, digital spaces tend to act as partial substitutes for traditional arenas of public debate — they become platforms where demands, critiques and political expectations are expressed, contributing to the formation of public opinion and the emergence of new forms of mobilisation. The debates that unfold in these spaces contribute to the construction of new power relations, collective expectations and forms of counter-power. At the same time, these digital dynamics come with their own risks — misinformation and the amplifying effects of viral logics can intensify political tensions and contribute to the polarisation of public debate, sometimes generating new political or social tensions and revealing the ambiguities of these new public spheres. By integrating these different dimensions, this final axis aims to analyse political transitions as processes embedded in complex transnational and media configurations, where endogenous and exogenous factors, local actors, regional circulations and digital spaces interact to shape contemporary political trajectories. 

Submission Guidelines 

We welcome proposals from the fields of sociology, political sociology, history, literature, visual arts, and communication. This call is open to doctoral students, early-career researchers, and established scholars. 

Proposals may be submitted in French or English to the following address: halqadesdoctorants@gmail.com 

Please ensure your submission includes the following:

  • An abstract (500 words maximum)
  • Author's full name and academic affiliation(s)
  • A short CV (1 page)
  • Paper title, keywords (5 maximum), and a brief bibliography 

Before 30 June 2026.

Organizing Committee

  • Samira Hamoudi (Paris-Saclay)
  • Martina Balassonne (Sorbonne Université)
  • Camille Bougault-Mathias (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
  • Zahia Bridon (Université de Lorraine, Nancy)
  • Loubna Kheir (Université de Neuchâtel)
  • Céliende Lebon (EHESS, Paris)

Bibliography

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BEN LAGHA, Zaïneb, EL OIFI, Mohammed, GHALIOUN, Burhan (dir.), Révolutions et transitions politiques dans le monde arabe, Paris, Karthala, coll. « Hommes et sociétés », 2017.

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Places

  • Campus Condorcet – 8, cours des Humanités
    Aubervilliers, France (93)

Date(s)

  • Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Information source

  • Martina Balassone
    courriel : halqadesdoctorants [at] gmail [dot] com

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« Thinking Through Transition in the Arab and Muslim Worlds », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, https://doi.org/10.58079/167mo

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