The Arab Research Support Programme II supports 56 scholars from across the Arab world and gives priority to innovative, evidence-based research related to the democratic transitions in the region.

Since 2011, the Arab Reform Initiative has held as one of its key objectives the training and support of a new generation of scholars in order to mobilize the Arab research capacity and provide a platform for youth voices to effectively participate in ongoing debates about the region's challenges.

As part of this broader objective, ARI has been running over the last six years its Arab Research Support Programme (ARSP), a re-granting and mentoring programme which acts as an incubator for policy research.

The programme has provided funding, methodological training, and mentoring to over 100 emerging scholars, targeting MA and PhD students specialized in five areas:

• Institutional Reform of State Agencies in the Arab Region
• The New Women’s Mobilization and Processes of National and Regional Diffusion
• The Processes and Actors of the Democratic Transition
• Security in the Context of Transition and Conflict
• Social Movements and Demands, and Contentious Politics in the Arab Region

Each participant benefited from research finance, a week-long training session on analytical tools and policy-writing skills, and regular back-and-forth exchanges with a senior mentor with the objective of producing one high-quality, original research paper.

As the programme comes to its official close, ARI is pleased to present the final round of ARSP publications. These papers represent a diverse body of work, covering countries across the region and examining different political and social processes, institutional and collective actors, and specific challenges faced in the attempted transition process.

Eight papers are spotlighted for their outstanding contribution:

• “Educated but Unemployed: The Challenge Facing Egypt’s Youth” by Adel Abelghafar [English];
• “Religiosity and Economics of Religious Groups in the Urban Sphere: The Effectiveness of Salafist Work in Casablanca” by Agadid Zakaria [Arabic];
• “The Role of Tunisian Elites in the Transition Process” by Bilel Kchouk [French];
• “Political Reform and the Management of the Religious Field in Algeria” by Elhadi Bououchma [Arabic];
• “Iraq’s Federal System and Democratic Transition” by Mujahid Yahya [Arabic];
• “The Nexus of Political Parties and the Security of Political Life in Egypt” by Iman Ragab [Arabic];
• “Public Order and Community Policing in Beirut” by Leila Seurat [French];
• “Social Mobilization of Women Domestic Workers in Egypt” by Ranime Asheltawy [Arabic].

All the papers are available to download in the version that was finalized by the mentor and the participant and have not been subjected to any editing by ARI.

Dina El Khawaga, ARI Programme Director, leads this project assisted by Nafissa El Souri, ARI Programme and Research Assistant.