In April 2020, the Project on Middle East Political Science published POMEPS Studies 39: The COVID-19 Pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa. It featured 21 short essays about the pandemic’s impact in the region, how different states responded, and its potential longer term effects. As we approach the second anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, how have the last two years of the health crisis affected a region already grappling with international conflict, civil war, and political and economic instability? Has the pandemic strengthened autocratic states or exposed their weaknesses? How have social movements and broader publics responded? What has the course of the pandemic revealed about the capacity of MENA states to respond effectively? Which predictions about its effects have proven accurate, and which developments have defied expectations?
To analyze these important questions, POMEPS invites submissions from scholars at all career stages on issues related to the impact of COVID-19 on countries in the Middle East and North Africa two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Contributors to the original volume are welcome to apply, as well. Papers should be approximately 2000 words. Authors will be expected to send their final papers by March 25, 2022, with a virtual workshop scheduled to discuss them on April 1, 2022 and the goal of publishing the open access POMEPS Studies by late April.
To apply, please complete this Google Form. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, February 9, 2022.