The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) is a research institution established in 2010 that conducts interdisciplinary research on social sciences, humanities, and policy issues concerning the Arab world. The ACRPS has headquarters in Doha, Qatar and an office in Beirut, Lebanon. It publishes research and analysis to further understanding of the Arab region and proposes policy alternatives. The ACRPS also sponsors the Arab Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities to recognize influential Arab scholars.

1. Established in 2010, the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) is an Arab research institute with an interest in
the social sciences, applied social sciences, regional history, and geostrategic affairs. Applying the tools from the social sciences
and humanities, ACRPS analyzes the pressing issues facing the Arab world using an interdisciplinary and holistic methodology.
The underlying premise of the ACRPS is the idea that the Arab region is bound by common interests, a shared Arab human
and national security, and the potential of a joint Arab economy. Seeking to play a proactive role in the region, the ACRPS goes
beyond scholarly research to critique regional and global policies that have an impact on Arab states, and propose alternatives
to those policies where needed.
Core to the Center’s belief is the need for reviewing the prevailing research methods and regional approaches in the field of the
social sciences. To this end, the Center’s ambition is to devise a distinctly Arab concept of research that is driven by Arab needs
while still retaining a global perspective.
The ACRPS Headquarters is based in Doha with a second office in Beirut, Lebanon.

2. The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies is
a research institution which produces scholarship
on the social sciences, the humanities and culture
studies and cultural studies. In all it does, the Center
is committed to meeting the highest academic
standards. Equally, the ACRPS concerns itself with
the entire Arab Homeland, and takes an interest
in all of the Arab states. In the work which it does,
the ACRPS keeps foremost the aim of furthering
the development of those countries. The ACRPS
is further committed to the study of the relations
which the Arab world has with its surrounding
environments, in both Asia and Africa, as well as
American, European and African policies which
impact the Arabs.
Our commitment to the applied social sciences does
not pose a barrier to concern for theoretical aspects
of our work. The Center takes a critical, analytical
approach to the theories which define the social
sciences and policy and, in particular, how such
theories impact the academic discourse within the
Arab countries and abroad.
The aims which inform our work are manifold.
First is to nurture the relationship which exists
between Arab academics and specialists from
across the social sciences and humanities, and
intellectuals more generally, and the wider Arab
public. The Center’s work is intended to advance
the scholarship, in terms of methods and content,
needed to formulate the optimal policies for Arab
societies, and to help translate such policies into
practice. It also seeks to foster relations between
various Arab research centers, and to create and
strengthen relationships between Arab and non-Arab
research and policy institutions across the globe. In
doing this, the Center will ensure that the Arab voice
is present on the world stage.

3. Research Themes
While adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the Arab
Center for Research and Policy Studies publishes papers
in a number of specialist disciplines, and carries out its
activities through a set of dedicated teams. Alongside its
regular publications, the ACRPS also convenes a limited
number of special events and publishes ad-hoc briefings,
reports and policy papers.
The fields in which the Center publishes its findings are as
follows:

5. Sociology
Topics covered in this field are: social change and
population studies; education, health and mortality;
gender discrimination and youth studies; identity
issues; labor force and unemployment; poverty;
migration and marginalization; social movements
and the role of civil society and non-governmental
organizations; integrated social policies; social
integration; international development policies; and
demographics.
Politics and Public Administration
Some of the most pressing topics on the ACRPS's
research agenda include: the social and national
security of Arab states; the crisis in Iraq; the Arab-
Israeli conflict; sectarian relations and tensions;
identity politics; the relationship between Arab
states and political Islam; political, social, economic
and security reform in the region; US foreign policy
in the Middle East; Israeli politics and society; the
politics of oil and energy; and the roles of Iran and
Turkey in the region.
Media
The study of media includes the analysis of media
policies, with a focus on Arab media. Specifically,
the Center examines the role played by the Arab
media in the creation of public opinion. The Center’s
publications also cover social media and role of
information technology.
Economics
Topics covered in this field include: the economy and
economic policies of Arab countries; opportunities
for economic cooperation among Arab nations; the
impact of the World Bank and IMF policies on Arab
countries; globalization, prospects and economic
models; local financial resources, private capital
flows, official development assistance, external
debts, monetary, financial and trade systems;
world trade and basic commodities; investment,
technology, project development, and basic service
infrastructures.

6. Environment and Natural Resources
Much of the Center’s work is concerned with topics
in which there is a pressing need for Arab research,
particularly in the field of food security, food
sovereignty, water, poverty and pollution, and the
impact of natural resource degradation on societies.
Education
Regional education policies, including those of higher
education, are analyzed and evaluated by the ACRPS
with a special focus on challenges and opportunities
facing the advancement of education, teaching
curricula, and private education.
Israeli Studies
The Israeli Studies Unit provides the Arab public and
Arab researchers with information on Israeli society
and economy. The aim is to inform the formulation
of Arab policies. In doing so, the Center assumes the
existence of joint Arab national security.
Turkey and Iran Unit
The Center publishes research on the policies of both
Iran and Turkey and their role in creating a regional
economy, and on possible policies and plans to deal
with these nations and their influence on the region
as a whole.

7. Programs and Projects
Arab Prize for the Social Sciences
and Humanities
The ACRPS created the Arab Prize for the Social
Sciences and Humanities in order to nurture Arab
scholars across the region and the world. This
initiative aims to promote innovative research
relevant to the progress of Arab societies at a time
of vast transformations affecting Arab countries
in their path toward democracy, independence,
and integration. A committee responsible for the
prize selects the relevant research themes, and
prize candidates are selected by a panel of referees
prior to ACRPS’s Annual Conference on the Social
Sciences and Humanities.
Up to eight winners are awarded the prize in
each of the two categories: social sciences and
humanities. Respectively, two prizes are awarded
to established scholars with another two allocated
to young and aspiring researchers under the age of
40. The prizes also include an award of USD 30,000
for established researchers, and USD 25,000 for
younger researchers.

8. Title Authors
The epistemological,
the ideological and
social networks:
Crossroads and
Conjectures
Kamal Abdullatif
The Glorious Tunisian
Revolution
Azmi Bishara
Civil Society Azmi Bishara
A History of
Historiography
Wajih Kawtharani
Gaza: Stay Human Vittorio Arrigoni
The Sectarian
Question and the
Problem of Minorities
Burhan Ghalyun
Title Authors
The Arabs and Iran: A
Historical and Political
Review
An edited collection.
Contributions come
from a number of Arab
scholars.
On revolution and
revolutionary potential
On Revolution and
Susceptibility to
Revolution
Azmi Bishara
Is there a ‘Coptic
question’ in Egypt?
Azmi Bishara

9. Periodicals
The Center publishes three academic periodicals:
Umran, an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed quarterly
in the social sciences and humanities; Tabayyun,
a quarterly journal focusing on philosophy, critical
theory, and cultural studies; and Siyasat Arabia, a
bi-monthly specialist journal on issues affecting the
regional geopolitical environment. In addition to being
widely available in most Arab countries, electronic
subscriptions are available through the ACRPS’s
website:
http://bookstore.dohainstitute.org
(English interface available)
Umran
First published in 2012, and now available in most Arab
countries and online, Umran was inspired by the need
to better define the role of the social sciences and
humanities at a time when the region is witnessing
rapid transformations. The name for the periodical
was borrowed from a phrase coined by Ibn Khaldun
to connote something similar to “polis”. It places
itself among other scholarly journals in the social
sciences and humanities published in the Arab world
and worldwide. At the same time, Umran seeks to
reinvigorate the tradition of publications that went
beyond providing scholarly contents and helped shape
schools of thought. Editions of Umran are generally
devoted to one specific theme of interest related to
the social sciences and humanities in the Arab world.
Academics and scholars wishing to contribute original
research in the disciplines covered by Umran are
encouraged by ACRPS to submit their work. Details of
submission guidelines are on the ACRPS website.