A new six-year research project, CLOSER – Party Systems and Social Cleavages in the Post-Ottoman Space of the MENA Region, brings together researchers from the Institute of Sociology and the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the Institute of International Relations Prague, and the Université libre de Bruxelles. Funded by a European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant, the project will investigate how social divisions shape political parties and political systems across the Middle East and North Africa.
The interdisciplinary team will study six cases — Tunisia, Egypt, Israel/Palestine/Jordan, Lebanon, Türkiye and Kuwait — examining how factors such as religion, economic inequality and centre–periphery divisions influence political representation and competition. The project will run from 2026 to 2032.
