About AISSR

Tags: West Asia , Civil Society in West Asia

AISSR merges three research institutes active in social science research at the UvA: ASSR, AMIDSt, and IMES.

The mission of the AISSR is to stimulate the achievement of excellence in scholarly research in the social sciences, build interdisciplinary and international research collaboration, and promote academic freedom. The AISSR consists of thematically focused research programmes anchored in one or more of the disciplines represented in the new institute (Sociology, Geography and Planning, Development Studies, Political Science, and Anthropology). Through these research programmes and under the guidance of the Academic Director and the Programmes Council, the AISSR will encourage multidisciplinary collaboration within and beyond the social sciences.

For three reasons, the AISSR has a special interest in developing this knowledge programme. First, given the particular character of the two regimes that are under investigation, i.e. a ‘religious’ and a secular version of autocracy, it is interesting to look for differences and comparisons. Second, both regimes are more resilient than outside observers often suggest. Given this longevity factor there is a real challenge to look for possible openings through civil society organization activities. Third, several staff members of the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Department of Political Science in particular, have broad experience in studying state-society relations in West Asian countries. Also as a result of yearly student exchange programmes with academic institutes in both Iran and Syria, special expertise has been built up with the focus countries of this knowledge programme.