Arab master in democracy and human rights

Human rights research requires specific research methodology taking into account legal sources, identifying duty bearers and rights holders, and allowing to measure observance and violations. …requires specific research methodology taking into account legal sources, identifying duty bearers and rights holders, and allowing to measure observance and violationsrequires specific research methodology taking into account legal sources, identifying duty bearers and rights holders, and allowing to measure observance and violations

This course is an applied course in effective Project Management (PM) in the field of human rights based on the best international practices published by The Project Management Institute (PMI). The course is designed to respond to the increasing importance of projects in the advancement of human rights and democratic governance in today’s globalized world. It follow the principle of “learning by doing”. It focuses on understanding project lifecycle: Initiating; Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing in addition to key project processes.   

Within this course students develop in small groups several projects related to the programmes mains themes of Democratic Governance and Human Rights. They not only implement the project, but have to report on it and assess its Human Rights impact.

Understanding contemporary ideological debates across the Arab World through the analysis of the thought of prominent thinkers and intellectuals who have inspired political currents …Understanding contemporary ideological debates across the Arab World through the analysis of the thought of prominent thinkers and intellectuals who have inspired political currentsUnderstanding contemporary ideological debates across the Arab World through the analysis of the thought of prominent thinkers and intellectuals who have inspired political currents

This course looks into how constitutions and courts frame freedoms and rights. It highlights the role of domestic jurisdiction in the implementation of human rights through a comparative inquiry across the Arab World and beyond. A specific seminar is dedicated to the framing and interpretation of shari’a by constitutions and high courts, exploring the relationships between religion and law in the context of contemporary Muslim-majority countries.

A parallel analysis of the foundation of Democracy and Human Rights, discussing their fundamental principles, and their evolution both globally and regionally. Democracy is approached …A parallel analysis of the foundation of Democracy and Human Rights, discussing their fundamental principles, and their evolution both globally and regionally. Democracy is approached …

This course examines the factors and processes that hinder the development of effective democracies in the Arab World. It looks into the political effects of liberalisation and how economical structures (rent, interests and corruption) and security agencies can slow or reverse democratic change. The course looks into issues pertaining to good governance within the security sector and explores good practices concerning the fight against corruption while examining the dynamics of de-democratisation at work in the post-Arab Spring Middle East.

In this course, students will examine the notions of gender and sex, and how they have translated in public policies. It examines the question of women’s rights as human rights, while taking into account an interdisciplinary and comparative approach. Students taking the course will learn how critically assess gender policies and how they affect women's rights issues. They will also learn to construct and conduct an independent research project on these themes. There are no pre-requisites for the course

The aim of the course is to provide students with the tools to understand territorial conficts, regional and international rivalries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It includes a general introduction to Geopolitics, a geopolitical analysis of the MENA and a focus on the role of non-Arab regional states in the region. Students will be able to comprehend and identify power factors, while visualysing and analysing regional dynamics.

This course examines International Humanitarian Law (IHL). It looks into the laws that govern armed conflict as they developped customarily  and through treaties. The aim of IHL is to protect wounded soldiers, the civilian population and prisoners of war. It will also look into the role that the International Red Cross and other NGOs have played in the development of humanitarian norms. The course will also look into Human Rights issues in different conflict ridden countries with a focus on the Arab region (Yemen, Iraq, Palestine, Syria and Libya). 

Each year, the Human Rights Laboratory course looks into one or two themes, that students explore first theoretically and critically during the first semester, then through the eyes of practitioners during the second semester. Currently, the course looks into the question of Dealing with Past Violences through the lens of War Memory, and more specifically through the example of Lebanon. How does memory work? What are its different types? What can block it? And what are the consequences of this blockage? 
Students use the tools they learn in class to look into key events in the history of the Lebanese war and to exhibit their work in the learning process of a flipped classroom.
 

During the second semester, the Human Rights Laboratory centers around the multiple and sometimes conflicting perspectives of actors working on a specific theme related to Human Rights. During the past three years, the Laboratory's theme is "The Missing and the Forcibly Disappeared", and many social and political actors are invited to share with students their perspective, their work and the way they have advanced the issue.

The course looks into the issue of justice in a post-conflict context or following the fall of an authoritarian regime by looking into two approaches, that of international criminal law and that of transitional justice. The seminar on International Criminal Prosecution looks into the concept of international crime and its different categories. In the light of case studies before international tribunals, the course dissects the problems of defining core international crimes and the intricate question of attributing responsibility for international crimes before international criminal courts and tribunals. The seminar on transitional justice introduces the concept and its mechanisms that aim to address past human rights violations and ways to move forward. It will focus on institutional reform, reparation and truth-seeking measures with an emphasis on truth commissions from a comparative perspective. The students will be able to analyze problems related to past abuse of human rights in post-conflict societies and will apply what they have learned by organizing and participating in an exercise simulating a truth commission.

The purpose of the course is to give the students an overview of the human rights machinery that exists both at international and domestic level as well as an understanding of how institutions work at both levels and how the domestic system interacts with international human rights mechanisms. Moreover, the threats to human rights defenders and civil society organisations have escalated over the last years. New tactics are being employed, that are creating fundamental changes and severely limiting the space for civil society across the global. This seminar series will explore and analyse these changes. It will look at the factors driving the clampdown, the legal frameworks and the ways in which organisations are responding. The case study will illustrate current developments and the final session will include a practical exercise. 

The course aims to present a detailed-panorama of Public International Law (IL) which covers rules, customary rules and principles that govern relations between Sates and between States other actors in the international community.
The course will also will also give a global understanding of the subjects - actors - and sources of IL as well as the connected disciplines.
It will also address the issue of the effectiveness of International Law (its enforcement) through cases studies. 
Then it will look into the place of Human Rights within International Law and its development. 

Students do an internship in leading national and international human rights organisations across the region. It can take place in Lebanon throughout the academic year or in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine or Tunisia, during the student's period of mobility (second semester of the academic year).

Internships provide a hands-on experience to students on the theme of human rights and democratic governance, allowing them to develop professional skills and explore the practical dimensions of Human Rights work.

There are three types of internships: Short (160 hours), Medium (240 hours) and Long (400 hours).

This course will look into an historical and geopolitical overview of the Middle East and North Africa from the dismantlement of the Ottoman Empire till today; highlighting the challenges of colonialism, state-building, the neo-liberal order and the impact of the continuously changing world order. A specific seminar is devoted to the region’s new strategic landscape five years after the beginning of the “Arab Spring”.

The course aims to show the complexity of conflicts and conflict analysis, deconstructing some prevalent approaches while examining tools used for conflict management and resolution. During the course students examine and analyse specific conflicts, identifying different factors (demographic, geographic, military, economic, geopolitical, and historical) and highlighting the complicated interaction of external and internal factors in violence and wars using a multifactorial approach rooted in political science.

The course questions analytical and conceptual tools used to understand and explain political movements and parties in the Arab world. Concepts such as class, kin and tribe, sect, civil society, and informal politics are critically examined and assessed. Students deal with theoretical and empirical questions that are central to understanding political movements and groups in the Arab world. They will also look into the different examples of mobilisation (tactics, methods and tools) with practical exercises related to campaigning strategies. 

The course looks into interrelations and interactions between socio-cultural factors and the political sphere. It highlights the importance of empirical research and a value neutral approach to studying society and groups. While examining the question of state formation in the Arab Wold, students will question the notion of  "importation', and look into different features of the state in the region, such as "rentierism" and "authoritarianism". They will also look into the utility of certain notions such as "asabya" developed in the 14th century, and look into specific topics relevant to the discipline and the region.  

Globalisation is often equated with internationalisation and liberalisation, and sometimes even with westernisation. When the notion is linked to international trade, the phenomenon acquires a long history, stretching several millennia and taking several forms depending on the type of transportation and communication technology that underpinned it. It is often defined as a process or a set of processes of increased interactions that amplifies the interconnectedness and interdependence of peoples, countries, corporations and organisations economically, politically and culturally. This course will look into the contemporary dynamics that are affecting international organisations and also how global and regional social movements are evolving in the region. It will also look a specific area of globalisation, that of Global health that has been put to test with the current pandemic.

"The State is a central actor that influences a society’s socioeconomic trajectory, determines the conformity of local laws with international and regional treaties, and the deepening of peace and stability. One of the main reasons behind the State's failure to acheive peace, stability and prosperity in the Arab region are the shorcomings of public policy, particularly since policymaking itself was seldom treated as an academic discipline across the region.
This course will therefore seek to initiate graduate students to the philosophy and practice of public policymaking, thereby highlighting the structural and managerial particularities of the Arab State before delving into policy planning and design, policy execution and implementation, as well as policy analysis. By the end of the course, students are expected to tap into the potential of evidence-based public policymaking for the achievement of human rights and socioeconomic development, all while remaining attuned to the structural, political, and socioeconomic particularities of a fragile and conflict-ridden region. "

The course aims to show the current trends of international migration while examining the issue of mobility rights and how it translates in different laws and policies. A specific focus will be given to forced migration and the status of refugees, identifying and exploring underlying factors such as persecution, armed conflict and natural disasters. The course will also examine responses to massive movements of forced migration and the impact of specific policies on both refugee and host populations.

The course explores the notion of political change against the backdrop of the “Arab Spring”, looking into the series of events and comparing them to transition processes in other contexts. Within this course, specific seminars are devoted to internal processes such as transitional justice, and external ones such as military interventions, international tribunals or diplomacy (with a focus on EU foreign policy of democratisation and Human Rights the Middle East and North Africa).

Vulnerable persons and groups require special protection mechanisms under national and international law. The course will look into the specific legal frameworks that aim to curb or reverse discrimination and ensure equal access to rights. Specific seminars will look into the issue of Women’s Rights, Children’s rights, and minority rights across the region and its contrasting contexts.