KnowWar successfully evaluated!
We are happy to announce that Rasil Consultant Services & Solutions evaluated our project successfully. The main findings can be found here:
New publications out now!
Our various open access publications can be found here: https://www.know-war.net/?page_id=844
We hope our interventions are interesting for you!
Our Final Conference Report is out now
Adriana Qubaiova wrote an extensive and useful report on our KnowWar Final Conference “Transforming Research Epistemologies” which took place 11- 12 May 2022. You can read and download the report here:
Interview with Helmut Krieger
Watch the interview with Helmut Krieger on Peace and Knowledge, Imperialism and Ressource-wars in Jemen and Palestine through our youtube channel:
Recording | KnowWar Final Conference
Watch the recording of our final conference in May 2022 in English and Arabic. Our YouTube channel can be accessed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDTcS8qOo7I&list=PLL4LdSFIGpFAyzlxbl_ucTtSSscZlC5l9
Video | KnowWar- In Conversation
Watch a conversation about KnowWar between project coordinator Helmut Krieger and Rabie Nasser (SCPR).
for the video including Arabic subtitles please open the video through youtube directly.
Final Conference | Solidarities in Conflict and War Zones
11- 12 May 2022, online.
For more information see the program below.
Registration: http://shorturl.at/qvJX7
Dialogue Session | The Political Economy of the Intractable Conflict in Syria
14 April 2022 | 5:00pm
Alois Wagner Saal, Centrum für Internationale Entwicklung, Sensengasse 3, 1090 Vienna
Film screening | Little Palestine: Diary of a Siege
Friday 8 April 2022 | 05:00 pm | NIG III, University of Vienna
For more information click here.
Online Talk | Voices of adolescents on education and ICT during the Syrian Conflict
Rabie Nasser | University of Vienna, Department of Development, March 30th, 2022
Spotlight | Libanon: Ein täglicher Überlebenskampf
To access the short analysis on the multiple crisis in Lebanon by project coordinator Helmut Krieger click here.
Online Panel Discussion | The Renewal of the Palestinian Movement. A Transnational Unity from Below?
VIDC: Thursday, October 28, 2021, 05:00-06:30pm CET (Zoom-Webinar), 06:00-07:30pm Palestine time
Speakers: Mohammed El-Kurd, Jerusalem, Yara Hawari, Ramallah, Ahmed Abu Artema, Gaza
Moderator: Helmut Krieger
The event deals with the current protest movement in Palestine and explores the question as to whether it represents a new unity from below. To what extent has the struggle of Palestinian communities against the Israeli occupying power gained momentum, particularly in the last few months?
Watch the recording of the discussion here:
Podcast | Lebanon in Crisis
Nadya Sbaiti, Assistant Professor at the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies (CAMES) at the American University Beirut, speaks to Connections host and by Jadaliyya co-editor Mouin Rabbani about the crisis in Lebanon. Listen to the podcast here.
Call | KnowWar External Project Evaluation
The ToR for KnowWar’s external project evaluation can be accessed here. Closing date: 20 September 2021
Webinar | Participation in the context of asylum and The determinants of forced displacement in the Syrian conflict
Syrian Center for Policy Research, June 21, 2021, 2 – 5 pm Damascus time
Please register in advance for this event. It will be in Arabic, with the option of English translation on Zoom. It will be streamed live on SCPR Facebook page.
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cZlwMrNDQUWM6cSyBNhx5g
Onlinevortrag | Politischer Islam – Konstruktion und Funktion eines Feindbildes
Vortragende: PD Mag. Dr. Farid Hafez, Universität Salzburg, Mag. Dr. Helmut Krieger, Universität Wien
Veranstalter: Zentrum für Friedensforschung und Friedensbildung, Universität Klagenfurt, 31. Mai 2021, 17:00 – 19:00, Anmeldung zum Vortrag bis 27. Mai 2021
Mehr Informationen hier https://www.aau.at/event/politischer-islam/
Webinar | Solidarity Economy and the Struggle of Trade-Unions: One combined approach for resilience and resistance in Palestine
29 April 2021, 5pm, Speaker: Tariq Sadeq, Assistant Professor at the Economics Department, Birzeit University Commentator: Samia Al-Botmeh, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, Birzeit University The webinar will be held in Arabic. Click here to access more details.
Online Lecture | Colonialization, Neo-Liberalization and Patriarchy
Eileen Kuttab | Birzeit University, 21 April 2021, 11.00 CET.
ie talks online | Energy Conflict Nexus: The Case of Syria
Rabie Nasser | Syrian Center for Policy Research, University of Vienna, Department of Development Studies, 24 March 2021, 4:15 pm
ie talks online | No War — KnowWar Emanzipatorische Forschungsstrategien in Zeiten von Revolte und Krieg
Helmut Krieger | Universität Wien, Institut für Internationale Entwicklung, 20. November 2020, 16.15-17.45 Uhr.
Anmeldung: [email protected]
Online Panel Discussion | A New US-President. Impacts on the Arab World
Join VIDC’s webinar with Rabab el Mahdi, Rima Majed, Omar S. Dahi and Adam Hanieh. The webinar will be moderated by KnowWar’s project coordinator Helmut Krieger.
Online Lecture | Forced migration and Syrian refugees
Project partner Rabie Nasser (SCPR) held an online lecture at Birzeit University’s Ibrahim Abu Lughod Institute of International Studies.
Discussion | NO WAR – KnowWar
Solidarisch forschen in Zeiten von Revolte und Krieg
Zentrum für Friedensforschung und Friedensbildung, Uni Klagenfurt | Freitag, 16. Oktober 2020│14.30 – 16.30
https://www.aau.at/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/flyer-KnowWar-zff-aau-161020.pdf
Analysis | Korruption, Staatsbankrott und Sozialer Protest im Libanon
KnowWar Projektkoordinator Helmut Krieger analysiert die Auswirkungen von Krise, Revolte und Krieg im Libanon:
https://www.vidc.org/regionen/naher-und-mittlerer-osten/korruption-staatsbankrott-und-sozialer-protest-zur-situation-im-libanon
Training Program | Critical Research Methodologies in Social Sciences at Birzeit University
The Center for Development Studies completed KnowWar’s training program that included ten interactive training sessions and targeted ten junior researchers and students in the social sciences. For more information see:
Webinar Series | Solidarities in Times of Wars and Refuge – Syria, Lebanon and Palestine in the Global Pandemic
The pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus has exacerbated the already fragile socio-economic situation and further stretched weak public services in several Arab states; particularly those that have been caught up in crises, political instability and wars, including Syria and Lebanon. These fraught economic realities have impacted the most marginalized communities the hardest, including migrants, day laborers, refugees (inside and outside the camps) and internally displaced persons. Social distancing and curfews, which were imposed as preventive measures to mitigate the health impact of the virus, resulted in deepening the social and psychological gaps between people and exposed the inequality facing marginalized classes and refugee communities. Moreover, as some Arab states have increased the role of military apparatuses during the crisis, concerns are being raised about a greater reliance on securitization in the future.
At the same time, the global crisis has been met the resurgence of grassroots and international organizing and solidarity initiatives across the Arab world. These initiatives should also be examined and understood in the context of the global pandemic and the failures it has exposed in global capitalism. With our webinar series, we provide fresh insights in particular on Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, with/by Syrian and Palestinian refugee communities in Lebanon and wider Lebanese society, past/present solidarity networks with and between communities and struggles in the region. Furthermore, alternative models based on solidarity economy will be introduced and discussed.
You can follow each panel discussion by a Zoom link provided to you upon registration.
First Webinar: Solidarity Inside Refugee Populations in Lebanon: Old Forms for New Crises
Monday, 29 June 2020, 5:00 PM [Beirut time, GMT+3]. You can watch the recoding here.
Report | Justice to Transcend Conflict
Read the new report by KnowWar’s project partner – the Syrian Center for Policy Research – which provides multidimensional analyses of impacts of the armed conflict in Syria during the period 2011- 2019.
Medienportal | Auf der Suche nach Alternativen in Syrien
Call for applications | Training sessions for young researchers in Applied Social Research
The KnowWar Initiative is pleased to announce the call for applications for the “Applied Social Research Training Program”, a multi-phase training program for young researchers residing in Lebanon and Syria. The training sessions will be held in Beirut Lebanon.
Application deadline: March 20th, 2020
Access the link below for further details:
Keynote and Discussion | Silenced (?)! Islamic feminism and social struggles in the Arab world
Thursday, 5 March 2020, Vienna: Fatima Sadiqi, Professor of Linguistics and Gender Studies, Morocco discusses with Elif Adam, anti-racism activist, Vienna/Berlin. Chair: KnowWar project coordinator Helmut Krieger.
For more information see: http://www.vidc.org/en/topics/global-dialogue/2020/islamic-feminism/
Societal Impact | Sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung in Kriegsgebieten
Ein Überblick zu KnowWar von Projektkoordinator Helmut Krieger ist jetzt auf der Societal Impact Plattform der Universität Wien nachzulesen.
Panel Discussion | ‘All means all’ On the current social struggles in Iraq and Lebanon
20 January 2020, 7 pm, Hauptbücherei Wien – Am Gürtel, Urban-Loritz-Platz 2a, 1070 Vienna
http://www.vidc.org/en/topics/global-dialogue/2020/all-means-all/
Call for Application | Palestine as Epistemic Site: Knowledge Production beyond Fragmentation
International Research Conference, Vienna, 24–26 June 2020
https://ksa.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/i_ksa/PDFs/CfP/Call_for_participation_Palestine-compressed.pdf
Recording | Researching War: Common Grounds for Knowledge Production in/ on Syria
Listen to our public discussion at the University of Vienna together with our colleagues from the Department of Development Studies, the Center for Development Studies at Birzeit University, the Syrian Center for Policy Research and Women Now for Development.
Public Discussion | Researching War: Common Grounds for Knowledge Production in/ on Syria
The public discussion is held at the University of Vienna, on the 8th of November, 5 pm.
See the attachment for more details.
Conference | Economic Inclusion to Mitigate the Refugee Crisis
The Syrian Center for Policy Research is co-organising a conference together with the Lebanese Economic Association to address the repercussions of the refugee crisis on Lebanon. The event will take place on August 2, in Beirut.
Interview | Injustice is the core of the conflict
Rabie Nasser (Syrian Center for Policy Research) on the war in Syria and civil society’s future opportunities.
Click here to access the interview by KnowWar project coordinator Helmut Krieger.
Report | Food Security and the Conflict in Syria
Syrian Center for Policy Research recently launched their interesting report: Food Security and the Conflict in Syria in Arabic. An abstract of the English version (to be published soon) is also available.
Report | Gender Justice and Feminist Knowledge Production in Syria

Women Now for Development recently published a very interesting report:
Gender Justice and Feminist Knowledge Production in Syria
Panel Discussion | Lebanon, Syria and Palestine: Colonial Histories between a Durable Presence and Present

Lecture Room A, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, NIG Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, 20 May 2019, 5 – 7 pm .
The panel discussion engages with questions on how and why colonial histories matter in the Middle East (hereafter ‘West Asia’) today? Posed by anthropologist Ann Laura Stoler, these questions serve as a call for finding alternative analytical and methodological concepts to capture the durable colonial marks that exist in our presence/present. Following Stoler’s critique of scholars who romanticise traces of this violent past, the panel will present new research and tools of investigation that engage deep colonial fault lines in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine today.
Speakers
Helene Kazan’s (Completed her Ph.D. at the Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths University of London (2019), and is a 2018-2020 Vera List Center Fellow on Art and Politics, New School, New York) inter- disciplinary and multi-media practice investigates risk through an analysis of international law, architecture, and the human experience of violence, observed and argued through the frame of ‘poetic testimony’.
Adriana Qubaia (Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Gender Studies, Central European University) is an anthropologist of Lebanon working on mapping contemporary political and socio-economic factors that shape the negotiation of gendered non-normative sexualities in Beirut. Therefore, she challenges dominant theoretical frameworks used to conceptualize gendered sexualities in West Asia.
Mette Edith Lundsfryd Stendevad (Ph.D. interdisciplinary candidate in Sociology and History at the School of Media, Communication and Sociology, University of Leicester) enriches these diverse approaches through her extended work on oral history accounts from Palestinian women from Syria (some still living in Syria, some scattered in different European countries or beyond) speaking back to the ongoing history of violence in Syria, eviction from historic Palestine, forced separation, statelessness and borders
Concept and Moderation
Klaudia Rottenschlager (Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Vienna),
Noura Salah Adeen (Institute for Social Anthropology, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
We invite the audience to participate in a feminist/intersectional, transdisciplinary conversation on how these specific research projects can speak to each other through a common understanding of colonial affect. The event is accessible for wheelchairs and will be held in English. Child care can be provided upon request. For further information please contact [email protected] and [email protected].
Workshop | Rooting Research in the Palestinian Context: Alternative Methodologies and Concepts
with Ayman Rezeqallah, Birzeit University, Palestine
Seminar room SG 2, Department of Development Studies, Sensengasse 3, 1090 Vienna 10 May 2019, 12.00 – 6.00pm
The workshop explores and questions mainstream social science research in the Palestinian context. It asks how we can develop alternative research approaches and analytical frameworks that can tackle the rapid transformation of the Palestinian society due to political conflict, war and Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territories. Given the rising (Palestinian) critique of research practices by (Western) scholars and international NGOs, the workshop further sheds light on understanding the political, economic and social complexities of territorial and social fragmentation.
- What does it mean to include Palestinian communities residing in neighbouring countries having their right to return to their homeland suspended for more than six decades in our research?
- What are ethical responsibilities towards the (researched) communities and how can we translate (local) experiences and struggles into academic knowledge production?
- How can the communities we work with access and use the produced data as well as our research?
In the first part of the workshop, Ayman Rezeqallah will provide insights and challenges of producing knowledge within this complex research environment. In a second step, he will discuss his experiences of developing and implementing a multidirectional research project on Palestinian youth’s identities and community participation in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Jordan.
Ayman Rezeqallah is Researcher and Survey Unit coordinator at the Center for Development Studies at Birzeit University. He has spent nearly 20 years in community research and programs focused on marginalized groups including women, youth, people with disability, children, and Palestinian refugees in Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon. He is the project coordinator of the APPEAR higher education cooperation project Rooting Development in the Palestinian Context funded by the Austrian Development Agency.
Click here to download the event poster.
The workshop will be held in English and is accessible for wheelchairs. It is hosted by the Department of Development Studies at the University of Vienna. Please register for the workshop and send an e-mail to [email protected]
Introduction

Welcome to the KnowWar website! Our new project on knowledge production in/on contemporary Syria just launched and we are excited to keep you informed on our activities.
Meanwhile, read in more detail about our project here and about who we are here. A lot of organizations are involved in this endeavour. To learn more about them, visit this link.
We will post (more or less) regular updates in our blog section. Social media channels are in the works. We hope to welcome you again soon!
