Project title
Arab Solidarity in Practice: Sense of Belonging and Integration of Syrian Refugees in Algeria, Tunisia, and Jordan.
Supervisors: Dr Soeren Keil, Dr Laura Cashman
Profile summary
I am a fully-funded Ph.D. student who got a scholarship from the Algerian government, studying at Canterbury Christ Church University in the Politics and International Relations programme. My study seeks to explore the notion of Arab solidarity by investigating Syrian refugees’ situation in two Arab countries: Tunisia and Jordan. The focal point of this study is to discover how Syrian refugees are treated in these countries and what kind of support they are receiving: governmental, public or both. To strengthen my research, I am intending to include significant literature about Arab nationalism and identity, as these countries and the case study “Syria” are sharing common points of Arabism, religion, and language.
Biography
I completed my master degree in 2017 from University of Mostaghanem (Algeria). My specialty was British Literature, and my dissertation was titled: “Unconventional Relationships in D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers’ (1913) and the Rocking-Horse Winner (1926): The exploration of Oedipus complex”. My PhD research is funded by the Algerian government as I succeeded in a competitive national contest. Late 2017, I started to study pre-sessional courses at Canterbury Christ Church University for approximately five months.
My passion for Politics and especially for Syrian refugees grew when Algeria started receiving remarkable waves of Syrian refugees after the 2011 uprisings of the “Arab Spring”. I am working on different notions of Arab identity, Arab solidarity, Arab nationalism, Arab spring, and Syrian refugees. Studying for a PhD at Canterbury Christ Church University and especially being a member in the Politics and International Relations programme is a great opportunity that really strengthens my knowledge in this field, and it is also paving the way for me to carry on further studies related to my topic.
Seminar Presentations:
Saliha SMAINE (2019) Arab Solidarity in Practice: Sense of Belonging and Integration of Syrian Refugees in Jordan, and Tunisia”. Canterbury Christ Church University UK (19-06-2019).