The Impact of Wars and Conflicts on Arab Families

Aimed to investigate the role of policy in promoting the well-being and protection of Arab families under conditions of wars and conflicts.

Building on the success of its first Annual Conference on Family Research and Policy, DIFI’s second conference will provide a platform for researchers and policymakers to discuss the impact of wars and conflicts on Arab families while taking into account contextual factors. Through thought provoking sessions and stimulating panel discussions, the conference will provide avenues through which social scientists, policymakers, NGOs and CSOs can interact.

1- Family Formation and Breakdown under War and Conflict Conditions
War and conflict conditions represent a stumbling block to marriage and family formation on the one hand and are also conducive to family breakdown associated with the collapse of the surrounding environment. Thus, the focus of this theme is on the multiple ways in which conflict conditions affect demographic structure through their impact on fertility, mortality and migration. It also aims to answer the question of how families and family formation processes are affected by wars and conflicts in the Arab countries.

2- Economic Impacts of Wars & Conflicts on Family Life
This sub-theme studies the macro and micro level economic impacts of wars and conflicts on families such as their negative effects on economic growth, the destruction of infrastructure hence employment opportunities, levels of unemployment, family income and investment opportunities.

3- Conditions of Arab Refugees and Internally Displaced Families (IDFs)
This sub-theme will focus on the existential experience of refugees and IDFs. Specifically, it will look into the determinants of refuge destinations, coping strategies with the new social and economic realities and the mechanisms of adaptation.

4- Impact of Wars and Conflicts on Men, Women, Children, Youth and Elderly
This sub-theme seeks to shed light on how wars and conflicts affect the individuals within the Arab family as well as the relationship dynamics. More specifically, it will focus on the changing power structures between men and women, and the social, psychological, physical and emotional impacts on men, women, children, youth and elderly..

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