Inaugurated in 2006, the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut (IFI - AUB Policy Institute) is an independent, research-based, policy- oriented institute. It aims to initiate and develop policy- relevant research in and about the Arab region. The institute is committed to expanding and deepening knowledge production and to creating a space for the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas among researchers, civil society actors, and policy- makers. Our Goals: •Enhancing and broadening public policy- related debate and knowledge production in the Arab world and the region. •Contributing to a better understanding of the Arab world within shifting international and global contexts. •Providing a space to enrich the quality of interaction among scholars, officials and civil society actors in and about the Arab world. •Disseminating knowledge and making it accessible to policy-makers, media, research communities, and the general public.