The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) is an independent academic institution devoted to the advancement of the social sciences and humanities. The Center strives to generate rigorous scholarship and foster meaningful intellectual exchange among Arab researchers and scholars while also strengthening the link between academic inquiry and the political, social, cultural, and economic challenges confronting their societies. The Center provides a space for critical inquiry, the production of original theoretical and applied research, and the cultivation of intellectual exchange.
The Center is guided by a vision to uphold scientific objectivity and intellectual development in the region, rooted in its lived realities, with a commitment to just causes. It maintains that the advancement of societies is inseparable from their historical context and cultural and linguistic heritage, while also recognizing the value of engagement with global scholarship and comparative perspectives. The ACRPS aspires to be a leading hub of scholarship on the Arab world; a place where intellectual traditions are renewed and where critical research contributes to a deeper understanding of the region’s past, present, and future within the global academy.
Accordingly, the Center works to promote scientific research as well as rational approaches to understanding issues related to society and state. It pursues this mission through analysis of the social, economic, and cultural policies of the Arab region, and by investigating how Arab societies interact with their regional environment and the global policies that affect them. To ensure broad accessibility and impact, the ACRPS publishes outputs in both Arabic and English.
The ACRPS undertakes research across the humanities and social sciences, including political science, history, sociology, economics, philosophy, linguistics, and cultural studies. Its work is disseminated through multiple channels. It publishes peer-reviewed academic journals, books and edited volumes in addition to organizing conferences, seminars, lectures, and workshops.
The ACRPS serves as junction for scholars from across the Arab world and beyond. Its resident researchers, visiting fellows, and associates form a vibrant academic community engaged in sustained debate and collaboration. Through regular conferences, symposia, and lecture series, the Center fosters dialogue between scholars and the wider public, enriching both academic research and public understanding.
Founded in Doha in autumn 2010, with a publishing office in Beirut, the ACRPS has since established four additional branches in Beirut, Tunis, Washington DC, Paris, and Madrid. It is overseen by a Board of Directors in collaboration with the General Director. It has also founded the Doha Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language, the Arabica Encyclopaedia, and the Center of Conflict and Humanitarian Studies.
In 2014, the ACRPS established the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, an independent institution of higher learning offering advanced degrees in the social sciences, humanities, economics, and public administration. Together, the Center and the Institute constitute a unique academic environment in the region, committed to training future generations of scholars and practitioners while producing scholarship that is globally relevant and locally grounded.
