Event Date: October 20, 2025 - 10:00am to 12:00pm
Location: FSS 4004 and online, 120 University Private, University of Ottawa

Registration : Google Forms

Presented by CIPS and the Gender, Peace, and Development Research Network (GPD-RN)

It is widely recognized that the state cannot be understood solely through the lens of powerful actors, and that it is also necessary to take into account the “bottom-up” perspectives of historically marginalized populations. This is even more true in societies experiencing serious conflicts and multidimensional fragilities. However, apart from classic works such as those of Jean-François Bayart, current research on “bottom-up” perceptions and collective action is rare, especially in these contexts. Based on a project funded by CIPS and the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa, we will present the results of our field research in Burkina Faso, Haiti, and Lebanon. We will also launch a comparative analysis to begin to identify broader avenues for understanding.

This is a hybrid event that will be conducted primarily in French.

Agenda:

• Stephen Baranyi: Introduction
• Zakaria Soré and Philippe Frowd: Vigilance, citizenship, and geopolitical change: The CNAVC in Burkina Faso
• Christy Mady and Ruby Dagher: Where is the state? Confusion, dysfunction, and despair in Lebanon
• Fritz Dorvilier and Youdeline Chérizard: The quest for the state in Haiti: Between public disengagement and popular mobilization
• Sadio Soukouna: Some comparative reflections

Panelists:

Stephen Baranyi is a professor at the School of International Development at the University of Ottawa.

Youdeline Chérizard is a professor of law at the University of Notre Dame in Haiti.

Ruby Dagher is a professor at the School of International Development at the University of Ottawa.

Fritz Dorvilier is a professor of development sciences at the State University of Haiti.

Philippe Frowd is a professor at the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa.

Christy Mady is a professor at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon.

Zakaria Soré is a professor at Joseph Ki-Zerbo University in Burkina Faso.

Sadio Soukouna is a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Quebec in Montreal.