5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

Media and academic commentary recognize that across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, there has been over the last forty years a tremendous decline in food self-sufficiency and a consequent boom in food imports. This is generally tied to the very rapid urbanisation of the region over the last few decades. Protests, which have been unfolding across the region since 2011, reflect rural distress as much as urban discontent. In addition, regional political instability, wars, economic crises, and climate change are increasing strains on rural areas and on local agri-food sectors. Land dispossessions, environmental extractivism, and the growing changes in agrarian land use toward renewable energy installations are further destabilising what is already a fragile agri-food system in the region. This panel seek to build on the growing scholarship on political ecology in the MENA by bringing together scholars and activists who work on agriculture and the environment in the region. It aims to focus specifically on the relationship between food (and agriculture), the environment, and politics. We invite contributions that consider the emerging political and economic responses to challenges of water scarcity, food insecurity, environmental crises, land-use changes, and increases in renewable energy.