Join us for an exciting talk with Dr Fuad Musallam, an anthropologist from the University of Birmingham, where he will talk about his new book A Break in the Future that explores how Lebanese activists work through failure to keep the possibility of political change alive. Dr Asmaa Elgamal (Department of International Development) will act as discussant.

About the book 

The book considers how activists keep hope alive and work toward future change when social movements fall apart and protests fail. Anthropologist Fuad Musallam investigates the endurance of political possibility in Beirut, Lebanon, between the Arab uprisings of 2010–11 and the Lebanese uprising of October 2019. Despite a regional collapse of political hope and a local inability to effect change in the context of political stasis, postponed elections, and the degradation of civil infrastructure, between every protest cycle a sizable number of people remained engaged and built toward future political opportunities. Through an analysis of activist strategies, Dr Musallam explores the ways in which we grasp different phases of political (dis)engagement together. The book is motivated by a desire to better understand how to keep political possibility alive.

About the speaker

Dr Fuad Musallam

Dr Fuad Musallam focuses on activism, labour, the imagination, and how people come together to form community. He has done most of his research in Lebanon's capital city, Beirut, where he works with Lebanese political activists challenging the political system and with migrant workers building solidarity in the face of racialised inequality.

About the Interrogating Development Seminar Series

The 'Interrogating Development' seminar series is organised by the Department of International Development at King's College London. The series examines some of the most pressing issues of development facing global society today, with the authors of new books presenting cutting-edge research on a variety of topics related to development.

The talk will be followed by a wine reception. The event is open to everyone.