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The recent political upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa region have exposed growing concerns about conflict, political stability, and reform prospects across its societies. They have reinvigorated discussions about the conditions necessary for democratic change. Understanding the structural, institutional and cultural dimensions of transitions toward a democratic path is a major subject of scholarly research and policy practice. The Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) with the support of Vetenskaprådet (The Swedish Research Council) and Riksbankens Jubileumsfond seeks to foster dialogue and debate on the ways these challenges can be met. To this end, we would like to invite interested scholars to contribute to a conference to be held in Lund in April 2015 critically exploring the relevance of pathways to democracy derived from the historical experience of Nordic societies and of Turkey which have often been held to be promising “models” of transition.The conference aims (i) to create opportunities to exchange insights and advance analysis of the potential of the Nordic and Turkish societies to provide useful resources to the consolidation and deepening of pluralistic democracies and human rights in the region and, at the same time, (ii) to examine how and why the two societies have come to represent models and (iii) explore the ways these are being criticized and debunked both domestically and internationally.We invite abstracts of papers that critically reflect on• The “Nordic” and “Turkish models” and their limitations, the relevance of the experiences these are held to represent in the processes of political transition the MENA societies are undergoing.• Evidence of cross-fertilization of the processes of democratization and recognition of human rights between Nordic societies, Turkey and the MENA countries.• Challenges/obstacles to and local resources for democratic transition in MENA societiesAbstracts of no more than 400 words can be submitted to cmesmodelconference@listserver.lu.se no later than 15 November 2014.Convenors: Umut Özkırımlı, Andrea Sophie Karlsson, Spyros Sofos