With the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in a state of disarray as the effects of the "Arab Spring" continued to ripple throughout the region, states and power brokers had much to contend with, and so did their citizens. UMAM D&R felt it was important to take stock of the unprecedented levels of violence and oppression while also noting the few instances of success, which seemed to inspire just enough hope and optimism to keep suppressed populaces elsewhere in the region from accepting defeat.

In November 2014, UMAM D&R and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung brought together individuals from 13 different MENA countries at a conference titled "States of Transition: Emerging Memory Challenges for MENA in Conflict and Post-Conflict Countries." The discussions of this conference were compiled into a publication of the same name and released in 2017.

With the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in a state of disarray as the effects of the "Arab Spring" continued to ripple throughout the region, states and power brokers had much to contend with, and so did their citizens. UMAM D&R felt it was important to take stock of the unprecedented levels of violence and oppression while also noting the few instances of success, which seemed to inspire just enough hope and optimism to keep suppressed populaces elsewhere in the region from accepting defeat.

In November 2014, UMAM D&R and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung brought together individuals from 13 different MENA countries at a conference titled "States of Transition: Emerging Memory Challenges for MENA in Conflict and Post-Conflict Countries." The discussions of this conference were compiled into a publication of the same name and released in 2017.