As violent conflict has engulfed various Arab countries the region has become a focus for discussions on displacement and its effects on housing, land and property (HLP) rights. Wars have destroyed much of the physical fabric and entrenched communal differences in Syria, Libya, and Iraq. The future of HLP rights in these countries is intimately linked to the kind of state emerging from a post-war political settlement, and how it addresses the tasks of ‘reconstructing’ the economy and re-imagining national identity. 

The contributions to this volume substantiate the socio-political intricacies and local nuances involved in developing a context-specific understanding of HLP challenges. The struggle over socially just HLP rights in Syria, Iraq and Libya also involves refugees and displaced, some local civil society organisations, occupants of empty dwellings, war profiteers, foreign powers intervening in the conflict, external aid agencies and international organisations, different layers of state institutions in various stages of disrepair, and a ‘fierce’ and brutal regime at the apex (as in Syria) or factions forever squabbling over the spoils of the state (as in Libya and Iraq). 

This volume provides an indispensable map for those who seek to navigate these struggles and work towards social justice in housing, land and property.