Our Story

Our story began at the heart of the American University of Beirut. After our professors explained that the social sciences theories and their dynamics are not applicable to Lebanon, we had many questions. As curious students, we ventured on a path to put our curiosity to rest. We decided to discover how Lebanon really works and analyze its unique social framework.

In April 2024, we started our first initiative together, assessing the Lebanese Black Market for the first time in our era. The project was entitled "A Not So Invisible Hand," and was made up of a team of young writers and researchers eager to find answers. With time, more participants began contributing to the analysis and our capability of making an impact could not be doubted.

In August 2024, the team was able to host a brother branch in Paris, in collaboration with the students of Pantheon Sorbonne. Ms. Yara Wakim and Mr. Karl Elie Haddad laid the blueprints for a remote entity, where the diaspora would be able to contribute as well. This milestone was soon followed by a separation from our initial entity, Beirut Political Review. Our ambitions were projected outwards, leading to an independent organization. The board of Global Strategy Review endeavored to create a nexus of youth led academia, bringing intellectuals from various background to rationalize the information within the policymaking field.

On the 8th of September 2024, GSR became officially founded, with a branch in Beirut, and another one in Paris. The founding members of the GSR are Elie Joe J. Akiki, Andrew N. Harrouk, Selina G. Riachi, Samer W. Sayyour, Ali I. Dagher, Christelle I. Zeidan, and Sophia M. Kalayjian, all of them major contributors in the research team. Our team continued to decipher Lebanon's peculiar dynamic with "A Not So Invisible Hand," as well as beginning to explore new opportunities. Whether it is urban planning, healthcare, psychology or economics, new fields of study finally became possible.

The team expanded even more globally, trying to find answers in the various local issues. On the 22nd of October 2024, the GSR set foot in Madrid, thanks to Ms. Trinity Wildenstein Shigetomi. Further on, the review has settled in Miami with the direction of Ms. Laura Attarian, in Charleston under the supervision of Dr. Rose Marie Akiki, and Dr. Michael Martino, and in Cairo with the direction of Mr. Ahmed El Shraby. And so it happened, the Global Strategy Review held its title of "Global", and the investigation towards knowledge became a worldwide endeavor.

All in all, on behalf of the GSR team, we really hope that you will enjoy our findings. We want to share our ideas and passions, aiming to make a change and impact many fields. Concretizing the GSR was a rollercoaster, but we believe that it was all worth it after all, as we may create knowledge, and create it more abundantly.