With support from the Rockefeller Foundation and in cooperation with three other research centers in Amman, Casablanca, and Istanbul, the LCPS participated in a four country study on civil society in Mediterranean cities. The LCPS carried out an overview study of the state of civil society in Beirut today. The domestic aspect of the study aims to explore the challenges and opportunities facing civil society in Lebanon today to find ways of strengthening and developing it; the regional aspect aims to find common strands of civil society development among the four cities under study and to come up with joint approaches and joint projects of relevance for civil society in the four urban communities.

Upon completion of the first draft of the study, the LCPS presented it at the U.N. World Habitat Conference in Istanbul on the 1-2 of June 1996. The presentation was made in cooperation with three other research centers in Istanbul, Amman, and Casablanca. The LCPS study which involved field research, presented an overview of the situation of non-governmental organizations, unions, professional associations, family and neighborhood associations, political parties, cultural bodies, and sporting associations in Beirut. It analyzed the various types and categories of associations in Beirut, and prepared a historical chronology of their development and the legal and political framework within which they operate. The study is available in report form, and is entitled: Civil Society in Beirut: A Working Paper.