Palestinian-Israeli Economic Relations: Repudiating the Paris Protocol?|

On Thursday 23 May, Professor Ephraim Kleiman will discuss how the desire for political change and social justice that underlay the Arab Spring has given rise to repeated calls in the Palestinian Territories for the abrogation of the Paris Protocol, regulating their economic relations with Israel.

Iran’s New Intellectualism: Trends in Contemporary Conscious Music|

On Monday 3 June, Dr Maghazei will discuss the formation of a multi-genre conscious music in Iran in recent years. Dr Maghazei uses the concept of conscious music instead of resistance, to show how music is used to challenge the dominant socio-cultural and political structures and discourses and present a whole new worldview.

Reopening Turkey's Kurdish Opening|

On Wednesday 12 June, Professor Michael Gunter will talk about how recent events offer cautious hope that the time to renew the dialogue and resume direct negotiations between the Turkish government and the PKK may have arrived.

Emirates PhD Support for Middle East Studies Award|

Applications are now being accepted for the 2013-2014 Emirates PhD Award. The Award is open to students who have been upgraded to doctoral candidacy at LSE for studies on any Middle East or Arab League member state (including Turkey), in any discipline.

More information on how to apply|

A Panel Discussion on Palestine

On this panel discussion, chaired by Jon Snow of Channel 4 News, the speakers discussed aspects of the current situation in Palestine, including: Palestinian domestic politics, Israel’s position, the international dimension of the impasse and the insights into the conflict provided by film-making.

Listen to the podcast

The Kurds and the Conflict in Syria

Saleh Muslim Mohamed, the co-President of the most prominent Syrian Kurdish party PYD, assessed the progress of Kurdish politics and local government and the wider Syrian and regional context.

Listen to the podcast

Book Launch: The Politics of Business in the Middle East After the Arab Spring

This launch for Business Politics in the Middle East, a volume by Dr Steffen Hertog and edited by Professor Giacomo Luciani and Dr Marc Valeri, covered the political role of regional capitalists during and after the Arab uprisings.

Listen to the podcast

Can Turkey Learn Anything from Northern Ireland?
by Zeynep N. Kaya and Matthew Whiting Recently a group of politicians and commentators from Turkey visited Northern Ireland to learn about its peace process and explore any lessons this might hold for the ongoing fragile negotiations between the Turkish … Continue reading →
Fawwaz Traboulsi is coming to London and other upcoming MEC events
Professor Fawwaz Traboulsi, one of Lebanon’s leading academics, will speak at LSE this coming Monday, 18 February, from 630 to 8 pm. In his lecture, ‘In the Eye of the Storm: The History of Lebanon Revisited’, he’ll talk about the problems and challenges … Continue reading →
Arab World VS East Asia: Economic Development
While East Asia’s economic success has soared in the past three decades, the Arab world has lagged behind. The University of Singapore’s Dr Ali Kadri takes a closer look at this frequent comparison and explores where things went wrong for Arab economies. “The reason … Continue reading →
Hear ye, hear ye: Latest MEC podcasts on #Jordan and #Algeria
Are you looking for a bit of context following the Jordanian elections last week or in the wake of Algeria’s In Amenas gas plant attack? We have some podcasts for you: On 23 January, Dr Tariq Tell, a political economist currently … Continue reading →
Book Review — Anthony Shadid’s House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East
Before award-winning journalist Anthony Shadid died in February while reporting on the crisis in Syria, he wrote a memoir about returning to the town in Lebanon from which his relatives immigrated to the US at the turn of the 20th century … Continue reading →

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