Middle East Centre

Epizódy

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  Spectral politics in the Middle East and North Africa: the afterlives of violence and the force of memory 29.06.2026 1h 14min

  Professor Charles RH Tripp (SOAS) delivered the 47th annual George Antonius Memorial Lecture on Friday 5th June 2026, chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan (St Antony’s).
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  "Barbarian” Women: North African Literary Perspectives on Emancipation 15.06.2026 57min

  Dr Farah Ben Jemaa (University of Manouba) delivered this seminar at the MEC, chaired by Professor Michael Willis (St Antony’s College), as part of the Gender and Sexuality Seminars series. This talk examines examples of North African literature, from early twentieth-century texts to more recent works. These writings question forms of female emancipation associated with Western norms and imaginaries, while opening space for alternatives rooted in affects and collective experience. The talk will also reflect on the methodological approaches — particularly spatial ones — that may help us read and understand these literary representations. Farah Ben Jemaa is a professeure agrégée of French literature at the University of Tunis. Her research focuses on space and representations of the self in modern and contemporary literature. She completed a PhD in French Literature at the University of Manouba, with a dissertation on spatiality in the work of Valery Larbaud. She has published on authors including Georges Perec, René Char, and Valery Larbaud, as well as on contemporary cultural productions and artistic practices. Her recent work explores alternative cartographies, and the intersections of literature, politics, and feminist critique. She is currently a visiting academic at St Antony’s College for the Trinity term, thanks to the support of the Hazem Ben-Gacem Tunisia-Oxford Cooperation Programme.
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  Contingency of Structures: Triggers and the Social Geography of Revolutionary Episodes in Iran 2017–2022 12.05.2026 35min

  This MENA Politics Seminar was delivered at the Middle East Centre on Thursday 7 May 2026 by Dr Ali Kadivar (Boston College) and chaired by Professor Neil Ketchley (St Antony’s College). What drives the uneven geographic spread of revolutionary episodes? While structural approaches emphasize pre-existing fault lines, contingency approaches highlight emergent processes. We synthesize these perspectives, arguing that specific triggers shape a revolutionary episode's social geography by activating certain fault lines while leaving others dormant. Through a comparative analysis of three revolutionary episodes in Iran (2017–2022), each with a distinct trigger, we demonstrate how different triggers shape patterns of contention. Using event-history and spatial regression analysis of subnational protest data alongside socioeconomic and political variables, we show that a fuel price hike activated grievances in oil-producing areas, while a repressive event targeting a woman from an ethnic and religious minority mobilized protests in minority-populated districts. Our findings illustrate how triggers structure revolutionary mobilization, offering broader insights into the interaction between structural conditions and contingent events in contentious politics.   BIOGRAPHY Mohammad Ali Kadivar is a Fellow at the **Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and an Associate Professor of Sociology and International Studies at Boston College. He received his PhD in sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and previously held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University.   His work contributes to political and comparative-historical sociology by examining the causes, dynamics, and consequences of protest movements. While growing out of his experience as a participant-observer of the pro- democracy movement in Iran, his research agenda extends comparatively to explore these processes globally using historical analysis, case studies, and statistical methods.   His book Popular Politics and the Path to Durable Democracy (2022) was published by Princeton University Press. His research has appeared in journals including American Sociological Review, Social Forces, Comparative Political Studies, European Sociological Review, and Comparative Politics, and has received awards from multiple sections of the American Sociological Association.
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  Decolonizing Security Studies - a North African perspective 14.04.2026 51min

  This seminar was delivered at the Middle East Centre on Thursday 12 March 2026 by Professor Nizar Messari (Al Akhawayn University) and was chaired by Professor Michael Willis (St Antony’s College). Nizar Messari is Professor at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane. His areas of expertise are International Relations Theory, Critical Security Studies, North African Politics and Latin American Politics. He has published in Arabic, English, Portuguese and French in journals such as Security Dialogue, International Studies Perspectives, Review of International Affairs, Journal of North African Studies, Contexto Internacional (in Portugueses) and Cultures & Conflits(in French) as well as numerous chapters in edited volumes in Portuguese and English. He was a visiting professor at Yale University, Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the Military Academy of Agulhas Negras (Brazil). He is currently finalizing a manuscript on Decolonizing Security Studies. He is the co-author with João Pontes Nogueira of Teoria das Relações Internacionais: Correntes e Debates. (Rio de Janeiro: Elsevier/Campus, 2005).
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  An Autocratic Middle Class? State Dependency and Protest in the Middle East and North Africa 17.03.2026 50min

  This MENA Politics Seminar was delivered at the Middle East Centre on Tuesday 10 March 2026 by Professor Neil Ketchley (St Antony’s College) and was chaired by Dr Maryam Alemzadeh (St Antony’s College). Does public sector employment make graduates less likely to join anti-regime protests? Recent scholarship argues yes, with consequences for bottom-up democratization in late-developing economies with expansive public and higher education sectors. This paper examines whether this thesis travels to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). We find that well-educated public sector employees were actually more likely to join anti- regime protests in Algeria and Egypt, while we estimate null effects for state dependency in Lebanon, Iraq, Sudan, and Tunisia. Supplementary analyses show that educated public sector employees who protested in Algeria – a critical case for the state-dependency argument – prioritized political rights and grievances over economic considerations. Importantly, these preferences were not visible in surveys from the pre-protest period. The findings put bounds on the external validity of the state middle class thesis, caution against inferring future protest participation from attitudinal data, and identify political conditions when the state middle class may suddenly become more protest prone.
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  Saudi Arabia and the Global Trajectory of Islamic Law 18.02.2026 56min

  This seminar was delivered at the Middle East Centre on Thursday 5 February 2026 by Dr Dominik Krell (Wolfson College), and was chaired by Professor Pascal Menoret (Magdalen College). This talk explores how Saudi legal thought is shaping the ways in which Islamic law is applied by Islamic courts beyond the Arabian Peninsula. Since the 1960s, Saudi Arabia has made significant efforts to promote a distinct Saudi understanding of Islam globally, mainly through international students at Saudi universities such as the Islamic University of Medina. Dr Krell examines how this understanding of Islamic law has influenced Islamic courts in two contrasting contexts: The Gambia and Sri Lanka, two countries with a similar number of graduates from Saudi universities. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with Islamic judges and scholars in both countries, the talk looks beyond simple depictions of “Salafisation” or “Wahhabisation”. It explores both the reasons for, and the consequences of, the differing receptions of Saudi ideas in court practice, and the implications this has for everyday Islamic adjudication in local settings.
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  Seeds in the Rubble: Cultural Vitality in the Arab World 25.11.2025 1h 4min

  This seminar was delivered at the Middle East Centre on Thursday 20 November by Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi, founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation, and was chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan, St Antony’s College. This seminar was delivered at the Middle East Centre on Thursday 20 November by Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi and was chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan, St Antony’s College. Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi is an Emirati columnist and researcher on social, political and cultural affairs in the Arab Gulf States. He is also the founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation, an independent initiative established in 2010 to contribute to the intellectual development of the art scene in the Arab region. He has taught 'Politics of Modern Middle Eastern Art' at New York University, Yale University, Georgetown University, Boston College, The American University of Paris, Brandeis University, Harvard Kennedy School, Columbia University and Bard College Berlin. In 2023, Sultan completed a Fellowship at Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin and in 2024, Sultan was a Research Associate at SOAS Middle East Institute, London. Sultan is currently an Instructor at the American University of Sharjah. The past century has been a time of great turmoil in much of the world. Europe, perhaps, bore the brunt of this turmoil, with millions killed and entire cities, such as Rotterdam, Dresden, and Warsaw largely reduced to rubble along with their museums, and cultural institutions. The Arab World has also suffered its share of conflicts, compounding the adverse impact of colonialism on everyday life and culture. Events such as the Nakba in Palestine, and conflicts such as the Lebanese Civil War and the 2003 American invasion of Iraq have left a string of structural and cultural devastation in addition to the toll on human life. However, the Arab World has also seen attempts to rebuild, both in lives and livelihoods, some more successful than others. These fragile steps forward can be derailed as conflicts arise such as in Gaza. Even in such dark cases there are some triumphs of humanity. This talk will attempt to shed light on these sparks of inspiration that reflect the vitality of the Arab World. The presentation slides for this episode can be downloaded here: https://media.podcasts.ox.ac.uk/sant/middle_east_studies/2025-11-25-sant-mec-alqassemi-slides.pdf
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  Egypt’s Role, Identity, and Foreign Policy in a River of De-Nile 21.11.2025 34min

  This MENA Politics Series Seminar was delivered on Tuesday 18 November in the MEC’s Boardroom by Dr May Darwich (University of Birmingham) and was chaired by Professor Neil Ketchley (St Antony’s College). This paper explains Egypt’s foreign policy stagnation, with a novel argument building on role and identity theories. Egypt’s foreign policy exhibits a case where its regional leadership role has changed (and declined), but its identity emphasising Egyptian leadership persists, thus leading to foreign policy that is widely seen as ineffective. This paper examines the theoretical link — and distinction — between national roles and identities. Drawing on previous role research, we argue that, compared to identities, roles are more behaviourally prescriptive, necessarily relational, and are dependent on others’ expectations and acceptance of them. We also discuss the distinct sources of role change and identity change, setting up the possibility that one may change while the other remains stable. We examine the implications of when roles and identities become out of sync with the case of Egypt’s role decay. While Egypt’s leadership role at the regional role has retreated, the leadership identity persists. For Egyptians, Egypt is a ‘natural’ leader of the Arab world and a pivotal state in regional affairs. Herein, we argue, lays the explanations for why Egypt’s foreign policy has suffered from contradictions and ineffectiveness. Empirically, this paper draws upon historical evidence, official statements, memoirs of Egyptian foreign policy makers, and observation of public debates in Egypt’s public sphere.
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  Morocco’s Party of Justice and Development in Government: The Experience and the Future 21.11.2025 1h 37min

  This seminar was delivered on Thursday 13 November in the MEC’s Investcorp Lecture Theatre by Mustapha El Khalfi (Former Minister of Communications, Morocco) and was chaired by Professor Michael Willis (St Antony’s College).
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  NGOization of the Palestinian civil society post-Oslo: our community-based ways out 31.10.2025 1h 5min

  This seminar was delivered on 28 May 2025 by St Antony’s George Antonius Birzeit Visiting Fellow, Dr Amal Nazzal, and Palestinian political and feminist organizer at Rawa, Soheir Asaad. This seminar was delivered at the Middle East Centre on 28 May 2025 by St Antony’s George Antonius Birzeit, Visiting Fellow, Dr Amal Nazzal, and Palestinian political and feminist organizer at Rawa, Soheir Asaad. Rawa is a community-participatory fund advancing trust- and solidarity-based approaches that return power to communities. The panel was chaired by Dr Maryam Alemzadeh, Fellow at the Middle East Centre. Drawing on lived experience, scholarly critiques, and community narratives, the speakers examined how the donor-driven NGO turn after Oslo reshaped Palestinian civil society—often depoliticizing grassroots activism, fragmenting collective struggle, and entrenching dependency on external funding under long-standing Israeli occupation and genocide in Gaza. The discussion then mapped community-based alternatives rooted in self-determination, mutual aid, and indigenous knowledge, and explored how to reclaim autonomous spaces for organizing that resist co-optation and sustain liberatory practice. By weaving praxis and theory, the event charted actionable pathways beyond NGO-centric models toward moresustainable, rooted, and emancipatory civil society structures in Palestine.
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  Gaza Genocide as a Symptom: Fragile World Order and Regional Impacts 20.10.2025 1h

  The MEC’s opening Thursday seminar of the 2025-26 academic year was delivered by the former Prime Minister of Türkiye, Ahmet Davutoğlu, and chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan The MEC’s opening Thursday seminar of the 2025-26 academic year was delivered by Ahmet Davutoğlu, former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye. Davutoğlu has authored a number of books on foreign policy, including ‘Systemic Earthquake’ and ‘Alternative Paradigms’, which have been translated into several languages. The seminar was chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan, Director of the Middle East Centre.
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  Big Tech and the Automation of Genocide in Gaza 30.09.2025 1h 2min

  This seminar was delivered at the Middle East Centre on 30 May 2025 by Dr Samer Abdelnour, University of Edinburgh Business School, and Chaired by St Antony’s George Antonius Birzeit Visiting Fellow, Dr Amal Nazzal. This seminar was delivered at the Middle East Centre on 30 May 2025. Dr Samer Abdelnour, University of Edinburgh Business School, addressed the topic of ‘Big Tech and the Automation of Genocide in Gaza’. It was chaired by St Antony’s George Antonius Birzeit Visiting Fellow, Dr Amal Nazzal.
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  The Devaki Jain Lecture - Empowered voices: Jordanian women shaping their future 30.05.2025 1h 5min

  The Middle East Centre was honoured to host the 2025 Devaki Jain Lecture. This year’s lecture was delivered by Rana Husseini, Jordanian activist, journalist and author. The Middle East Centre was honoured to host the 2025 Devaki Jain Lecture. This year’s lecture was delivered by Rana Husseini, Jordanian activist, journalist and author. The Devaki Jain lecture series, established in 2015 by Devaki Jain, welcomes esteemed women speakers from the South. Past speakers have included Dr Graça Machel, Professor Eudine Barriteau, and Dr Noeleen Heyzer. Rana Husseini is an internationally recognized human rights activist, gender trainer and a senior journalist with more than 25 years’ experience in the Middle East and North Africa. She has published two books, ‘Murder in the Name of Honour’ and ‘Years of Struggle – The Women’s Movement in Jordan’. This lecture was chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan.
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  Liberation Theology in Palestine 27.05.2025 17min

  A paper delivered by Rev. Dr Mitri Alraheb at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the MEC on Friday 9 May 2025. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan. A paper delivered by Rev. Dr Mitri Alraheb at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the Middle East Centre on Friday 9 May 2025. The symposium was entitled ‘Toward an Inclusive Archaeological and Historical Narrative of Palestine: The Archaeology and History of Palestine’. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan.
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  Towards an Inclusive Narrative, History, and Methodology 27.05.2025 15min

  A paper delivered by Dr Hamdan Taha at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the MEC on Friday 9 May 2025. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan. A paper delivered by Dr Hamdan Taha at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the Middle East Centre on Friday 9 May 2025. The symposium was entitled ‘Toward an Inclusive Archaeological and Historical Narrative of Palestine: The Archaeology and History of Palestine’. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan.
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  After the End of the World: Another Season of War in South Lebanon 23.05.2025 56min

  In this talk anthropologist Munira Khayyat revisits the South Lebanon borderland, where she has conducted long term fieldwork in the wake of its almost total destruction after the latest season of war there. In this talk anthropologist Munira Khayyat revisits the South Lebanon borderland, where she has conducted long term fieldwork in the wake of its almost total destruction after the latest season of war there. This talk reflects on ecologies of resistance and survival through storms of war and the steadfastness of life after the end of the world. Munira Khayyat is Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Abu Dhabi and currently also Visiting Professor at NYU New York. Chaired by Pascal Menoret, Khalid bin Abdullah Al Saud Professor in the Study of the Contemporary Arab World and Professorial Fellow at Magdalen College.
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  The Archaeology and History of Palestine - Book introduction 22.05.2025 16min

  A paper delivered by Dr Iman Saca at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the MEC on Friday 9 May 2025. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan. A paper delivered by Dr Iman Saca at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the Middle East Centre on Friday 9 May 2025. The symposium was entitled ‘Toward an Inclusive Archaeological and Historical Narrative of Palestine: The Archaeology and History of Palestine’. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan.
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  History of the British Mandate in Palestine 22.05.2025 16min

  A paper delivered by Dr Issam Nassar at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the MEC on Friday 9 May 2025. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan. A paper delivered by Dr Issam Nassar at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the Middle East Centre on Friday 9 May 2025. The symposium was entitled ‘Toward an Inclusive Archaeological and Historical Narrative of Palestine: The Archaeology and History of Palestine’. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan.
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  New Critical Assessment of the Archaeology and History of Palestine During the Early and Middle Islamic Periods 22.05.2025 16min

  A paper delivered by Dr Mahmoud Hawari at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the MEC on Friday 9 May 2025. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan. A paper delivered by Dr Mahmoud Hawari at the Palestine Research Centre symposium held at the Middle East Centre on Friday 9 May 2025. The symposium was entitled ‘Toward an Inclusive Archaeological and Historical Narrative of Palestine: The Archaeology and History of Palestine’. This paper was part of a panel chaired by Professor Eugene Rogan.
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  Palestine Research Centre symposium at the MEC – Opening remarks 22.05.2025 22min

  Speech delivered by H.E. Dr Mohammad Shtayyeh, Chairman of the Palestine Research Centre and former Palestinian Prime Minister, at a symposium held at the MEC on Friday 9 May 2025. Speech delivered by H.E. Dr Mohammad Shtayyeh, Chairman of the Palestine Research Centre and former Palestinian Prime Minister, at a symposium held at the MEC on Friday 9 May 2025.The symposium was entitled ‘Toward an Inclusive Archaeological and Historical Narrative of Palestine: The Archaeology and History of Palestine’.