Gulf-Palestine relations are often viewed through official or humanitarian channels, with the latter being one-sided from the Gulf to Palestine. The lecture aims to dispel this notion by underscoring the multifaceted two-way linkages tying Palestine and the Gulf past and present. It argues for a legacy of firsts between the two peoples that enabled long lasting and mutual influences throughout the formation and evolution of state and society across the twentieth century. Employing a decolonial lens, the lecture takes stock of this past to present a way forward for a liberated Palestine through the leadership of the Arab Gulf states in both reshaping the parameters of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and attendant regional security order.

Speaker:

Bader Mousa Al-Saif is an intellectual historian of the modern and contemporary Middle East and Islamic thought. He focuses on the Arabian Peninsula, namely its geopolitics, public policy, culture, reform dynamics, transnational trends, and gender studies. He is an assistant professor of history at Kuwait University and a fellow at Chatham House and the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. Al-Saif has over two decades of experience researching and working in the Arab Gulf states, and is a co-founder of several NGOs in the fields of education, youth empowerment, and transitional justice. Al-Saif has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He contributes policy analyses to multiple outlets and is frequently quoted and interviewed by renowned media platforms and publications around the world. Al-Saif holds a Ph.D. with distinction from Georgetown University, a Master of Education and a Master of Theology, both with honors from Harvard University, and a Master of Law with honors from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He graduated summa cum laude from Boston College with a double major in history and political science. He is on X @bmalsaif.