CAIS graduate research scholars were congratulated by attendees of their conference held on 3 and 4 July. The conference - A New Agenda? Debating the Middle East and Central Asia brought together a number of young scholars presenting their high quality and very contemporary research.

The opening address was given by Mr Ric Wells, Deputy Secretary, Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The keynote speaker was Professor Shahram Akbarzadeh,
ARC Future Fellow, Centre for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University. Speakers
included: Dr Farhang Morady, University of Westminster presenting on Iran–US relations and
the Nuclear Framework Agreement; Ms Haian Dukhan, University of St Andrews, presenting
on Hafez al-Assad and the Arab tribes in Syria; Ms Natalya Hillme, Humboldt University,
presenting on regime stability in Central Asia'; Mr Azamjon Isabaev, University of Hamburg
discussed security in Central Asia and Ms Zainab Jasim, University of Sydney analysed
Al-Jazeera’s coverage of Bahrain’s uprising. CAIS scholars Mr Shuhrat Baratov, Ms Jessie
Moritz, Mr Dirk van der Kley and Ms Elisabeth Yarbakhsh also presented papers on their
research. The conference attracted a substantial audience which included policy-makers
from the Department of Defence and DFAT as well as scholars from Australian universities
and think-tanks.