The Forgotten Periphery: Creating the Iraqi public sphere
Seminar
Too many observers of present-day Iraq have accepted the argument that the nation-state was created, and remained the monopoly of certain groups. Because narratives of the past, particularly Arabic-language memoirs, have never been taken into account in the manufacture of this rigid (and…
The Arab World: Between collapse and transformation
Lecture
Since the rebellions of 2011, the Arab order is in a state of disorder, sitting atop a time bomb made up of youth, who constitute the overwhelming majority. Today’s youth, want more freedom, dignity, jobs, and security. The unaccountable and security driven states cannot satisfy their aspirations…
Legalising Authoritarianism in Egypt
Lecture
Prof. Hamzawy in conversation with CAIS Deputy-Director Prof. James Piscatori In his talk, Prof. Hamzawy examined the ways in which successive Egyptian governments have utilised lawmaking to eliminate opponents and silence voices of dissent since the coup of 3 July 2013. Key examples included the…
Regional Security in a Turbulent World: A GCC Perspective
Lecture
Over the past decade, the nature of the challenges and threats affecting the Middle East region have been among the most complex it has ever faced. The region’s political order is in a state of fundamental disequilibrium: from the unravelling of the Sykes-Picot architecture to the emergence of a…
What has been done, and what can be done, with Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
Seminar
Majlis Discussion Group For our first Majlis of 2017 we assess the state of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. What qualifies someone to be an “expert” commentator, to be called a Doctor of Philosophy, or to teach about the politics, religion, society and cultures of the Middle East? What do…
Ghabra
Lecture
Shafeeq Ghabra is a Professor of Political Science at Kuwait University. He is now a Visiting Scholar at the Arab Centre, Doha, Qatar. From 1996 to 1999 he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Social Sciences at Kuwait University. He served as Kuwait University Chair of the Committee for…
Post-2003 Iraq and Prospects for National Unity
Other
Since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the toppling of Saddam Hussein, and de-Baathification policies, Iraq has struggled to re-establish national unity and effective governance over a fractious society. In the north, antipathy among Sunni tribes towards the Iraqi government under Nouri al-Maliki…