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CMES researcher Lina Eklund has been elected as a new member of the Young Academy of Sweden, a multidisciplinary academy bringing together outstanding early-career researchers. The Young Academy of Sweden is an independent organisation that selects leading young researchers from across disciplines, with the aim of contributing to public debate and strengthening the conditions for research.Lina Ekl

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/cmes-researcher-elected-young-academy-sweden - 2026-10-11

This CMES Regional Outlook (2026:1) by Hebatalla Taha and Dina Tawfik examines Iran’s nuclear posture beyond assumptions of weaponisation, highlighting its pursuit of nuclear latency and the implications for diplomacy and regional dynamics. There is a tendency to assume that Iran wants ‘the bomb’. This claim has been repeated – in the press and in some policy circles – with little nuance. However,

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/future-irans-nuclear-activities - 2026-10-11

This article is over 5 years old, and the information may therefore be outdated. This book analyses the tensions that emerge within strong welfare states when faced with large migration flows. It also interrogates the phenomenon of the 2015 'refugee crisis' and its foreplay and aftermath in the context of Northern Europe and challenges the notion of crisis as a feature of contemporary realities. "

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/new-book-refugees-and-violence-welfare-bureaucracies-northern-europe-edited-cmes-dalia-abdelhady-and - 2026-10-11

How has one of the most enduring rivalries in international politics persisted for more than four decades—and why has it proven so difficult to change? At a recent CMES book talk, Dalia Dassa Kaye presented her book Enduring Hostility: The Making of America’s Iran Policy. Drawing on interviews with policymakers, she argued that US–Iran tensions cannot be understood by looking at Iran alone, but mu

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/book-talk-enduring-hostility-making-americas-iran-policy - 2026-10-11

ECO-Syria Project held their final two day Workshop on June 1 and 2, bringing together an interdisciplinary group of scholars to reflect on the politics and ethics of global solidarity in times of crisis. Through a combination of presentations and collaborative discussions, participants identified key conceptual and methodological overlaps across diverse case studies, with a particular focus on li

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/eco-syria-workshop-politics-and-ethics-global-solidarity-times-crisis - 2026-10-11

At a CMES seminar, the ECO‑Syria research team presented findings from a three-year interdisciplinary project examining how conflict and cross-border hostilities shape environmental change and development in North and East Syria. Bringing together researchers from multiple disciplines, the project combined satellite imagery analysis, surveys, content analysis, and qualitative interviews to capture

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/eco-syria-presentation-findings-three-year-interdisciplinary-project - 2026-10-11

This article is over 5 years old, and the information may therefore be outdated. The rise of sectarianism in the Middle East and North Africa after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq has led to a new conceptual category – arguably as political as it is religious – which Rola El-Husseini has previously termed the ‘new Shi’a’. In this formulation, groups not traditionally associated with Twelver Shiism,

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/political-exigency-or-religious-affinity-sectarianism-contemporary-arab-world-new-article-cmes-rola - 2026-10-11

At a time when developments in Gaza remain central to global politics and public debate, the future of the territory is marked by uncertainty. During a CMES seminar this semester, Swedish journalist and long-time Middle East correspondent Cecilia Uddén reflected on the current situation and possible trajectories ahead. A situation that has not fundamentally changedDespite periods of ceasefire, the

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/cecilia-udden-what-going-happen-gaza - 2026-10-11

Read the director’s message, explore the latest research news, discover upcoming events, and browse our recent publications. Read CMES Newsletter here.Subscribe to the CMES-newsletter.Message from the DirectorAs the spring semester comes to a close and the summer holidays approach, we are wrapping up an exceptionally busy and productive period of research activities at CMES.The semester included s

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/read-latest-cmes-newsletter-61 - 2026-10-11

This article is over 5 years old, and the information may therefore be outdated. This article compares the discourses of building nations and national identities fostered in the content of school textbooks in the Republic of Turkey—a modern, territorial nation‐state—and the Autonomous Administration of North and East of Syria (hereafter Rojava)—an alternative state system model established in the

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/content-school-textbooks-nation-states-and-stateless-autonomies-comparison-turkey-and-autonomous - 2026-10-11

Anne Lene Stein has been awarded the EISA Best Dissertation Award 2026 for her thesis, “Agonism against the Odds: Epistemic Disruptions and Bodies of Dissent in Palestine and Israel”. Congratulation, how does it feel to receive this award, and what does it mean to you personally and professionally?I am incredibly happy and honoured to receive the EISA Best Dissertation Award. Writing a PhD is such

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/anne-lene-stein-wins-eisa-best-dissertation-award - 2026-10-11

A Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) seminar on 8 September marked the launch of Three Scandinavian Missionary Women and the Armenian Genocide, a new book edited by Svante Lundgren and Maria Småberg that sheds light on the humanitarian work of three Scandinavian women who assisted Armenians during one of the twentieth century's most devastating atrocities. In the  opening remarks, C

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/new-book-highlights-scandinavian-womens-humanitarian-efforts-during-armenian-genocide - 2026-10-11

More than 50 people attended the CMES Open House on 14 September to meet the Centre’s affiliated researchers and learn about twelve current research projects. The programme featured presentations, conversations at the researchers’ poster stands and information about CMES courses in Arabic. The day began with CMES Director Ronny Berndtsson introducing the Centre and its activities. The affiliated r

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/cmes-open-house-attracts-students - 2026-10-11

This article is over 5 years old, and the information may therefore be outdated. Middle Eastern research news from Lund University Message from the director The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is an exceptionally dynamic area that has undergone great changes politically as well as economically during the latest decades. The region is likely to continue to display rapid and sudden developments

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/middle-east-forum-newsletter-8-february-2020 - 2026-10-11

Interest in CMES Arabic language courses has reached a new high. This semester, the Centre received a record number of applications from Lund University students and staff seeking to develop their language skills and deepen their understanding of the Arabic-speaking world. The courses, which are exclusively available to Lund University students and staff, are designed for those interested in worki

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/record-number-applications-cmes-arabic-language-courses - 2026-10-11

Around 70 people gathered at Domkyrkoforum when journalist and author Joakim Medin visited the CMES to discuss press freedom and freedom of expression in the Middle East. Drawing on his recent experiences in Turkey and his new book Imprisoned by Erdoğan, Medin reflected on the risks facing journalists working under authoritarian rule. During the seminar, organised by Centre for Advanced Middle Eas

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/joakim-medin-press-freedom-repression-and-hope-change-turkey - 2026-10-11

How does the growing market for investment migration reshape citizenship, belonging and the role of the state? These questions were at the centre of a recent CMES seminar, where researchers Sara Kalm, Leysan Storie and Markus Gunneflo presented their new MECW-funded research project, Elite Mobility: Investment Migration in the Middle East. The project examines investment migration programmes that

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/new-mecw-project-explores-investment-migration-middle-east - 2026-10-11

How is North Africa’s renewable energy transition reshaping local communities, landscapes, and power relations? Bringing together researchers from across disciplines and regions, an international workshop at Lund University explored the social, political, and environmental implications of large-scale renewable energy projects, with a particular focus on extractivism, environmental justice, and loc

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/international-workshop-towards-research-agenda-expansion-renewable-energy-frontiers-and-local - 2026-10-11

CMES researcher Hossein Hashemi and his colleagues from engineering, natural sciences, and social sciences, has been recognised as one of the standout studies published by researchers in Sweden. Their paper "Unraveling the link between agricultural patterns and dust storm occurrence in Mesopotamia", has been selected for a special collection celebrating high-impact research published in 2025 by IO

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/cmes-research-dust-storm-earns-international-recognition - 2026-10-11

How does armed conflict reshape landscapes? In a new study, CMES researchers Pinar Dinc and Purnendu Sardar (together with Milena Ayvazyan) examine how warfare, extractivism, and environmental degradation have transformed Kurdish-majority regions in Syria and Turkey. The open-access publication reveals how environmental destruction can become intertwined with strategies of territorial control, res

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/armed-conflict-extractivism-and-environmental-degradation-remote-sensing-and-discourse-analysis - 2026-10-11