Photo: Lotta Lundmark CMES Director Karin Aggestam participated in a podcast hosted by Folk och Försvar. AbstractThe war that broke out in Gaza following the Hamas attack on October 7 and Israel's response has once again highlighted the endurance of wars and heightened regional tensions in the Middle East.  At the same time, there are ongoing wars and conflicts in Syria and Yemen, and conflict lin

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/prospect-peace-middle-east-0 - 2025-09-13

The Swedish Middle East correspondent Samir Abu Eid is being awarded his honorary doctorate at Lund University today. Full house yesterday when Middle East correspondent Samir Abu Eid, Swedish Television, held a CMES public lecture about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He has also been interviewed about his excitement over receiving an honorary doctorate at Lund University and how he looks forwa

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/samir-abu-eid-honorary-doctor-lund-university - 2025-09-13

Photos: Linda Eitrem Holmgren On 31 May, CMES hosted an end-of-semester lunch for our students, interns and staff. The participants of the Israel-Palestine reading course, our various Arabic language classes and our research interns were given certificates for their work this semester. Together with CMES staff, they enjoyed some delicious Levantine cuisine in the beautiful CMES garden at Finngatan

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/cmes-certificate-ceremony - 2025-09-13

The city of Ramallah in the Occupied West Bank (Photo: Nour Tayeh/Unsplash) CMES is happy to announce the new MECW project for 2024-2027 which will focus on civil society actors in the Occupied Palestinian Territories This project explores the complex history of Swedish humanitarian initiatives in the occupied Palestinian territories through the concept of frictional humanitarian homebuilding. Add

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/new-mecw-project-frictional-homebuilding-swedish-civil-society-actors-occupied-palestinian - 2025-09-13

CMES researcher Mattias Kärrholm has authored an article published in the journal Political Geography. The article, "Temporality, nationalism and the territorialisation of public space - Commemorational presences in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv", was published online on 26 May 2024.The article is published as part of the MECW project Beyond Sacred/Secular Cities - Exploring Politics of Memory, Space, an

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/commemorational-presences-jerusalem-and-tel-aviv - 2025-09-13

Photo: Lina Eklund Apply by 7 June 2024! A 4-year fully funded PhD position is open in CMES researcher Lina Eklund's group on climate risk and adaptation in the Middle East. The research is focused on GIS, remote sensing and interdisciplinary approaches. Climate adaptation is fundamental for reducing vulnerability to climate change impacts, however the most recent Climate Report (IPCC AR6) found t

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/job-opening-doctoral-student-climate-risk-and-adaptation-middle-east - 2025-09-13

CMES researcher Svante Lundgren has authored an article published in Chronos Revue d’Histoire de l’Université de Balamand. AbstractMore than 150 years after the birth of modern Assyrian nationalism, it is safe to say that it has failed. It was not able to inspire and mobilize most of the Assyrian people and did not achieve its goals. According to the established narrative, the reasons were the Ass

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/rise-and-fall-assyrian-nationalism - 2025-09-13

AI generated image This Regional Outlook provides insight into an emerging environmental hazard: dust storms in the Middle East, one of the driest regions in the world. It also sheds light on the typical drivers and new technologies that can help investigate this phenomenon. Some sustainable mitigation measures are also discussed. Significant changes in recent years, such as population growth and

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/cmes-regional-outlook-dust-storms-middle-east-insights-satellite-data-and-ai - 2025-09-13

Photo: Ahmed Akacha/Pexels The course runs between 4 December 2024 and 15 January 2025 and isopen for PhD students in Sweden and beyond. Application deadline: 4 November 2024 CMES researcher Hossein Hashemi is coordinating a course for PhD students offered by the Faculty of Social Sciences as an interdisciplinary single–subject course next academic year.  Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Environm

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/phd-course-environment-and-sustainable-development-mena - 2025-09-13

Read the new CMES Newsletter about upcoming events and recent research activities and publications. The CMES Newsletter provides an up-to-date overview of Middle Eastern research, activities and events at Lund University and beyond. The Newsletter includes a message from the Director, latest research news, upcoming events and recent publications by CMES scholars.Read the NewsletterSubscribe to the

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/read-latest-cmes-newsletter-45 - 2025-09-13

Photo: Ulrika Oredsson Article by Fulbright Schuman scholar Dalia Dassa Kaye on her research on Iran and visiting fellowship at CMES In the article, "From LA to Lund: The 'Iran Challenge' from a (surprisingly) Swedish Perspective" (published on 13 June), Dalia reflects on her research on shifting European perceptions and policies toward Iran at a time of great geopolitical flux globally and politi

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/la-lund-fulbright-scholar-dalia-dassa-kaye-her-visiting-fellowship-cmes - 2025-09-13

LU i Almedalen CMES is organizing two events in Almedalen this year on 26 June. The events are in Swedish. Welcome to attend! CMES i Almedalen: Israel Palestina – en olöslig konflikt?26 juni 2024 13:15 till 14:30, Hästgatan 13, Visby, Gotland Illustration: Catrin Jakobsson Vilka är de långsiktiga konsekvenserna av kriget? Hur kan destruktiva våldspiraler förhindras i framtiden?Vilka möjligheter oc

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/cmes-almedalen-0 - 2025-09-13

CMES researcher Hossein Hashemi has co-authored a new article published in the journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research. The article, "A machine learning framework for spatio‑temporal vulnerability mapping of groundwaters to nitrate in a data scarce region in Lenjanat Plain, Iran", was authored by Reza Jalali (Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz), Parvaneh Tishehzan (Shahid Chamran Univ

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/mapping-groundwater-contamination-machine-learning-iran - 2025-09-13

CMES researcher Rola El-Husseini has written an article published by the Arab Center Washington DC. The article, "Violence Against Women in Lebanon: The Challenge of Legislative Action", was published on 6 June 2024.AbstractIn March 2024, Lebanon’s “reform MPs,” a group of legislators who were elected in 2022 from outside the country’s traditional sectarian system, proposed a new law on violence a

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/violence-against-women-lebanon - 2025-09-13

Photo: Linda Eitrem Holmgren On June 13, the first three-year MECW project was successfully concluded with a seminar at CMES. The results from the project, AI in the Service of Socio-Politically Adapted Sustainable Dust-Storm Control in the Middle East, were presented by project members Hossein Hashemi (Water Resources Engineering), Amir Naghibi (Water Resources Engineering), Ali Mansourian (Physi

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/summer-celebration-and-conclusion-mecw-project - 2025-09-13

CMES researcher Svante Lundgren has written an article published in Sydsvenskan. The article, "Nej, den kristna historien i Mellanöstern håller inte på att ta slut" (English translation: "No, Christian history in the Middle East is not coming to an end"), was published on 23 June 2024.AbstractThe number of Christians has increased dramatically, but their share of the population has decreased. Twen

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/christians-middle-east - 2025-09-13

LU i Almedalen On June 26, CMES organised two panels in Almedalen on global water resources and the Israel Palestine conflict. Israel Palestine - an unsolvable conflict?June 26, 2024 Illustration: Catrin Jakobsson What are the long-term consequences of the war? How can destructive spirals of violence be prevented in the future? What are the opportunities and obligations of the international commun

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/cmes-almedalen-2024 - 2025-09-13

CMES affiliated researcher Sarah Anne Rennick has co-edited a book published by the Arab Reform Initiative. The book, Knowledge as a Public Good: Reconceiving the Purpose and Methods of Knowledge Production, was co-edited by Jamil Mouawad (American University of Beirut), Sarah Anne Rennick (CMES and Arab Reform Initiative) and Andrew Findell-Aghnatios (Arab Reform Initiative).IntroductionThis volu

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/knowledge-public-good - 2025-09-13

CMES researcher Maria Småberg has participated in a podcast and written an article about what it is like to teach about Israel Palestine. The article, "Att undervisa om Israel-Palestinakonflikten efter den 7 oktober" (English translation: "Teaching about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after 7 October"), was published in Svenska Jerusalemsföreningens Tidskrift in June 2024. IntroductionFor severa

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/teaching-about-israel-palestine - 2025-09-13

Photo: Nastaran Taghipour/Unsplash Read the summary conclusions from the CMES policy-research dialogue that explored the multifaceted relationship between Iran and Europe. The report is based on a policy-research dialogue organised by CMES in April 2024 with international scholars and practitioners. Executive SummaryFor more than two decades, Iran’s nuclear program has been a central focus of Euro

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/cmes-policy-report-europes-changing-perceptions-and-policies-toward-iran - 2025-09-13