Published 28 February 2024 The workshop focused on the intersections between conflict, environment and policy to explore the politico-environmental dimensions of the war in Syria. There were also discussions on the broader relevance and application of project results beyond the context of Syria. On 20-21 February, CMES hosted the workshop “Just and Equitable Ecological Models in Contested and Conf

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/cmes-workshop-conflict-and-environment-kurdistan - 2025-04-01

By johan [dot] joelsson [at] science [dot] lu [dot] se (Johan Joelsson) - published 28 February 2024 Lina Eklund is one of the researchers in the international team working to analyse satellite images of the destruction of Gaza. Photo: Johan Joelsson CMES researcher and physical geographer Lina Eklund is tracking the destruction of Gaza week by week using satellite images. Her analyses could be si

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/destruction-gaza-monitored-space - 2025-04-01

Published 28 February 2024 CMES PhD researcher Behshid Khodaei and researcher Hossein Hashemi have co-authored an article published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. The article "Can river flow prevent land subsidence in urban areas?" was co-authored by Alireza Sharifi (University of Oulu), Behshid Khodaei (CMES), Amirhossein Ahrari (University of Oulu), Hossein Hashemi (CMES) and A

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/groundwater-depletion-and-land-subsidence-iran - 2025-04-01

Published 29 February 2024 CMES researcher Hebatalla Taha has written an article in the Cambridge Review of International Affairs. The article, "Everyday nuclear histories and futures in the Middle East, 1945–1948", was published in December 2023.AbstractThis article examines nuclear imaginaries in the Arabic-speaking Middle East. It situates people from the Arab world into nuclear thought, lookin

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/nuclear-histories-middle-east - 2025-04-01

Published 5 March 2024 CMES researcher has co-authored an article published in the Journal of Strategic Studies. The article, "How dawn turned into dusk: Scoping and closing possible nuclear futures after the Cold War", was co-authored by Benoît Pelopidas (Sciences Po), Hebatalla Taha (CMES), and Tom Vaughan (Aberystwyth University).AbstractHow was the scope of nuclear weapons policy change immedi

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/nuclear-proliferation-iraq - 2025-04-01

Published 1 March 2024 CMES Deputy Director Ronny Berndtsson has co-authored an article in the journal Applied Soft Computing. The article, "Temporal cluster-based local deep learning or signal processing-temporal convolutional transformer for daily runoff prediction?", is written by Vahid Moosavi (Tarbiat Modares University), Sahar Mostafaei (Tarbiat Modares University) and Ronny Berndtsson (CMES

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/deep-learning-and-runoff-prediction-iran - 2025-04-01

Published 5 March 2024 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 new

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/read-latest-cmes-newsletter-42 - 2025-04-01

Published 15 March 2024 CMES supports three-year research projects with high scientific potential through the Strategic Research Area (SRA) Middle East in the Contemporary World (MECW). CMES funds one new project annually and encourages collaboration between scholars from different disciplines at Lund University to conduct interdisciplinary research on the Middle East.Project proposals should be f

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/now-open-cmes-call-project-proposals-0 - 2025-04-01

Published 22 March 2024 CMES is organising the Third Annual Swedish Middle East and North Africa Network (SWEMENA) Conference, Lund University, 22-23 August 2024. This interdisciplinary annual conference reflects SWEMENA’s main objective to bring together different communities of researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers across Sweden with an interest in the Middle East and North Africa region

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/swemena-annual-conference-2024 - 2025-04-01

Published 2 April 2024 Apply by 30 April 2024 Writing Retreats (Autumn 2024)CMES supports writing retreats on Middle East research with the aim to finalise an article, book chapter, edited volume or a book for publication in peer-reviewed outlets. CMES offers office space and modern research facilities in a stimulating work environment on historic premises. Administrative, practical and technical

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/now-open-cmes-call-writing-retreats-0 - 2025-04-01

Published 2 April 2024 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 New

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/read-latest-cmes-newsletter-43 - 2025-04-01

Published 5 April 2024 CMES visiting scholar Dalia Dassa Kaye has written an article in Foreign Affairs. IntroductionOn April 1, Israel launched its latest attack on Iran in the two countries’ ongoing shadow war, with an airstrike that flattened a section of Iran’s embassy complex in Damascus and reportedly killed at least 12 people. Among the dead was Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who headed Iran’s milit

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/israels-campaign-against-iranian-targets-could-backfire - 2025-04-01

Published 10 April 2024 On 8-9 April, CMES organized a policy-research dialogue entitled "Exploring Europe’s Changing Perceptions and Policies Towards Iran" with international experts and policymakers. The workshop explored a broad set of themes, such as Iran's nuclear program and the nuclear agreement, the Mahsa Amini protests and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. These issues were discussed in relat

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/cmes-policy-research-dialogue-exploring-europes-changing-perceptions-and-policies-towards-iran - 2025-04-01

By lina [dot] eklund [at] nateko [dot] lu [dot] se (Lina Eklund and Hakim Abdi) - published 12 April 2024 Satellite images of Gaza, Occupied Palestinian Territory, and Israel, from 1984 and 2020 (Captured by Landsat/Copernicus) This Regional Outlook focuses on the role of satellite imagery in shaping our understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the physical damage it has caused the la

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/cmes-regional-outlook-monitoring-israels-destruction-gaza-space - 2025-04-01

Published 16 April 2024 On 11-12 April, CMES hosted a workshop entitled "On the Edge - Post-Conflict Political Generations of Women and Youth Activists in the ‘Second Wave’ of the Arab Spring" with international scholars. The workshop explored the mass popular mobilizations calling for radical regime change in Algeria, Sudan, Lebanon, and Iraq in 2019, which were billed the ‘Second Wave’ of the Ar

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/cmes-workshop-women-and-youth-activists-second-wave-arab-spring - 2025-04-01

Published 17 April 2024 On Friday 12 April, CMES researcher Filippo Verre participated in the radio program "Il Mondo alla Radio" (Eng. translation: "The World on the Radio") on Vatican Radio. Vatican Radio is part of the channel Vatican News, which is the official radio channel of the Vatican State. In the interview, Filippo spoke about the role of water policy in the Middle East as a tool to fos

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/water-policy-middle-east - 2025-04-01

Published 19 April 2024 Apply by 31 May 2024. CMES Workshop Proposals (Academic Year 2024-2025)The Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) supports and coordinates workshops and higher public research seminars with high scientific potential through the Strategic Research Area (SRA): Middle East in the Contemporary World (MECW). CMES funds 1-2 new workshop per year and encourages interdis

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/open-cmes-calls-workshops-and-travel - 2025-04-01

Published 23 April 2024 CMES Director met with Morocco’s Ambassador Karim Medrek. On 23 April Morocco’s Ambassador to Sweden Karim Medrek visited Lund University. CMES Director Karin Aggestam briefed the Ambassador about the Strategic Research Area the Middle East in the Contemporary World and discussed opportunities for research and student exchanges.

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/moroccos-ambassador-visits-lund-university - 2025-04-01

Published 23 April 2024 The Raoul Wallenberg Institute at Lund University has contributed to the independent review report of UNRWA. The report has evaluated to what extent UNRWA adheres to the humanitarian principle of neutrality. The report recognizes the complexity of UNRWA’s mandate within a highly political context.  It makes a series of recommendations that the Agency commits to act upon, na

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/independent-review-report-unrwa-released - 2025-04-01

Published 29 April 2024 CMES visiting scholar Dalia Dassa Kaye has co-authored an article published in Foreign Affairs. The article, "Is an Anti-Iran Alliance Emerging in the Middle East? The Limits of Cooperation Between Israel and the Arab States", was co-written by Dalia Dassa Kaye and Sanam Vakil (Chatham House's MENA Programme). It was published in Foreign Affairs on 26 April 2024.Introductio

https://www.cmes.lu.se/article/limits-cooperation-between-israel-and-arab-states - 2025-04-01