Ambassador Wilks CMG (HM British Ambassador to Iraq), gives a talk for the Middle East Centre seminar series. Jon Wilks has just finished a two year posting as UK Ambassador to Iraq, his third posting to Iraq since he reopened the Embassy in Baghdad in 2003. He has served 30 years in the UK diplomatic service with a Middle East focus, including Ambassadoria ... Show More
Nov 21
Egypt’s Role, Identity, and Foreign Policy in a River of De-Nile
This MENA Politics Series Seminar was delivered on Tuesday 18 November in the MEC’s Boardroom by Dr May Darwich (University of Birmingham) and was chaired by Professor Neil Ketchley (St Antony’s College). This paper explains Egypt’s foreign policy stagnation, with a novel argumen ... Show More
34m 45s
Oct 31
NGOization of the Palestinian civil society post-Oslo: our community-based ways out
This seminar was delivered on 28 May 2025 by St Antony’s George Antonius Birzeit Visiting Fellow, Dr Amal Nazzal, and Palestinian political and feminist organizer at Rawa, Soheir Asaad. This seminar was delivered at the Middle East Centre on 28 May 2025 by St Antony’s George Anto ... Show More
1h 5m
Jan 2020
The Assassination of Qasim Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis: National and Regional Consequences
This event will explore the fallout of the recent murders of Qasim Soleimani, Commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the senior commander of al-Hashd al-Shaabi and the founder of Kata'ib Hezbollah.
The assassination, on ... Show More
1h 20m
Mar 2022
U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East: Part Three
In seven episodes, the Babel: U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East podcast miniseries will take a closer look at two decades of heightened U.S. engagement in the region. Over seven weeks, Babel will cover how the United States has used its military, economic, diplomatic, a ... Show More
23m 55s
Feb 2022
Is the U.S. Done With the Middle East?
<p>For the past two decades, American foreign policy has been entangled in major conflicts in the Middle East, but the Biden administration has signaled a shift toward Asia. Despite the pivot to other pressing global challenges, the region still plays a crucial role in America’s ... Show More
30m 35s
Feb 2021
US-Iran Relations in a Post-Trump World (Webinar)
In a recent cabinet meeting in Tehran, President Rouhani stated "Trump is dead but the nuclear deal is still alive". From the Iranian perspective, the ball is now in the United States' court to mend relations after former President Trump's policy of maximum pressure, including th ... Show More
1h 8m
Jul 2018
In Memoriam: Faleh A. Jabar (1946–2018)
Speakers: Deniz Kandiyoti, SOAS; Renad Mansour, Chatham House; Charles Tripp, SOAS
Chair: Toby Dodge, LSE Middle East Centre Director
This memorial honoured the late Faleh A. Jabar and his notable contribution to the study of Iraq and the wider Middle East. This event also marked ... Show More
51m 52s
Jul 2022
President Biden travels to the Middle East
Following President Biden’s first Middle East trip and on the eve of President Putin’s trip to Tehran, Fareed asks Vali Nasr, Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University if new cold war divisions are solidifying in the Middle East. Then, ... Show More
39m 47s
May 2023
The rehabilitation of Syria’s President Assad
This week a meeting of Arab foreign ministers - including Syria's - took place in Jordan's capital, Amman. Officials have been discussing Syria's potential return to the Arab League, after 12 years of civil war. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are dead, millions are refugees abr ... Show More
48m 59s