CMES

Newsletter #33

January/February 2023

Open Call for Applications: Writing Retreats at CMES in 2023

CMES supports writing retreats on Middle East research with the aim to finalize an article, book chapter, edited volume or book for publication in peer-reviewed outlets. CMES offers office space and modern research facilities in a stimulating work environment. Two writing retreats will be granted during the autumn of 2023. Applications are open to individual researchers who hold doctoral degrees and are employed by Lund University. Application Deadline: 31 March 2023

Mohammad Bouazizi and the Arab Spring

CMES doctoral researcher Joel Abdelmoez has been interviewed by Radio Sweden about the 12th anniversary of Mohammed Bouazizi's death in Tunisia and the Arab Spring. Tunisia was celebrated as a successful case of democratisation after the Arab Spring. Unfortunately, this development has been reversed following President Saeid's "self-coup" in 2021 when he suspended parliament. The interview aired on 5 January 2023 on P4 Kristianstad. Listen to the interview in Swedish here

Lina Eklund Receives Swedish National Space Agency Grant

CMES scholar Lina Eklund has received a career grant from the Swedish National Space Agency for a 4 year project on wildfires in the Middle East. Lina's project, "Pyrogeography in Conflict Contexts: Satellite Remote Sensing of Vegetation Fires in the Middle East", will investigate the fire regime, hotspots, and anomalies of vegetation fires across the Middle East over the period 2000-2020 and how these patterns relate to climate variability.

CMES Welcomes Olof Palme Visiting Professor Raphael Cohen-Almagor

The professorship is funded by the Swedish Research Council and hosted by CMES and the Department of Political Science. During his research visit at Lund University, Raphael Cohen-Almagor will present his research in various seminars at LU, University of Gothenburg, the Swedish Institute for International Affairs, Stockholm University, Folke Bernadotte Academy and Copenhagen University.

NATO and the Relationship Between Sweden and Turkey

CMES scholar Pinar Dinc has been interviewed by Dagens Nyheter about the relationship between Turkey and Sweden, Sweden's NATO application and recent protests in both countries. Pinar argues that Sweden's NATO membership is far from Erdogan's main focus in the upcoming election in Turkey, but it can be utilised in the matter of the Kurds in Turkey's domestic and foreign policy in Syria. The article was published on 26 January 2023. Read the article in Swedish here.

Seminar: Religious Belonging and Ethnic Identification in the Middle East

On 9 February, CMES and the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies (CTR) co-organized the seminar "Fluid Boundaries and Intertwined Identities – Religious Belonging and Ethnic Identification in the Middle East". Svante Lundgren (CTR), Hege Markussen (CTR) and Fanar Haddad (University of Copenhagen) presented their research on Israel, Turkey and Iraq. The event was chaired by Karin Aggestam.

Leysan Storie New MA Programme Director

Congratulations to CMES scholar Leysan Storie who is the new Programme Director for the Master of Arts Programme in Society and Politics of the Contemporary Middle East. The progamme is run by the Graduate School at Lund University. This interdisciplinary Master’s Programme aims to develop deeper knowledge about the Middle East of today, trains students in critical thinking and gives them the ability to apply this to current events and debates in and about the region. 

Workshop: Writing Policy Briefs

On 2 February, CMES co-organized a workshop about writing policy briefs with presentations from experts and a guided feedback session. The event was chaired by Lina Eklund (CMES) and Pinar Dinc (CMES), with presentations from Sarah Anne Rennick (CMES), Ana Maria Vargas Falla (ICLD) and Markku Rummukainen (CEC). The event addressed the process of writing policy briefs, good examples of policy impact and providing recommendations on how to increase policy impact.

Turkish Bombings of Kurdish Targets in Syria

CMES scholar Pinar Dinc has been interviewed by ETC about Turkish bombings in Syria. These bombings against Kurdish targets in northern Syria have worsened the already strained humanitarian situation in the al-Hol refugee camp. Continued attacks risk further destabilizing the region, thwarting international coordination to dismantle the camp and children being radicalized into the next generation of IS terrorists. Read the article in Swedish from 13 December 2022 here.

Is Diplomacy Still Relevant?

CMES Director Karin Aggestam has been interviewed about the lack of diplomatic negotiations in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has been going on for a year, but, so far, the focus has been placed on arms deliveries rather than on diplomacy. Karin argues that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a crystal clear example of an attack against a sovereign state which is prohibited by international law, which is what makes diplomatic negotiations difficult. Read the article here.

Wildfires in a Changing Climate

CMES scholar Lina Eklund recently participated in a panel discussion about wildfires at Doc Lounge in Malmö following a screening of the documentary film Paradise where she talked about her research on wildfires and climate change. On 1 March (18:00-19:30), she will give a talk (in Swedish) at the public library in Lund entitled "Forest Fires in a Warmer Climate". She will be speaking about about forest fires, connections to armed conflict and what we can do to learn to live with them.

"Forage Potential of Cereal–Legume Mixtures as an Adaptive Climate Change Strategy under Low Input Systems"

Authors: Rajia Kchaou, Salah Benyoussef, Sihem Jebari, Kalthoum Harbaoui and Ronny Berndtsson

"Noninvasive Monitoring of Subsurface Soil Conditions to Evaluate the Efficacy of Mole Drain in Heavy Clay Soils"

Authors: Akram Aziz, Ronny Berndtsson, Tamer Attia, Yasser Hamed and Tarek Selim

"Gender Discrimination in Israel"

Authors: Raphael Cohen-Almagor and Uki Maroshek-Klarman

"Assessing Climate Change Impact on Water Balance Components Using Integrated Groundwater–Surface Water Models (Case Study: Shazand Plain, Iran)"

Authors: Farzaneh Soltani, Saman Javadi, Abbas Roozbahani, Ali Reza Massah Bavani, Golmar Golmohammadi, Ronny Berndtsson, Sami Ghordoyee Milan and Rahimeh Maghsoudi

"Examining the Role of the Main Terrestrial Factors Won the Seasonal Distribution of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentration over Iran"

Authors: Seyed Mohsen Mousavi, Naghmeh Mobarghaee Dinan, 
Saeed Ansarifard, Faezeh Borhani, Keyvan Ezimand and Amir Naghibi