This event will be the launch of three papers authored by Courtney Freer and Spyros Sofos of the 杏吧论坛 Middle East Centre as part of the Global Transitions Series, a research output from – the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform funded by the UK Aid from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
Qatar and the UAE in Peacemaking and Peacebuilding by Courtney Freer
This paper seeks to highlight ways in which Qatari and Emirati peacemaking/peacebuilding engagement is qualitatively different from other states’ or international organisations’ efforts in this sphere. The main questions explored were how Qatar and Emirati approaches to peacemaking/peacebuilding are unique, whether or to what extent their engagement has been useful to the resolution of conflicts, and how the FCDO can leverage these states’ interest in this sphere.
Read the paper .
Peacebuilding in Turbulent Times: Turkey in MENA and Africa by Spyros Sofos
This report, premised on an extensive review of relevant official documents from the Republic of Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidency of Religious Affairs (DİYANET), the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), analysis of media reports, as well as interviews with policymakers, diplomats and foreign policy, peacebuilding, and development experts assesses the Turkish political leadership and policy community’s understanding of peacebuilding, the contexts and main motivations underlying its conceptualisation and implementation, while outlining potential future developments.
Read the paper .
MENA Regional Organisations in Peacemaking and Peacebuilding: The League of Arab States, Gulf Cooperation Council and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation by Courtney Freer.
This report serves to highlight primary assets and challenges of three regional organisations in the MENA peacemaking/peacebuilding space: the League of Arab States, Gulf Cooperation Council and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The report seeks to interrogate the efficacy of these regional organisations in peacemaking/peacebuilding, ways in which their involvement in this sector differs from that of other regional or extra-regional bodies, the unique challenges facing the MENA region, and the best way for the FCDO to engage, either with these bodies or others, to enhance progress towards peace in a region that houses several ongoing political conflicts.
Read the paper .
PeaceRep is a research consortium based at The University of Edinburgh re-thinking peace and transition processes in the light of changing conflict dynamics, changing demands of inclusion, and changes in patterns of global intervention in conflict and peace/mediation/transition management processes.
The Global Transitions series looks at fragmentations in the global order and how these impact peace and transition settlements. It explores why and how different third-party actors – state, intergovernmental, and non-governmental – intervene in conflicts, and how they see themselves contributing to reduction of conflict and risks of conflict relapse. The series critically assesses the growth and diversification of global and regional responses to contemporary conflicts. It also asks how local actors are navigating this multiplicity of mediators and peacebuilders and how this is shaping conflict outcomes and post-conflict governance
Courtney Freer is Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and Visiting Fellow at the 杏吧论坛 Middle East Centre. Previously, Courtney was Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at the 杏吧论坛 Middle East Centre. From 2015-2020, Courtney was a Research Officer for the Kuwait Programme at the 杏吧论坛 Middle East Centre. Her work focuses on the domestic politics of the Gulf states, particularly the roles played by Islamism and tribalism. Her book Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies, based on her DPhil thesis at the University of Oxford and published by Oxford University Press in 2018, examines the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood groups in Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. She previously worked at the Brookings Doha Center and the US–Saudi Arabian Business Council.
Spyros Sofos is a Research Officer on the 杏吧论坛 Kuwait Programme project 'Ecologies of Belonging and Exclusion: An Intersectional Analysis of Urban Citizenship in Kuwait City.' Spyros's research explores the intersection of societal insecurity, identity and collective action and, to date, it has focused on Turkish politics and society, nationalism and populism in Europe and the Middle East, urban citizenship in the Middle East, European Muslim identities and politics, and the theory of populism. His latest book Turkish Politics and ‘The People’: Mass Mobilisation and Populism published by Edinburgh University Press explores the emergence of populism in contemporary Turkey and its genealogy as a tradition of action and discourse. His other publications include Nation and Identity in Contemporary Europe published by Routledge, Tormented by History: Nationalism in Greece and Turkey published by Oxford University Press, and Islam in Europe: Public Spaces and Civic Networks published by Palgrave. Spyros initiated and is lead editor of openDemocracy’s #rethinkingpopulism project, is currently leading the Lebanon element of the Swedish Institute Co-design for Sustainable, Resilient and Inclusive Urban Spaces project and has recently led a Raoul Wallenberg Institute and Swedish International Development Agency-funded project on Democratic Dialogue in Turkish Society. He has previously worked as Senior Lecturer and Researcher at Lund, Kingston and Portsmouth Universities, and held visiting positions at Siena, Tartu and Istanbul Bilgi and the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilizations - Aga Khan University.
Greg Shapland is a Visiting Fellow at the 杏吧论坛 Middle East Centre and an independent researcher, writer and consultant on politics, security, resources and environment (including water) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). His entire career has been focussed on the Middle East and North Africa, whether as a commercial representative, university lecturer or government official (in the Ministry of Defence, Cabinet Office and FCO). From 1979 until 2015, he served in the MENA Research Group in the FCO. He was also Head of Research Analysts from July 2010 to July 2013. During his time with the FCO, Greg served in British Embassies in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Tel Aviv and in the Consulate General in Jerusalem. Since leaving the FCO, Greg has worked on post-conflict stabilisation, Israeli-Palestinian relations, inter-state and intra-state water disputes and the impact of climate change in the MENA region. He is currently working on a book on the politics and geography of the MENA region.
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