The Fourth Edition of the Summer School NAMEPES (Middle East Politics) will take place from 2nd July until 5th July at the University of Trento.
Contents
The Summer School intends to cover current developments of political and current affairs in the Middle East, but also to provide theoretical and methodological frameworks for those who want to enter the field of Middle Eastern studies (both in anticipation of an academic career and for a policy career). The macro-themes covered in this edition are the following:
- Theoretical approach: how to integrate IR and Middle East studies-other disciplines and integration with IR when looking at the Middle East.
- Peace and conflict in the MENA region-including Israel Palestine, regional role of Iran, with an additional focus on Yemen and its role over the Red Sea and the commercial routes.
- The EU in the MENA: objectives, tools and challenges-external action/ migration/ normative power vs economic power.
Teaching Committee
- Pejman Abdolmohammadi is Associate Professor in Middle Eastern Studies at the School of International Studies at University of Trento (Italy). He is also the Academic Coordinator of NAMEPES Project. His main research areas are the security and politics of the Middle East, with a particular focus on the geopolitics of the Persian Gulf and the Iranian domestic affairs and foreign policy.
- Ali M. Ansari is Professor of Modern History at the University of St. Andrews (UK) and founding director of the Institute of Iranian Studies. His research focuses on Iranian nation-building, social and intellectual history, ideology and myth, and Iran’s relations with the West.
- Giulia Daga is an PhD Alumna at the School of International Studies (University of Trento), currently a Researcher in the MENA Programme at IAI (Istituto Affari Internazionali) and an adjunct lecturer at John Cabot University, IULM University, and IES Study Abroad. Her research interests include the international relations of the Persian Gulf, with a focus on Oman.
- Fawaz A. Gerges is Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and holder of the Emirates Professorship in Contemporary Middle East Studies. He was also the inaugural Director of the LSE Middle East Centre (UK).
- Joel Gordon, Editor of the International Journal of Middle East Studies since 2019, is a political and cultural historian of modern Egypt and the Middle East at the University of Arkansas (US). His research focuses on political change, popular culture, historical memory and mass media, with particular attention to Egypt and the cultural aspects of Nasserism.
- Laura Guercio is a lawyer and professor of "Sociology of Political and Legal Phenomena" at the University of Perugia (Italy) and of “International Relations and Intelligence Systems” at the Cusano University (Italy). She has served as Secretary General of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Human Rights at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and worked in several international projects in countries such as Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Palestine, and Afghanistan. Her research focuses on women's rights in the MENA region.
- Lorenzo Macellari is PhD Candidate at the University of Trento, where he graduated in European and International Studies, and in Comparative, European and International Legal Studies. He also worked as an intern at the Italian Embassy in Baghdad. His research interests include the evolution of hybrid regimes, focusing on the Iranian hybrid regime.
- Mahmood Sariolghalam is professor of International Relations, member of the Advisory Group at the Atlantic Council in Washington, and non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute. His research focuses on the international politics of the Middle East, Iranian foreign policy and political culture.
- Maysaa Shuja Al-Deen is senior researcher at the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies (Yemen). She has collaborated with Carnegie, Al Jazeera Studies Center and the Atlantic Council. Her research focuses on religious groups and actors in Yemen.
- Valeria Talbot is Senior Research Fellow and Head of ISPI's Middle Esat and North Africa Centre
Program
Tuesday, 2 July International relations and the Middle East
9:00 – 9:30. Registration
9:30 – 9:40. Introduction, S. Schiavo (AUDITORIUM)
9:40 – 11:30. “The International Relations of the Middle East”, P. Abdolmohammadi (AUDITORIUM) 11:30 – 12:00. Break
12:00 – 13:30. Keynote speech,“Gaza and the Great Rupture in International Relations: Geopolitical and Geoeconomic Implications in the Middle East”, F.A. Gerges (AUDITORIUM) 13:30 – 15:30. Lunchbreak
15:30 – 17:30. Welcome, networking, and ice breaking activities (ROOMS 113, 116, 119)
Wednesday, 3 July Case study: Iran
9:30 – 11:00. “The Twilight of the Islamic Republic?”, A. M. Ansari (AUDITORIUM) 11:00 – 11:30. Break
11:30 – 13:00. Keynote speech,“The New Emerging Geopolitical and Geo-Economic Matrix in the Middle East”, M. Sariolghalam (AUDITORIUM)
13:00 – 15:00. Lunchbreak
15:00 – 17:00. Practical activity on Iran with L. Macellari (ROOMS 113, 116, 119)
Thursday, 4 July Case study: Israel-Palestine in the regional and international context
9:30 – 11:00. “Peace Process and International Justice: The Role of the ICC and ICJ in the Middle Eastern Framework”, L. Guercio (AUDITORIUM)
11:00 – 11:30. Break
11:30 – 13:00. “October Wars in the Middle East: History, Conjecture and the Unspeakable”, J. Gordon (AUDITORIUM)
13:00 – 15:00. Lunchbreak
15:00 – 16:30. “The Evolving Geopolitical Context: a Focus on the Gulf Monarchies”, V. Talbot (AUDITORIUM)
16:30. Group picture and videos
19:45. Social dinner
Friday, 5 July Case study: The Arabian Peninsula
9:30 – 11:00.“The EU and the Arabian Peninsula”, G. Daga (AUDITORIUM)
11:00 – 11:30. Break
11:30 – 13:00. “The Impact of Red Sea Attacks on the Peace Process in Yemen”, M. Shuja Al-Deen (AUDITORIUM)
13:00 – 15:00. Lunch break
15:00 – 17:00. “From theory to practice: workshop on policy recommendations”, G. Daga (ROOMS 113, 116, 119)
Past editions
NAMEPES Summer School past editions
Academic Coordinator
Prof. Pejman Abdolmohammadi; p.abdolmohammadi [at] unitn.it
Contacts
- NAMEPES Team: namepes [at] unitn.it
- School of International Studies - Program Office: sis [at] unitn.it
in cooperation with:
