Now well into the autumn semester, several milestone activities have taken place, with additional events forthcoming. The first cohort of PhD students, recruited as part of the transition to CMES/MECW 2.0 in 2021, is now reaching the conclusion of their doctoral studies. Behshid Khodai has successfully defended her PhD thesis on modelling techniques for assessing water availability at the Faculty of Engineering. Two more PhD vivas are scheduled for this semester: Rami Zalfou will defend his thesis in Economic History, focusing on Syrian economic development and migrant integration, in early December, while Joel Abdelmoez will defend his thesis in Political Science on feminist activism and solidarities in Egypt and Tunisia later in December. This PhD cohort exemplifies the interdisciplinary nature of the research undertaken at the Centre.
Two policy-relevant articles have also been published recently — one in The Conversation on the history of Swedish civil society organisations in Palestine, and another in CMES Regional Outlook addressing the recent ceasefire in Gaza and Trump’s 20-point plan.
The CMES team continues to grow. We are delighted to welcome two new PhD students — Dina Tawfik in Political Science and Khaoula El Omrani in Islamic Studies — as well as a new Administrative Coordinator, Pia Tham, who will commence her position at CMES in December.
Looking ahead, two highly topical CMES events are scheduled for November. The first is the launch of the edited volume by Pinar Dinç and Olga Selin Hünler, The Republic of Turkey and Its Unresolved Issues – 100 Years and Beyond. The second is a joint lecture by Rami Nasrallah and Haim Yacobi addressing the critical theme of envisioning the future of Palestine/Israel.
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/ Karin Aggestam, CMES Director and MECW Coordinator