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Message from the Director
As the spring semester comes to a close and the summer holidays approach, we are wrapping up an exceptionally busy and productive period of research activities at CMES.
The semester included several well-attended events, such as a seminar with journalist Cecilia Uddén on Gaza and a book talk by Dalia Dassa Kaye on the enduring dynamics of US - Iran policy.
Our Spring 2026 CMES Seminar Series concluded on 5 June with a presentation by the ECO-Syria research team. The team shared findings from their three-year interdisciplinary project examining how conflict and cross-border hostilities shape environmental change and development in North and East Syria.
We are also pleased to announce that two new three-year CMES flagship research projects have been awarded funding. Elite Mobility is a timely, original, and intellectually ambitious project that explores the growing phenomenon of investment migration programmes in the Middle East and their implications for citizenship, statehood, and global inequality. Utopian Desert: Investigating Smart Cities in the Gulf Region addresses pressing questions at the intersection of urban studies, sustainability, technology, and Middle East studies. The project offers an innovative and theoretically sophisticated examination of emerging urban futures in the Gulf.
In a recent Regional Outlook, CMES researchers Hebatalla Taha and Dina Tawfik provide a timely analysis of Iran’s nuclear posture beyond conventional assumptions of weaponisation. Their study highlights Iran’s pursuit of nuclear latency and examines the implications for diplomacy and regional dynamics.
CMES has also launched two new funding calls: Research Initiation Grants and Workshop Grants. These schemes provide seed funding for the development of research projects, the preparation of applications for national and international funding opportunities, and the organisation of workshops and seminars with strong scientific potential. The application deadline is 31 August 2026.
We also warmly invite you to our Open House on 14 September, where you can meet our staff, learn more about our research activities, and explore our Arabic language courses.
Looking ahead, we have an exciting autumn seminar programme featuring both international scholars and researchers from Lund University. The series will begin with a book launch by CMES researchers Maria Småberg and Svante Lundgren on 9 September, and conclude on 17 December with a seminar on nature-based solutions by Masoumeh Mirsafah.
We wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable summer break and look forward to welcoming you back in the autumn with renewed energy and fresh inspiration.
Happy summer from all of us at CMES!
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Ronny Berndtsson
CMES Director,
