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The Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies (CMES)

CMES was founded in 2007 to support, coordinate and expand research at Lund University (LU) on the Middle East.

These efforts will encourage and produce research with a more innovative, critical and multidisciplinary approach towards Middle Eastern studies.

Our goal is to produce research at the highest international level. However we also believe that our research is vital for individuals working in or with the Middle East, the center is investing in developing innovative means of communication that will allow us to frequently and effectively work with the business sector, state institutions and organizations, NGOs and others that can benefit from our knowledge.

While the imperative of providing new ideas and understandings of the Middle East is clear, the center’s innovative outreach programs allow us to contribute our knowledge, experience and networks to the rest of the world.

Research on the Middle East and Semitic languages has existed at Lund since it was founded in 1666. Over the last three decades, research on the region has developed significantly within the faculties of Social Science, Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Engineering, and is now a priority of the university administration. 

Welcome to CMES!

We are located at Finngatan 16 in central Lund

A Priority for the Swedish Government

Through the Swedish Research Council, the Government has awarded CMES with substantial research funding to create the strategic research area titled “The Middle East in the Contemporary World” or MECW. This funding is the backbone of the center’s research and our platform for engagement with the international community.