The talk was about Bowen’s book on the Arab-Israeli 1967 war and his perspective on the current situation. Jeremy Bowen has been Special Correspondent for BBC news since March 2003. He was previously the BBC ME Correspondent and has covered conflicts in over 70 countries throughout the world. Jeremy has won a number of awards…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The events of September 11th and the consequences’. The late Sir Marrack Goulding was Warden of St Antony’s College and former UN Under Secretary General.
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The Middle East peace process: where do we go from here’. Mr. Michael Binyon is leader writer for the Times and former Diplomatic correspondent for the Times from 1991-2000.
Read articleTalk entitled ‘Means versus ends: how to combat terrorism in the Middle East’. Dr Rosemary Hollis is head of the Middle East Programme at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House).
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The Middle East Peace Process: From breakthrough to breakdown’. Mr Afif Safieh was head of the Palestinian diplomatic delegation to the United Kingdom, the US and Russia.
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The Palestinian-Israeli conflict: what next?’. Avi Shlaim is Professor of International Relations at St Antony’s College, Oxford University and the author of the highly acclaimed book ‘The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World’ (Penguin, 2000). He is also a frequent contributor to newspapers (most recently the International Herald Tribune and the Guardian)…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘War crimes and the future of the Middle East: building on International Law’. Mr. Mallat is a lawyer at the Beirut bar and holds the Jean Monnet Chair in European Law at St Joseph’s University in Lebanon. He is also Amnesty International’s lawyer for the Middle East Regional Office which he helped establish…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The United States and the Arabs -friendly regimes and angry populations’. Dr Yamani is a specialist in social, political and human rights issues in the Arab states, as well as on women and Islam. She is currently Associate Fellow in the Middle East Programme of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House)…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘September 11 and the War on Terrorism: consequences for US policy in the region, including Iraq’. Mr. Halliday is Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science since 1983. He is a former chairman of the Research Committee of the Royal Institute of International Affairs and is a…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘Civil and uncivil violence in Lebanon: a discussion on political violence and post-war reconstruction and rehabilitation’. Samir Khalaf is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Behavioral Research at the American University of Beirut. Probably Lebanon’s best-known Sociologist, Professor Khalaf has also held academic appointments at Princeton, as a Fulbright Scholar…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The future role of UN peacekeeping in South Lebanon post the Israeli withdrawal, and the challenges that lie ahead for the UN both in Lebanon and the Middle East’. The late Sir was Warden at St Antony’s College, Oxford University, and former Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs and Peace-keeping Operations at the United…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘Current events in the Middle East: the impending war against Iraq and prospects for US-Arab relations’. Former US Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East and South Asia from 1983 to 1989 in the Reagan administration, and also served as US Ambassador to Syria (1974 to 1978), Saudi Arabia and the Philippines.…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The current crisis in the Middle East, the deterioration in US-Arab relations and the implications for Lebanon and the region’. Mr Tueni is one of Lebanon’s foremost statesmen and political writers. He is also the publisher and editor of Lebanon’s An-Nahar, one of the Arab world’s most credible and authoritative daily newspapers (established…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The current situation in the Middle East, as the region braces itself for a potential new war’. Glass, the world famous veteran journalist and reporter lived in Lebanon from 1972 to 1976 and again from 1983 to the end of 1984, was the Chief Middle East correspondent for ABC News from 1983 to…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The Bush Doctrine and Its Implications for US Foreign Policy’. Mr Polk was a member of the Policy Planning Council of the US Department of State. He then became Professor of History and founding Director of the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago, and the President of the Adlai…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘An assessment of economic and political prospects for Lebanon in the current regional climate’. Mr Lahoud is a former Ambassador to the United States, has served in the Lebanese Parliament as an MP for the Metn region, and was a Member of the Foreign Affairs, Budget and Finance Committees. In 2001, Mr Lahoud…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The upcoming Israeli elections and the implications for the region’. Mr La Guardia is Diplomatic Editor of the Daily Telegraph, and formerly their Middle East correspondent based in Jerusalem between 1990 and 1998. He is also author of the best selling and highly acclaimed book ‘Holy Land, Unholy war: Israelis and Palestinians’ (John…
Read articleA talk entitled ‘Iraq and the Arab Future’. David Ignatius writes a twice-weekly column on global politics, economics and international affairs for the Washington Post. He is a former executive editor of the Herald Tribune and was foreign editor of the Washington Post (1990-1992) supervising the paper’s Pulitzer Prize winning coverage of the Iraqi invasion…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The British Museum Excavations Project in Saida’. In a rare departure from our normal focus on current events and the politics of the Middle East, we were delighted to welcome Claude Doumet Serhal, one of Lebanon’s foremost archaeologists. She is a special assistant to the British Museum and since 1998 is the Director…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The impact of the current situation in the Middle East on Lebanon and prospects for the country’s economic recovery in 2003’. Marwan Hamadeh, Former Minister for the Displaced, and Member of Parliament is a former journalist and a highly respected and articulate politician.
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The Battens Come Down: How the Institutional Media Stifle Middle East Reporting’. Tim Llewellyn was the BBC Middle East correspondent based in Beirut from 1976 to 1980 and in Nicosia from 1987 to 1992. He has covered all the major stories in the Middle East in the past quarter century, including the Lebanese…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The Future of British- Arab Relations in Light of Current Events’. Sir David Gore-Booth, KCMG, KCVO was a distinguished diplomat who served as UK Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and India and was also head of the Middle East and North Africa Department at the Foreign Office.
Read articleTalk entitled ‘What Future for the Palestinian Authority?’. Yezid Sayigh is Academic Director of the Cambridge Programme for Security in International Society and a Teaching Fellow in the Politics and History of the Modern Middle East, Centre of International Studies, University of Cambridge. He is also a consulting Senior Fellow for the Middle East at…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘Syria: Friend or Foe of the West?’. Dr. Alan George, freelancer and broadcaster, has been closely involved with the Middle East since 1967. His first degree was from Oxford and his MA and PhD (on Syria) were from Durham. He frequently commentates on Middle East affairs on TV and radio. He is a…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The Middle East Road Map: Are the Parties Ready for Peace?’. Dr. Khalil Shikaki, an Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research (Ramallah) Dr. Shikaki took his Ph.D. from Columbia University and taught at several universities including Bir Zeit, Al Najah National University. He…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘Is A Two-State Solution Still Possible?’. Ghada, a leading Palestinian activist, academic, writer and a research Fellow at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. She also held posts at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, London and at the School of Oriental and African Studies. She was…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘Lebanon, the Arabs, and the Emerging Global Scenarios’. Ambassador Clovis Maksoud, Professor of International Relations and Director of the Centre for the Global South at the American University in Washington DC. Dr. Maksoud, a Lebanese national, was the League of Arab States Chief Representative to India and South East Asia from 1961 to…
Read articleA talk entitled ‘The Relationship between Islam and the West post September 11th’. Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is a senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Centre, a leading independent think tank in the UK that was launched in 1998 by Tony Blair and the then Foreign Minister Robin Cook. She writes a weekly column for the Independent…
Read articleMr. Siegman is Senior Fellow and Director of the US-Middle East Center at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He is a leading expert on the Middle East, Arab-Israeli relations and US Middle East policy. He was previously Executive Director of the American Jewish Congress from 1978-1994. He is a frequent contributor to…
Read articleA talk entitled ‘Oil: A Curse for the Arabs?’ given by Robert Mabro, a fellow of St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, the Director of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and a Senior Research Officer in the economics of the Middle East at Oxford.
Read article‘Lebanon and the Region: The Challenges’. This dinner talk celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Centre for Lebanese Studies under the patronage of H.E. Mr. Issam Fares, Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon, who was the guest of honour and keynote speaker.
Read articleTalk entitled ‘Building the Lebanon Brand’. Fiona Gilmore is the founding partner of Acanchi, a London based independent consultancy which specialises in strategy development for country brands. During a career spanning 25 years, she has advised on communications, strategy, brand positioning, architecture, innovation, migration, internal communication and identity for global leaders such as Vodafone, Unilever,…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The Lebanese abroad and how they can help the new Lebanon’. Dr. Philip Salem, the world renowned oncologist and cancer researcher, studied medicine at the American University of Beirut and began his career in cancer medicine in 1968 at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York. Back in Lebanon in 1971 he…
Read articleAn evaluation of, comparing and contrasting, the power sharing agreements that were used to regulate the ethno-national conflicts at different times in both divided societies in Northern Ireland, the 1973 Sunningdale Agreement and the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and in Lebanon the 1943 National Pact and the 1989 Ta’if Accords. Michael R. Kerr is…
Read articleFormer Prime Minister of Lebanon and MP for Tripoli, Najib Mikati, spoke about the present situation in Lebanon and the Near East.
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The future of Lebanon’. Chibli Mallat is a Professor of Law at St. Joseph University, a senior fellow at Yale Law School, and principal partner at Mallat Law Offices in Beirut. Chibli was an active member of the Cedar Revolution in February 2005 and is a strong supporter of voting rights for Lebanese…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘Democracy and Sectarianism: lessons from the Iraqi Experience’: How setting out the principles of a democratic government are sometimes in contradiction with the political realities on the ground and may require a more imaginative form of political system. A parallel was drawn with Lebanon which, like Iraq, suffers from sectarianism and a form…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The Future Role of Syria in the Region’. HE Mr. Sami Khiyami, Ambassador of Syria to the Court of St. James, spoke about The Future Role of Syria in the Region. In view of the aftermath of the Iraq invasion and in view of its relationship with Iran and Lebanon, Syria is called…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘Lebanon Under Western Eyes’. Alex discussed the Lebanon that emerged from her research trips and conversations with Lebanese of all communities and beliefs over the past three years. In particular she shared her observations about Lebanon’s special status as the quintessentially diverse, multi-confessional country of the Middle East, the evolving nature of Lebanese…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘Beirut: the City of Recurring Conflicts’. Since October 2004 Beirut has been rocked by a number of explosions in hitherto relatively safe districts which have targeted politicians, journalists and civilians. This mobile violence was coupled in the summer of 2006 by a war which damaged many of the roads and bridges connecting the…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘The Palestinian Triangle: Jordan, Israel and the Palestinians ‘. Largely from the perspective of the past, that of King Hussein.
Read articleTalk entitled ’60 Years of Damage: Israel and the Arab World since 1948′. Israel’s establishment in the Arab world sixty years ago impacted most immediately on the Palestinians. But what is often ignored is the extensive damage inflicted on the Arab frontline states and the Arab world in general. Lebanon especially has paid a heavy…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘Which Foreign Policy for Lebanon?. The interplay between the domestic and external environments affecting Lebanon’s foreign policy and the major changes in both environments which raise new challenges to foreign policy making’. Drawing on past experience and in light of a pro-active and successful foreign policy as a main source of national security,…
Read articlePatrick Seale, who is a well known British writer on Middle East Affairs, spoke on the theme of Syrian Geopolitics Under Bashar Al Asad (including Syria-Lebanon relations). Born in Ireland and educated at Oxford University, Patrick worked as a foreign correspondent in many parts of the world for Reuters and The Observer. For some fifteen…
Read articleDavid Gardner, Chief Leader Writer and Associate Editor of the Financial Times, gave a talk about ‘Arab Exception’, or why despotism, and Western collusion in preserving it, has held the Arab World back. David joined the Financial Times in 1978 and worked mainly as a foreign correspondent (Spain, Mexico & Central America, Brussels and New…
Read articleTalk entitled ‘New Prospects for Peace in the Middle East ?’. He analysed fresh aspects of the Arab Israeli conflict given the recently elected governments both in Israel and the United States. Henry Siegman is president of the US/Middle East Project, an independent policy institute which until 2006 was part of the Council on Foreign…
Read articleDr. Eugene Rogan’s spoke about his recent book ‘The Arabs: A History’ (published by Allen Lane November 2009). Dr. Rogan is a Faculty Fellow and University Lecturer in the Modern History of the Middle East at St. Antony’s College, Oxford, where he serves as Director of the Middle East Centre. The book is an authoritative…
Read articleTim Llwellyn, whose book ‘Spirit of the Phoenix: Beirut and the Story of Lebanon’, published by I.B. Tauris, spoke about the dangers for Lebanon and about the British media’s continued lack of enterprise and balance in reporting on Lebanon in particular – and its neighbours in general – in covering Hezbollah, the Lebanese South, the…
Read articleRami’s appointment in 2005 as the Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut follows a long career in journalism in the Middle East, especially in Jordan and Lebanon where he still serves as editor at large of the Beirut- based Daily Star newspaper. His…
Read articleDr. Mansel, who made his reputation as a historian and authority on nineteenth century France, and later wrote two excellent works on Constantinople and the Ottoman Empire, has very recently published a highly acclaimed book entitled ‘Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean’ where the Levant is seen through the history of three key cities,…
Read articleNadim Houry is Human Rights Watch’s senior researcher for Lebanon and Syria and the director of the Beirut office. His talk was entitled ‘Is Lebanon Reformable?’ In the course of his work Nadim has documented violations of international humanitarian law during the July 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. He has also researched human rights…
Read articleLord Michael Williams talked about “Lebanon and the UN After the 2006 War”. Lord Michael Williams was the UN Special Coordinator in Lebanon from 2008 to 2011 appointed by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. He will offered his perspectives on the latest developments in the region, especially relating to Lebanon. Lord Williams is very…
Read articleDINNER LECTURE H.E. AMBASSADOR TOM FLETCHER HELD AT THE SLOANE CLUB, ON 16th SEPTEMBER 2012 AT 7:30 PM Our guest of honour was Ambassador Tom Fletcher, who is currently serving as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Lebanon. He shared his insights on the current situation in Lebanon, and offered his perspective on the conflict in Syria…
Read articleThe Demobilisation of the Lebanese Militias Elizabeth Picard/ ISBN 1 870552 64 4 The Waters of the Litani in Regional Context John Kolars and Thomas Naff/ ISBN 1 870552 19 9 The Reconstruction of Beirut Oussama Kabbani/ ISBN 1 870552 34 2 The Questions of South Lebanon Fida Nasrallah/ ISBN 1 870552 39 3 The Document of National Understanding:…
Read articleRethinking Education for Social Cohesion – Edited by Maha Shuayb Breaking the Cycle – Civil wars in Lebanon – Edited by Youssef M Choueiri / ISBN 10:1905299532 – ISBN 13: 9781905299539 Distant Relations – Iran and Lebanon in the last 500 years – Edited by H.E. Chehabi and Hassan Mneimneh / ISBN 9781860645617 Lebanon and Arabism, 1936-1945 –…
Read articleWhilst a fellow at the Centre for Lebanese Studies Dr. Sami Hermez was involved in the following works: The Anthropology of Violence: ‘In the Meanwhile: Living Everyday in Anticipation of War in Lebanon’ – Dr. Sami Hermez The project examines how a constant anticipation of political violence in Lebanon has continued to impact the lives…
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April 20 and 21st 2013 at Bsous, Lebanon The workshop on “Healing Our Ancestral Past For A Better Future” aimed at exploring, honouring and healing connections between our past, present and future. This two-day workshop was facilitated by dynamic theatre trainers Mark Wentworth and Filipe De Moura from the UK and Portugal, respectively, and was held at the Silk…
Read articleCenter for Lebanese Studies and Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs and the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Media Studies (AUB) cordially invite you to the book launch of Rethinking Education for Social Cohesion: International Case Studies Editor: Maha Shuayb (2012) Palgrave Macmillan Including a panel and open discussion with Maha Shuayb,Dina Kiwan & Mark Farha…
Read articleNew Publication. Rethinking Education for Social Cohesion: International Case Studies. Editor: Maha Shuayb. Special launch price, order now and pay half price – £ 27.50 until February 2013. To order your copy at this special price, visit www.palgrave.com and quote discount code WSOCIAL2012a, or email order to [email protected] Alternatively use the PDF Order Form to…
Read articleProject Launch Invitation 26 September 2012 Under the Patronage of His Excellency Professor Hassan Diab Minister of Education and Higher Education The Ministry of Education and Higher Education Has the pleasure to invite you to the launching of The Citizenship Education Project Funded by the European Union On Wednesday September 26th, at 10:00am at the Ministry of Education…
Read article20 October 2012 College Hall, Auditorium B American University of Beirut Time: 8.30am – 2.30pm The Centre for Lebanese Studies, at St Antony’s College, Oxford University and the Lebanese Association for Educational Studies, in collaboration with the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Media Studies at the American University of Beirut, cordially invite you to attend a…
Read articleDINNER LECTURE H.E. AMBASSADOR TOM FLETCHER THE SLOANE CLUB, 16th SEPTEMBER 2012 AT 7:30 PM Our guest of honour will be Ambassador Tom Fletcher, who is currently serving as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Lebanon. He will share his insights on the current situation in Lebanon, and offer his perspective on the conflict in Syria…
Read articleInspired by hearing of the success of the November 2011 HWH Conference in Lebanon, The Rwandan Government”s NURC (National Unity and Reconciliation Commission) invited many members of the HWH team, including Alexandra Asseily of the CLS, to go to Kigali in June for another 3-day Conference Workshop. This was funded by the GHFP and several Rwandan…
Read articleWorkshop Program 18-19th May 2012 Centre for Lebanese Studies – MEC/ St Antony’s College – Oxford University This workshop focuses on Lebanon’s contemporary borders/boundaries and their relationship with identity questions. It aims at studying three dimensions that ‘border studies’ used to separate for research purposes. First, the physical aspects of territorial delimitations and their implications…
Read articleThis book offers a critical analysis of the theories underpinning the current approaches and practices of social cohesion. The contributions examine the ethics and policy making of social cohesion, critiquing the nationalistic and economic driven objectives which dominate the field to propose a multi-dimensional approach underpinned by social justice and care. Exploring the challenges…
Read articleBuilding on the success of the Byblos conference a 3-day Constellation workshop was held at the Bsous Silk Museum on 29th-31st March 2012, facilitated by Gaye Donaldson and Matthew Pruen. Systemic Constellation Work is a practical and profound way of broadening the perspective of individuals and groups involved with conflict. It is best practiced in…
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In Sept 2012, the Centre for Lebanese Studies, the Institute for Education at University of London, Lebanese Association for Educational Studies (LAES) and Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT) established a consortium and won the bid to implement a citizenship education reform initiated by the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) and funded by the…
Read articleIn 2009 the Centre launched a project aimed at piloting the impact of adopting a whole school approach to social cohesion and citizenship education on young people’s political and civic attitudes. In Lebanon, the current and most predominant approach to citizenship education relies on teaching civics one hour per week. However, research showed that this…
Read articleProject Overview A Whole School Approach to Active Citizenship Education and Social Cohesion The project aims to support schools in promoting active citizenship, and social cohesion through a sustainable and holistic educational programme that emphasizes critical pedagogies, democratic practices at school, and strong school/community relationships. This educational programme is proposed as an alternative to the…
Read articleOn ‘Healing the wounds of history’. The CLS is currently planning an international conference entitled ‘Healing the Wounds of History: Addressing Roots of Violence’ to be held on 11-13 November 2011 in Byblos, Lebanon. A collaboration between the CLS, the Guerrand-Hermes Foundation for Peace and the Lebanese American University. Please refer to the Conference…
Read articleFeatures updates about the recent workshop and the research team at the Centre for Lebanese Studies. Please refer to the Centre for Lebanese Studies Newsletter.
Read articleSocial and Political Change in the Aftermath of the 2005 Hariri Assassination: Implications for Everyday Life in Lebanon May 20, 2011 Introductions and Welcome Remarks: George Asseily, Centre for Lebanese Studies; Luc Borot, Maison Francaise d’Oxford Lebanese Political Parties and the Politics of Sectarianism Bernard Rougier Syria and Sunni Lebanon After 2005: Stakes and…
Read articleOn Social and Political Change in Lebanon. ‘Social and Political Change in the Aftermath of the 2005 Hariri Assassination: Implications for Everyday Life in Lebanon’, One-day workshop. 10:30am to 6pm, organized by CLS fellow Sami Hermez – St. Antony’s College, Oxford University. Please refer to the Conference Programme.
Read articleNadim Houry is Human Rights Watch’s senior researcher for Lebanon and Syria and the director of the Beirut office. His talk entitled ‘Is Lebanon Reformable?’. In the course of his work Nadim has documented violations of international humanitarian law during the July 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. He has also researched human rights violations…
Read articleCLS fellow at University of Cambridge, Dr Maha Shuayb, gave a talk at Notre Dame University on the 28th of March entitled ‘Education in Lebanon: Toward More Sectarianism and Conflict? The Role of Faith and Secular Schools’.
Read articleThe CLS research team presented the findings of their study of history education in Lebanon. The research findings were presented at a conference organised by the Lebanese Association for Educational Research entitled ‘History Education: a lesson from Lebanon and to Lebanon’ which took place on the 24th and 25th of March in Rivera Hotel, Beirut.…
Read articlePart of the ‘Education for social cohesion project’, a strategy planning day took place on the 21st of March. The event aimed at designing a plan for addressing the main challenges encountered by teachers at a public school. The event was designed and delivered by the ‘extra-curricular committee’ at the school, headed by Ms Fatema…
Read articleDr. Mansel, who made his reputation as a historian and authority on nineteenth century France, and later wrote two excellent works on Constantinople and the Ottoman Empire, has very recently published a highly acclaimed book entitled ‘Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean’ where the Levant is seen through the history of three key cities,…
Read articleRami’s appointment in 2005 as the Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut follows a long career in journalism in the Middle East, especially in Jordan and Lebanon where he still serves as editor at large of the Beirut- based Daily Star newspaper. His…
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