This event, as part of the LSE Middle East Centre's Kurdish Studies Series, was the launch of Mustafa Kemal Topal's latest book 'Women Fighters in the Kurdish National Movement: Transforming Gender Politics and the PKK' published by I.B. Tauris.This book examines how the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has become a platform for shifts in gender poli…

In May 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Jeff Legro, University Professor at the University of Richmond, and Visiting Professor at the Phelan US Centre for 2023-24. They spoke about the US’ role as a “unipolar” country in the world, conceptions of sovereignty, both in the US and abroad, the potential future of US foreign policy, and the relationsh…

This event was a launch of Professor Christopher Phillips' latest book 'Battleground: 10 Conflicts that Explain the New Middle East' published by Yale University Press.The Middle East is in crisis. The shocking events of the war in Gaza have rocked the entire region. More than a decade ago, the Arab Spring had raised hopes of a new beginning but in…

In 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Brooke Gladstone, host and Managing Editor of WNYC’s On the Media about the US’ changing media landscape, the meaning of truth and facts in the age of Donald Trump, and how we can teach the next generation to be better media consumers.This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.…

How did the radio, a major technological development in the history of sound and music, change the social, cultural and political landscape of the region? In this last episode of the season, we speak to audio curator Hazem Jamjoum, and Elias Anastas and Saeed Abu Jaber, two of the co-founders of the Palestinian radio station Radio Al Hara. We find …

As of April 2024, according to UN experts, over 80% of schools have been damaged or destroyed by the Israeli assault on Gaza, with 5479 students, 261 teachers and 95 university professors killed and many thousands injured. Every university in Gaza is partially or wholly destroyed, whether by bombing or demolition. Amidst the systematic destruction …

This webinar was a launch of 'Industrial Policy in Turkey: Rise, Retreat and Return' by William Hale, Mustafa Kutlay and Mina Toksoz published by Edinburgh University Press.At a time when many advanced and emerging economies are adopting more active industrial policies, this book provides an in-depth historical–empirical account of industrial polic…

In May 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to author and journalist for Slate magazine and Phelan US Centre Visiting Senior Fellow, Fred Kaplan about his 2020 book, The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War and the changing attitudes of US politicians and policymakers to nuclear weapons and nuclear war.This Extra Inning was …

A shining city on a hill. America the beautiful. The United States has long been mythologised as the land of dreams and opportunity. And since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s it has been undisputedly the most powerful nation on earth. But is it a fading force? The idea of an America in decline has gained traction in recent years and…

How did China—the world’s largest communist nation—converge with global capitalism? And when did this occur? In this event, held on 7 May 2024, Dr Elizabeth Ingleson of the LSE Department of International History and Phelan US Centre Affiliate argued that this convergence began in the early 1970s, when the United States and China re-opened trade an…

A shining city on a hill. America the beautiful. The United States has long been mythologised as the land of dreams and opportunity. And since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s it has been undisputedly the most powerful nation on earth. But is it a fading force? The idea of an America in decline has gained traction in recent years and…

This episode explores the link between technology, warfare and nationalism. Turkey and Israel are two countries in the region who have developed their technological capabilities for both domestic and international conflict. We speak to two researchers who have been tracing the use of military technologies and the effect they have had on a sense of …

In 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor John Owen, Ambassador Henry J. and Mrs. Marion R. Taylor Professor of Politics, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture and the Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, and an Academic Visitor at Nuffield College, University of Oxford from January to June …

What does the era of ‘big data’ mean for development technologies in MENA? How can data be used for good, to ensure projects working with vulnerable communities such as informal workers and women are seen and supported? What kind of repercussions does poor data collection have on emerging technologies? How can data-driven research and technology im…

In April 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Elizabeth Ingleson, Assistant Professor in the Department of International History at LSE and Centre Affiliate of the Phelan US Centre. They spoke about Dr Ingleson’s new book, Made in China: When US-China Interests Converged to Transform Global Trade. They also discussed the evolution of the US-China …

In March 2024, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Elizabeth Saunders, Professor of Political Science at Columbia University about her new book, ‘The Insiders’ Game: How Elites Make War and Peace’ and the role of ‘elites’ in US foreign policymaking.This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.…

Writer and art critic, Rahel Aima, who grew up and currently lives in Dubai, talks to us about living in the Gulf, a region rapidly developing itself as the place to be for smart cities and high-tech living. Rahel explores a concept she has been thinking about for some time, the Khaleeji Ideology, which meets at the intersection of technology, econ…

This event, co-organised with LSE IDEAS, was the launch of the special issue ‘Arab Constitutional Responses to the Revolutions and Transformations in the Region’ published in the Journal of Constitutional Law in the Middle East and North Africa. The special issue is the result of a two year collaboration between the Carnegie Corporation, the Arab A…

Nearly ten years since the onset of the crisis in Yemen this discussion provided an in-depth assessment of the conflict over the past decade. Panellists examined the local origins of the war, the humanitarian catastrophe that has ensued, and the challenges for sustainable development given the prolonged violence. Regional dynamics fueling the crisi…

In March 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Jennifer Carlson of Arizona State University, and 2022 MacArthur Fellow, about her new book, Merchants of the Right: Gun Sellers and the Crisis of American Democracy. They also discuss the symbolism and political value guns have in American politics and society.This Extra Inning was produced by …

Why do some countries, such as China and Russia, stand outside of the liberal international order and oppose values that the West takes for granted – values such as liberty and democracy? For the late Professor Christopher Coker the answer lay in the rise of a new political entity, the civilizational state. In an episode of LSE iQ which explored Ch…

How can art complicate claims of progress, innovation and the use of rapidly developing emerging technologies in MENA? In this episode, Cima Chehab speaks to visual artist Nadim Choufi about how he incorporates technology into his artwork both as subject matter and as medium.In the conversation, they discuss Nadim’s own artistic practice, his use o…

In March 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Jason Casellas about how the role of Latino voters in the United States and their changing voting patterns. They also discuss how Latino voters might influence the 2024 presidential election.Jason Casellas is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Houston and is the John G…

Majd Al-Shihabi of 'Palestine Open Maps' and Sana Yazigi of the 'Creative Memory of the Syrian Revolution' talk to us about how they have centered their archiving processes around maps, and what digital archiving can do for Palestinian and Syrian community-building.This episode also features comment from Dr Sara Salem and Dr Mai Taha of LSE, who ex…

This event was the launch Zoe Hurley's new book 'Social Media Influencing in the City of Likes: Dubai and the Postdigital Condition'.Evaluating the cases of multiple influencers, from local to transnational content creators, Hurley reveals how residents, non-citizens and migrant workers survive as influencers in the city of ‘likes.’ Providing de-We…

In February 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Mathieu Duchâtel, Resident Senior Fellow and Director of International Studies at Institut Montaigne about transatlantic convergence between the EU and the United States on China policy. They also discussed the fault lines between the EU and US on China policy, and how China has responded to these d…

This event was co-organised by the LSE Middle East Centre and the LSE Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa.This panel explored the crisis in Sudan through the prism of ‘disconnection’, exploring the various disconnects and discordances that have formed between Sudanese popular groups, state institutions and international institutions. Stopping the viol…

Iraq’s engagement with fintech is new but rapidly developing, amidst a contemporary economic history that has struggled with foreign intervention and internal corruption, while Iranians have been engaging with a form of fintech - alternative digital currencies - for some time, to evade and work around sanctions and a crippled economy.In this episod…

This event was the launch Eylaf Bader Eddin's new book 'Translating the Language of the Syrian Revolution' published by De Gruyter Press.For activists, researchers, and journalists, the Syrian Revolution was primarily a revolution in language; a break with the linguistic oppression and rigidity of old regimes. This break was accompanied by the emer…

On March 5th, 16 US states and territories held primary elections to decide the 2024 Republican and Democratic presidential nominees: a day known as “Super Tuesday”. The Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Jason Casellas about the Super Tuesday results, the primary race so far, and what the trends may mean for the general election in November.Jason…

Are we on the verge of a weight-loss revolution?Are weight-loss jabs the answer to Britain’s obesity crisis? Should we be doing more to tackle the root causes?Joanna Bale talks to Helen, who found Ozempic ‘life-changing’, Clinical Psychologist Sarah Appleton, and LSE’s Nikki Sullivan & Paul Frijters.Research links:The relationship between obesity a…

In January 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Andrew Rudalevige, the Thomas Brackett Reed Professor of Government at Bowdoin College and visiting professor in the LSE’s Department of Government for the 2023-24 academic year. They spoke about the separation of powers in US government and the executive branch, and former President Trump’s potential p…

What kind of advancements have we seen in artificial intelligence in the Middle East and North Africa in the contemporary period, how has this technology been used for good and where has it maintained structures of inequality?In this talk by Nagla Rizk, Professor of Economics at the American University in Cairo, the potential opportunities and chal…

Smartphones, food-only debit cards, biometric data checks at border crossings, these are some of the ways refugees and migrants interact with technology in their daily lives both in the region and the diaspora.This episode unpacks the benefits, ambivalences and concerns surrounding these technologies. Our guests, Dr Reem Talhouk and Dr Yener Bayram…

In January 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Jordan Tama, Provost Associate Professor at American University’s School of International Service about his new book, Bipartisanship and US Foreign Policy: Cooperation in a Polarized Age. They also discussed how party control in the US government can influence foreign policy, the changing coalitions …

The Abbasid and British Empires are the nexus through which our two guests, Dr Ahmed Ragab and Dr Katayoun Shafiee explore technology, knowledge production and power. This episode charts medieval paper production and Abbasid-era hospitals to the "discovery" of oil by foreign entrepreneurs in southern Iran, exploring the different ways technological…

In 2023 the Phelan US Centre spoke to the authors of the Brattle Group Report on Reparations for Transatlantic Chattel Slavery, which estimates reparations for the total harm from enslavement, including to those who were enslaved and to their descendants. Dr. Coleman Bazelon, Rohan Janakiraman, and Mary Olson discuss their report and how it can inf…

More than one in four people in the UK, from solidly middle-class backgrounds, mistakenly think of themselves as working-class. Why is this? In this episode of Extra iQ, a shorter style of the LSE iQ podcast, Sue Windebank speaks to Sam Friedman, a sociologist of class and inequality at LSE to find out more. Sam spoke to the podcast in November 202…

What kinds of obstacles are people in MENA facing with regards to access to technological opportunity and concerns around digital rights abuses? How are they tied to global challenges? Dr Nakeema Stefflbauer, tech executive, investor and digital rights advocate shares her thinking.This episode also features comment from Kassem Mnejja and Marwa Fata…

In January 2024, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Ashley Tellis, the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about how the US has engaged with China economically in recent decades. They discuss how the US’ strategy towards China has shifted across recent presidencies, the effectiveness …

In 2023, the Phelan US Centre spoke to spoke to William C. Wohlforth, Daniel Webster Professor in the Department of Government at Dartmouth College, about the United States’ role as the world’s unipolar power. They also discuss the rise of China and what this means for the international role of the United States, and his upcoming book, with Jill Ka…

In 2023 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Theda Skocpol, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University about her new book, with Lainey Newman, Rust Belt Union Blues Why Working-Class Voters Are Turning Away from the Democratic Party. Using Western Pennsylvania as a case study, their book examines the decline of …

This event, as part of the LSE Middle East Centre's Kurdish Studies Series, was the launch of 'Voices That Matter: Kurdish Women at the Limits of Representation in Contemporary Turkey' by Marlene Schäfers, published by the University of Chicago Press.In Turkey, recent decades have seen Kurdish voices gain increasing moral and political value as met…

This episode of LSE iQ asks, ‘How can we tackle loneliness?’. According to the Office for National Statistics, 7.1 per cent of adults in Great Britain - nearly 4 million people - say they 'often or always' feel lonely. Look around you when you’re in a crowded place – a supermarket or an office - 1 in 14 of the people you’re looking at are likely to…

In 2023, the Phelan US Centre ran an essay competition for master’s students with the prompt, “What responsibility does the US have to the rest of the world on climate change?”. In this Extra Inning, we speak to the author of the winning essay, Oscar Parry, and the runners-up, Jibran Raja and Alia Yusuf. We discuss the essay competition, what it’s …

This event launched 'Dismantling Green Colonialism: Energy and Climate Justice in the Arab Region' edited by Hamza Hamouchene and Katie Sandwell, published by Pluto Press.The Arab region is a focus of world politics, with authoritarian regimes, significant fossil fuel reserves and histories of colonialism and imperialism. It is also the site of pot…

In 2023 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Amanda Sahar d’Urso, Assistant Professor at Georgetown University and Dr Tabitha Bonilla, Associate Professor at Northwestern University, about their recent article Religion or Race? Using Intersectionality to Examine the Role of Muslim Identity and Evaluations on Belonging in the United States in the Journa…

This event was the launch of 'Broken Bonds: The Existential Crisis of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, 2013–22' by Abdelrahman Ayyash, Amr ElAfifi, and Noha Ezzat published by Century International.In this original Century International book, the authors argue that the Brotherhood is experiencing multiple crises—of identity, legitimacy, and membership—w…

This panel was an opportunity for students to hear about different pathways into Middle East related fields.Meet the speakers:Marwa Baabbad is Director of the Yemen Policy Centre. She is a researcher and development consultant with over ten years of experience working in the fields of community engagement, gender, peace and security, and youth poli…

This event was the launch of the paper 'A New Diaspora of Saudi Exiles: Challenging Repression from Abroad' by Professor Madawi Al-Rasheed published under the LSE Middle East Centre Paper Series.Since the rise of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman in 2017, a new wave of exodus began, that has pushed feminists, young students, secularists, Islam…