LSE Middle East Centre

With tensions involving Iran, Israel and the United States drawing global attention, policymakers are again being reminded how quickly geopolitical shocks can threaten critical energy routes and international supply chains.

For and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, this is not only a geopolitical challenge. It is a strategic warning that the future of policy cannot be framed solely around production, exports or emissions targets. It must also be framed around resilience, write Jean H. El Achkar and Francisco de Melo Viríssimo (Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment) for the MEC blog.

Read here: https://ow.ly/kuBo50Z7feW

Find out more about the authors' research project, Scenario-Based Policy Modelling for Kuwait’s Bioenergy Transition to Net Zero: https://ow.ly/I2pG50Z7feU

Geopolitical Shock and the Green Transition: Why Kuwait Needs a Resilience-Led Net Zero Strategy - Middle East Centre With tensions in the region, policymakers are being reminded how quickly geopolitical shocks can threaten critical energy routes and international supply chains.

How has the image of the Palestinian mother been repurposed to sell banking and telecommunications products in the West Bank? Read Leverhulme Early Career Fellow Polly Withers in Feminist Theory

HTTP Status 429 – Too Many Requests

On Friday, we hosted Day 2 of The British Academy Algeria: Historical Struggles and Imagined Utopias Conference at LSE, in collaboration with the Centre for Peace and Security at Coventry University.

The day opened with thought‑provoking panels on:
• Arts, trauma, cultural heritage and resistance
• Fanonian perspectives and decolonial feminisms
• Economic histories: Socialist utopias, ideology and development

We then moved into sessions exploring:
• Economics and global perspectives
• Digital activism, identity and belonging
• Decolonising education: Postcolonial reforms and imagined utopias

To close the conference, we hosted two powerful sessions:
• A conversation between Abderrahmane Hadj-Nacer and Francis Ghiles
• Histories and memories of Algerian women: Film screening & roundtable

It was inspiring to see so many people come together to share research and engage in rich discussions on Algeria’s historical legacies and contemporary political, social, cultural and economic dynamics.

A huge thank you to all our panelists, attendees and organisers for making this conference a success.

We were delighted to welcome attendees to Day 1 of the Algeria: Historical Struggles and Imagined Utopias Conference at LSE.

The day opened with a powerful keynote, 'Algeria and the Anxiety of Decolonisation: Case Studies in Language and Gender', delivered by Professor Zahia Salhi and chaired by MEC Visiting Fellow Jessica Northey.

Our programme continued with panels on:
• Honouring Hugh Roberts and his scholarship on a diverse Algeria
• Imagined Futures: Justice, democracy and collective memory
• Maghrebi brothers, North African borders and solidarities
• Cross‑Colonial Comparisons: Understanding Algeria through the lens of Ireland
• Historical resistances

We wrapped up with a lively reception and are looking forward to continuing the discussions on Day 2.

In March, we hosted a book launch for Killian Clarke's 'Return of Tyranny: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed'.

Return of Tyranny explains why counterrevolutions both emerge and succeed, marshalling original data on counterrevolutions worldwide since 1900. It also offers a fresh perspective and new evidence on the reversal of Egypt’s 2011 revolution, one of the most prominent recent episodes of counterrevolution. The book forwards a movement-centric argument that emphasises the strategies revolutionary leaders embrace, both during their opposition campaigns and after they seize power.

🎧 Listen to the event recording: https://soundcloud.com/lsemiddleeastcentre/return-of-tyranny

📣 Book Launch | Sovereignty in Iran: Challenges to Eurocentrism from Ancient Iran to the Islamic Republic

Join us on Wednesday 10 June for the launch of Shabnam Holliday's book: a multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary collaborative project examining sovereignties as a plural concept through the case of Iran.

The book challenges Eurocentric assumptions in the Humanities and Social Sciences and covers sovereignty from ancient Iran to the Islamic Republic including the Woman, Life, Freedom protests. Shabnam will be joined by discussants Edward Wastnidge and Asma Abdi.

Register here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/middleeastcentre/events/2026/sovereignty-in-iran

It remains surprisingly difficult for Arab citizens to travel within their own region, with visa restrictions shaped by colonial legacies and today’s political and economic divides. In a piece for the MEC blog, Rend Beiruti unpacks how these barriers limit mobility, opportunity and regional integration – and what greater freedom of movement could make possible.

Read here 👇

The Distance Between Us: Visas Among Arab States - Middle East Centre While travel is integral to the regional fabric, the present conditions of Arab state citizens’ mobility within the region remain understudied.

📚 Upcoming event | Turkey and the Liberal International Order

Join us on Thursday 4 June for the launch of Marc Sinan Winrow's book examining Turkey’s complex and evolving relationship with the liberal international order from the end of the First World War to the present day. Marc will be joined by discussants Ayla Gol and Senem Aydin Düzgit.

The book explores how Turkey, as a middle power, responded to major global transformations following the First World War, the Second World War and the Cold War by appealing to the dominant principles of liberal internationalism. At the same time, it shows how Turkish political movements and foreign policy actors reinterpreted and challenged these principles, shaping how the liberal international order was understood and implemented in the Turkish context.

Register for in-person or online attendance: https://www.lse.ac.uk/middleeastcentre/events/2026/turkey-and-the-liberal-international-order

We are looking forward to welcoming participants to the Algeria: Historical Struggles and Imagined Utopias Conference at LSE next week.

This conference carries special significance. It would not have been possible without the support of the late Professor Hugh Roberts (1945–2025), who was a Visiting Professor at the LSE Middle East Centre until his passing. Roberts' pioneering scholarship on Algeria contributed to a better understanding of North African politics.

Explore the final programme, read the abstracts, and register to attend here: https://ow.ly/82LB50Z2N2T

What happens when a long‑time regional mediator starts losing its leverage?

Algeria’s role as a central mediator in the Sahel is facing its most momentous test in over a decade. Long positioned as a key diplomatic intermediary, Algiers built its regional influence on a strategy centred on political mediation and non-interference. Today, however, the very foundations of this approach are being challenged by a swiftly evolving regional order marked by military coups, shifting alliances and the resurgence of armed actors, writes Sofiane Benmoussa for the MEC blog.

Sofiane's dissertation, ‘Reinvesting in Diplomacy: Algeria’s Crisis Resolution in the Sahel-Sahara Region, 2012–2022’, was the winner of the LSE Middle East Centre Algerian Studies Master’s Prize in 2023.

Read the full blog:

From Mediation to Erosion? Algeria and the New Sahel Order - Middle East Centre by Sofiane Benmoussa Algeria’s role as a central mediator in the Sahel is facing its most momentous test in over a decade. Long positioned as a key diplomatic intermediary, Algiers built its regional influence on a strategy centred on political mediation and non-interference. Today, however, the v...