Sectarianism, Proxies & De-sectarianisation
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Iran, Israel, and regime survival
On 1 April 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s consulate in Syria was attacked, killing Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and other members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Considered ‘an unprecedented escalation by Israel...
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Is Palestine the “Compass”?
Following years of sectarian tensions and violence, a recent poll has sparked discussions about a potential shift in Sunni-Shi’a relations and increased unity within Lebanon’s Muslim communities.[1] This survey, conducted by the Washington Institute...
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Going Back to What You Know: October 7 and Order in the Middle East
Scholars of Middle Eastern politics typically point to 1979, 2003 and 2011 as years that have a significant impact on the ordering of regional politics. In 1979 the Iranian revolution, the seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Soviet invasion of...
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Some thoughts on the Haniyeh assassination
Following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, some of our Fellows shared brief thoughts on the state of play.
After eight months of devastation, death and destruction have only increased. What has also increased is the amount of red lines crossed...
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Strategic continuity and change after 7 October 2023
This post is part of a series of interventions drawn from contributions to a SEPAD (non)workshop on the regional and international implications of the Gaza conflict. A full report comprised of all these posts will follow in due course.
According...
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The UK’s response to the conflict in Gaza: A challenge to British prestige, Arab allies and the existing world order
This post is part of a series of interventions drawn from contributions to a SEPAD (non)workshop on the regional and international implications of the Gaza conflict. A full report comprised of all these posts will follow in due course.--Dr Louise...
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Re-Claiming Babylon: Epistemic Violence and Rhetorical Sovereignty in Iraq Discourse
“What people of color quickly come to see…is that they are not seen at all” (Mills, 2017, 54).
For two decades after the U.S.-led invasion, White people have been dominating English-language discourse on Iraq. Despite effort by some Iraqis...
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Leftist-Islamist cross-ideological opposition and cooperation in Morocco
The author thanks the Garda Henkel Foundation's Security, Society and the State research programme for its financial support in writing this blog post. In 2019, the then vice-president of the National Council of the Moroccan Islamist ‘Justice and...
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Call for Papers: State Islam and Authoritarian Rule
State Islam and Authoritarian Rule: Comparing Control Over Religious Institutions in Muslim-majority states
December 2024
Lancaster University
Neil Russell and Simon Mabon
Scholars have detailed how authoritarian regimes utilise state institutions to...
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