MENA-related Events Calendar

Organiser: LSE Middle East Centre

Speakers: Ibrahim Alhouti (Kuwait University); Fatima Alhashem (Gulf University for Science and Technology); Sonia Exley (LSE Department of Social Policy); Nidal Al Haj Sleiman (LSE Middle East Centre)

Join the LSE Middle East Centre for a Kuwait Programme panel discussion highlighting recent education policy issues and trajectories in Kuwait, and more globally, with a focus on the role of policy in shaping current and future priorities of education. The panel will discuss Kuwait's policy challenges and changes in the broader context of global education policies and the neoliberal order. The panel will also focus on the recent geopolitical crisis in the Gulf and the response of Kuwait's education system

Organiser: LSE Department of International Relations

Speakers: Marwa Daoudy (Georgetown University); Jasmine Gani (LSE)

This lecture, held in honour of the renowned scholar Fred Halliday, will explore the entanglement of colonialism, capitalism, and environmental exploitation that has shaped the modern global order in ways that continue to structure global inequality. Mainstream approaches in international relations often obscure the violent histories of dispossession, domination, and extractive economies that drive contemporary political and ecological crises, producing racialized geographies of land, resources, labour and environment that endure.

Drawing on Fred Halliday’s critique of narratives that portray the Arab world as inherently locked in conflict, economic failure, or cultural clashes, this lecture situates climate and human vulnerabilities within the region’s (settler-) colonial, extractivist or war-torn past and present in contexts such Algeria, Palestine and Syria. Following the lecture, we will host a reception in celebration of what would have been Fred Halliday’s 80th birthday, recognising his enduring contribution to the Department and the field of International Relations.

Organisers: The British Yemeni Society (BYS) and the SOAS Middle East Institute (SMEI)

Speaker: Farea Al-Muslimi (Chatham House)

This event will discuss the human cost of Yemen’s ongoing conflict and the evolving political and regional dynamics shaping the country over the past decade.

It is almost 12 years since the Houthis stormed the capital Sanaa. Six months later, the coalition Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia and supported by Britain and the US started bombing Yemen with the aim of restoring the internationally recognised government (IRG) to get back to Sanaa. 12 years later, the IRG is in exile in Riyadh and the Houthis rule the majority of Yemen. Two governments and two currencies and Yemen is a no-go area for most Yemenis and certainly not a tourist destination anymore.  

Recently the situation has been exacerbated by tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, complicated also by Houthi relations with Iran. 

We invite you to attend a two-day workshop critically examining decentralised, autonomist, and federalist modes of political organising in West Asia and North Africa. The workshop aims to be a space of interdisciplinary exploration of historical lineages, contemporary manifestations, and future possibilities of decentralised governance in (post)uprising and (post)revolutionary contexts.

The workshop is structured around three core themes:  

• Historiography and Genealogy: excavating and reassessing historical precedents of autonomist organising in the WANA region, challenging statist historiographies.  
• Political Theory and Philosophy: articulating the distinct political thought emerging from these movements, exploring concepts of democracy, ecology, gender, and pluralism.  
• Contemporary Praxis and Future Possibilities: critically evaluating the successes, limitations, and future prospects of existing and emergent autonomist projects.

The workshop will take place at the University of Glasgow on 22 and 23 July 2026 from 10:00 am to 6 pm. To allow the broadest possible participation, the workshop will be held in person and online via Zoom. If you would like to attend the workshop, please register by following this Eventbrite link. There is no conference fee.