MECACS Archive
Recent Conferences Sponsored by MECACS
March 19-20, 2010: Sovereignty After Empire: Comparing Legacies in the Middle East and Central Asia
Summary: the Foreign Commonwealth Office and The Honeyman Foundation sponsored a workshop on the legacy of empire in the Middle East and Central Asia in mid-March 2010 at MECACS with support from the Centre for Russian, Soviet, Central and East European Studies (CRCEES – University of Glasgow) and the Council for British Research in the Levant. The two-day workshop culminated in a book edited by Dr. Sally N. Cummings and Professor Raymond Hinnebusch titled, Sovereignty After Empire: Comparing the Middle East and Central Asia (Edinburgh/Columbia University Press, forthcoming).
March 18, 2010: Roundtable: The Caspian and the Middle East
Summary: the Foreign Commonwealth Office sponsored two roundtables within MECACS in mid-March 2010. The first panel, chaired by Dr. Sally N. Cummings and titled ‘The Caspian: The Major Players’, included several energy specialists in cooperation with the University of Dundee’s Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy. The second panel, titled, ‘Contemporary Theory and Practice in the Middle East’, was chaired by Professor Raymond Hinnebusch and included researchers from the University of St Andrews on issues such as international law and religion, politics and minorities in the Middle East.
November 6-7, 2009: Central Asia and Caucasus Studies in the UK: Focusing on Communities, Societies and States
Summary: this post-graduate conference was co-sponsored by GRADskills and the Centre for Russian, Soviet, Central and East European Studies (CRCEES – University of Glasgow). The conference focused on issues such as identity, violence and mobilisation in Central Asia, as well as graduate skills such as a workshop on publishing with Routledge editor Peter Sowden and a panel on ‘What to do with a PhD outside academia’. More information available here.
MECACS Seminar Series (2007-2010)
Tuesday 26 October 2010
Seminar Room 4, New Arts Building, 4pm
Mr Yonatan Mendel (University of Cambridge)
‘The Politics of Arabic Language among Israeli-Jewish Society’
Chair: Dr Michelle Burgis
Podcast available. [coming soon]
Tuesday 19 October 2010
Seminar Room 4, New Arts Building, 4pm
Dr William J Dorman (University of Durham)
‘Can Infrastructural Power Be Exported? Reforming the Lame Leviathan’
Chair: Dr Michelle Burgis
Podcast available. [coming soon]
Tuesday 11 May 2010
Seminar Room 5, New Arts Building, 5pm
Dr. Giancarlo Casale (University of Minnesota)
‘What does it mean to be European? A View from the 16th-Century Ottoman Empire’
Chair: Dr. Dimitris Kastritsis
Tuesday 4 May 2010
Seminar Room 5, New Arts Building, 5pm
Dr. John Heathershaw (University of Exeter)
‘Fantasies of Politics: rethinking the Central Asian state after the death of Transition’
Chair: Dr. Sally Cummings
Tuesday 4 May 2010
School II, St Salvator’s Quad, 3.30pm
‘Live from Bethlehem’ film screening with producer, Matt Sienkiewicz, in conjunction with the School of Film Studies
Chair: Dr. Michelle Burgis
Tuesday 27 April 2010
Seminar Room 5, New Arts Building, 5pm
Dr. Dimitris Kastritsis (University of St Andrews)
‘Making sense of the early Ottoman revolt of Sheikh Bedreddin (d. 1416)’
Chair: Dr. Denis Hermann
Tuesday 13 April 2010
Seminar Room 5, New Arts Building, 5pm
Dr. Ayla Göl (Aberystwyth University)
'Islamic vs Secular Media in Turkey: Deliberative Democracy and the AKP'
Chair: Dr. Michelle Burgis
Tuesday 23 March 2010
Seminar Room 5, New Arts Building, 5pm
Dr. Aiman Zhuzupova (Al-Farabi University, Kazakhstan)
'Superpresidentialism and Political Parties in Kazakhstan'
Chair: Dr. Sally Cummings
Tuesday 16 March 2010
Seminar Room 5, New Arts Building, 5pm
Dr. Roy Allison (London School of Economics)
'Virtual regionalism and protective integration in Central Asia,
2000-2009'
Chair: Dr. Sally Cummings
Tuesday 9 March 2010
Seminar Room 5, New Arts Building, 5pm
Dr. Sandra Pogodda (University of St Andrews)
'Western strategies to counter Hamas and Hezbollah'
Chair: Dr. Michelle Burgis
Tuesday 2 March 2010
Seminar Room 5, New Arts Building, 5pm
Shelagh Weir (School of Oriental and Asian Studies)
‘The al-Huthi rebellion in northern Yemen: an anthropological perspective’
Chair: Dr. Fiona McCallum
Tuesday 23 February 2010
Seminar Room 5, New Arts Building, 5pm
Dr. Daniel Neep (University of Exeter)
‘Colonial Violence, Postcolonial Historical Sociology: Insights into State Formation from French Mandate Syria’
Chair: Dr. Frederic Volpi
Tuesday 16 February 2010
Seminar Room 5, New Arts Building, 5pm
Teemu Naarajävi (University of Helsinki)
‘Shanghai Cooperative Organisation and China’s
Interests in Central Asia’
Chair: Mohira Suyarkulova
Monday 8 February 2010
JOINT MECACS/IR SEMINAR
School III, St Salvator’s Quad, 5pm
Film screening and discussion for Silent Witness (2008), directed by Sally N. Cummings
Tuesday 8 December 2009 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Dr. Victoria Mason (Lancaster University)
'Into the Abyss: Iraqi Refugees in Jordan'
Chair: Dr Fiona McCallum
Tuesday 1 December 2009 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Dr. Christopher Davidson
‘Dubai: Foreclosure of a Dream?’
Chair: Prof Ray Hinnebusch
Tuesday 17 November 2009 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Dr. Ahmed Eliman (University of St Andrews)
‘The Translation of the Quran: Different Loyalties’
Chair: Prof Robert Hoyland
Tuesday 3 November 2009 at 5.30 pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Dr. Akbar Rasulov (University of Glasgow)
‘The Road to Resentment: A Story of International Institutions and the Globalization of Law in Central Asia’
Chair: Dr Michelle Burgis
Tuesday 27 October 2009 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Dr. Fataneh Farahani (Stockholm University)
‘Sexing Diaspora: Contradictory and Simultaneous Gender Discourses among Iranian-born Men and Women in Different Western Contexts’
Chair: Dr Fiona McCallum
Tuesday 20 October 2009 at 5.30 pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Dr. Tobias Kelly (University of Edinburgh)
‘In a Treacherous State: The Fear of Collaboration Among West Bank Palestinians’
Chair: Dr Michelle Burgis
Tuesday 6 October 2009 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Professor Amy Singer (University of Tel Aviv)
“ Edirne (Not Adrianople)”
Chair: Dr Dimitris Kastritsis
Tuesday 29 September 2009 at 5pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Mr John McHugo (Barrister and Board Member of the Joint Arab British Chamber of Commerce)
‘How the Arabs are teaching us International Law: The Territorial Entitlement of the State of Israel
Chair: Dr Michelle Burgis
Tuesday 12 May 2009 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 2, New Arts Building
Dr Michelle Burgis (University of St Andrews)
‘'The Eloquence of Death? Targeted Killings, the Israeli Supreme Court and the Quest for Legality'’
Chair: Professor Ray Hinnebusch
Tuesday 5 May 2009 at 5pm
Seminar Room 2, New Arts Building
Dr Naomi Standen (University of Newcastle)
‘Difficult histories: changing presentations of China’s nomadic rulers in China’s museums’
Chair: Dr Angus Stewart
Tuesday 28 April 2009 at 5pm
Seminar Room 2, New Arts Building
Stina Torjesen (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs)
‘A changing Central Asian Security Landscape?’
Chair: Dr Sally Cummings
Tuesday 24 March 2009 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 2, New Arts Building
Dr Konrad Hirschler (SOAS)
‘Primary education in the Medieval Middle East’
Chair: Dr Angus Stewart
Jointly with Institute for Iranian Studies
Tuesday 17 March 2009 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 2, New Arts Building
Dr Luciano Zaccara (University of Exeter)
‘Elections and politics in Iran: the limits of change’
Chair: Professor Ali Ansari
Jointly with Centre for Film Studies
Tuesday 10 March 2009 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 2, New Arts Building
Roundtable Discussion by John Cunningham (Sheffield Hallam University), Professor Dina Iordanova (University of St Andrews) and Dr Sally Cummings (University of St Andrews)
‘What, if anything, remains post-communist in the Cinemas of Central Europe, the Balkans and Central Asia?’
Chair: Dr Lars Kristensen
Jointly with Institute for Iranian Studies
Tuesday 3 March 2009 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 2, New Arts Building
Dr Dominic Brookshaw (University of Manchester)
‘To be Feared and Desired: Turks in the Kulliyat of ‘Ubayd-i Zakani’
Chair: Professor Ali Ansari
Tuesday 24 February 2009 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 2, New Arts Building
Professor Paul Starkey (University of Durham)
‘Literary Innovation and National Identity: The Case of Jibran Khalil Jibram’
Chair: Professor Robert Hoyland
Jointly with Institute for Mediaeval Studies
Monday 9 February 2009 at 5.15 pm
Old Class Library, 69 South Street
Dr Geoffrey Greatrex (University of Ottawa)
‘The Jafnids and the defence of the Roman eastern frontier in the sixth century’
Chair: Dr Tim Greenwood
Tuesday 16 December 2008 at 5pm
Seminar Room 2, New Arts Building
Dr Roger Robinson (Country Manager for the Kyrgyz Republic and Turkmenistan, World Bank)
‘Two Tales of Transition: Armenia and the Kyrgyz Republic. The Role of the World Bank and Why the Results and Outcomes Have been Different’
Chair: Dr Sally Cummings
Tuesday 9 December 2008 at 5pm
Seminar Room 2, New Arts Building
Dr Andrew Marsham (University of Edinburgh)
‘Universal Historiography in Islam: A comparative approach’
Chair: Dr Tim Greenwood
Institute for Iranian Studies
Tuesday 2 December 2008 at 5pm (week 10)
Seminar Room 2, New Arts Building
Professor Charles Melville (Pembroke College, Cambridge)
‘Persian Historical Literature in the Turko-Mongol Period’
Chair: Professor Ali Ansari
Institute for Iranian Studies
Monday 1 December 2008 at 3.30pm (week 10)
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Professor David Morgan (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
‘History Writing and the Mongols’
Chair: Professor Ali Ansari
Tuesday 25 November 2008 at 5 pm
New Arts Lecture Theatre
Professor Darius Rejali (Reed College, Portland)
‘Torture and Democracy: What now?’
Chair: Dr Jeffrey Murer
Tuesday, 18 November 2008 at 5pm
Seminar Room 2, New Arts Building
Dr Murad Ismayilov (Azerbaijani Diplomatic Academy and Dep of IR of Baku State University)
‘Agency, Structure, and the Resource Curse: Azerbaijan’s Efforts to Minimise the Curse and Maximise the Blessings’
Chair: Dr Rick Fawn
Monday 27 October 2008 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 2, New Arts Building
Dr Matthew Nelson (SOAS)
‘Dealing with Difference: Religious Education and the Challenge of Democracy in Pakistan’
Chair: Dr Frederic Volpi
Tuesday 21 October 2008 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 2, New Arts Building
Professor Tony Black (University of Dundee)
‘The West and Islam: comparing and explaining political traditions’
Chair: Dr Michael Boyle
Tuesday 14 October 2008 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 5, New Arts Building
Professor Paul Stevens (Chatham House)
‘The coming oil supply crunch’
Chair: Professor Ray Hinnebusch
Tuesday 6 May 2008 at 5pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Dr Marc Lanteigne, (University of St Andrews)
‘The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’
Chair: Dr Frederic Volpi, School of International Relations
Tuesday 29 April 2008 at 5pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Professor David Cobham (Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh)
‘The Dollar Fixation of Middle East Countries’
Chair: Professor Ray Hinnebusch, School of International Relations
Wednesday 23 April 2008 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 4, New Arts Building
Dr Christian Lange (University of Edinburgh)
‘Public and Private in Mediaeval Islamic Criminal Law’
Chair: Professor Robert Hoyland, School of History
Tuesday 15 April 2008 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Dr Fiona McCallum (University of St Andrews)
‘The Security Implications of Christian-Muslim Relations in Contemporary Egypt’
Chair: Professor John Anderson, School of International Relations
Tuesday 25 March 2008 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Professor Gareth Stansfield (University of Exeter)
‘Twentieth Century Kurdish History’
Chair: Professor Ali Ansari, School of History
Tuesday 18 March 2008 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Dr Tim Jacoby (University of Manchester)
‘The Ottoman State: Continuity and Change’
Chair: Dr Dimitris Kastritsis, School of History
Tuesday 11 March 2008 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Professor Paul Starkey (University of Durham)
‘Literary Innovation and National Identity: The Case of Jibran Khalil Jibram’
Chair: Dr Catherine Cobham, School of History
Tuesday 26 February 2008 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 1, News Arts Building
Dr John Heathershaw (University of Exeter)
‘From Great Games to Great Gaffes: Understanding the Rise and Fall of the United States in Central Asia’
Chair: Professor Ray Hinnebusch, School of International Relations
Thursday 21 February 2008 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Professor Charles Tripp (SOAS)
‘Shadow State and Local Power in Iraq’
Chair: Professor Ali Ansari, School of History
Tuesday 12 February 2008 at 5 pm
Seminar Room 1, New Arts Building
Dr Nur Masalha (St Mary’s University College)
‘Historical Truth, New Historiography and Ethical Obligations: The Challenge of the Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe) of 1948’
Chair: Professor Ray Hinnebusch, School of International Relations
Tuesday, 1 May 2007, 5 p.m.
Seminar Room 4
Professor Paul Stevens, Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee
‘The structure of the petroleum sector in the Middle East and North Africa: Can it deliver on oil supplies and national development?’
Chair: Professor Ray Hinnebusch
Institute of Iranian Studies
Friday, 27 April 2007, 5 p.m.
Arts Lecture Theatre
Professor Gary Sick, Columbia University, New York
‘U.S.-Iran Relations: Is Conflict Inevitable?’ (For further information on this event please contact the Institute of Iranian Studies: Shahriar (sss10))
Chair: Dr Ali Ansari
Centre for Syrian Studies and Institute of Iranian Studies
Tuesday, 24 April 2007, 5 p.m.
Arts Lecture Theatre
Roundtable Discussion: Dr Ali Ansari, Dr Tony Lang (also chair), Professor Ray Hinnebusch, Schools of History and IR
‘Encountering the Axis of Evil: Views from Tehran, Washington and Syria’
Tuesday, 17 April 2007, 5 p.m.
Seminar Room 4
Robin Ostle, Official Fellow in Modern Arabic and Senior Tutor, St. John's College, Oxford.
‘The Politics of Culture Between the Arab World and Europe’
Chair: Professor Robert Hoyland, School of History
Tuesday, 10 April 2007, 5 p.m.
Seminar Room 4
Dr Leila Vignal, European Studies Centre, St Antony's College, University of Oxford
‘Cairo in globalisation: transformations of the urban fabric, transformations of the urban form’
Chair: Professor Robert Hoyland, School of History
Friday, 16 March 2007, 11 a.m.
Seminar Room 7
Ambassador Graeme Loten, UK Ambassador to Tajikistan
"Tajikistan - ten years after the Peace Agreement"
Chair: Sally Cummings, School of International Relations
Thursday, 15 March 2007, 12 p.m.
Seminar Room 1
Drs Zairbek Ergeshov and Malika Namazbekova, Visting Fellows, School of International Relations
‘Drugs Trafficking and Political Corruption in Kyrgyzstan’
Chair: Dr Sally Cummings, School of International Relations
Tuesday, 13 March 2007, 5 p.m.
Arts Lecture Theatre
Dr Nick Megoran, University of Newcastle
‘From Borat to Murat: the cinematic and documentary portrayal of Central Asia’
Chair: Dr Sally Cummings, School of International Relations
Tuesday, 6 March 2007, 5 p.m.
Seminar Room 4
Madeleine Reeves, University of Cambridge
‘Corpses, checkpoints and chessboard borders: narrating dislocation in the Ferghana valley’. Chair: Dr Frederic Volpi, School of International Relations
Tuesday, 20 February 2007, 5 p.m.
Arts Lecture Theatre
Dr. Ghia Nodia, Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development, Tbilisi, Georgia
‘Russian-Georgian Relations: Issues and Motives?’
Chair: Dr Rick Fawn, School of International Relations
Tuesday, 13 February 2007, 5 p.m.
Arts Lecture Theatre
His Excellencies Mr. Vahe Gabrielyan, UK Ambassador of Armenia, London and Mr. Rafael T. Ibrahimov, UK Ambassador of Azerbaijan, London
‘Foreign Policy in the South Caucasus’
Discussant: Dr Timothy Greenwood, School of History
Chair: Dr Sally Cummings, School of International Relations
MECACS Bulletin
February 2006 (PDF, 5,714 KB)
Inaugural Conference - 'Empire and After'; Development and the Middle East; Human Rights and Iraq
May 2006 (PDF, 9,917 KB)
OSCE Observer Mission in Kyrgyzstan; Russia and the Caucasian periphery; Central Asia and US Grand Strategy
Papers
2007
US Invasion of Iraq: Explanation and Implications (PDF, 305 KB)
Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 16, No. 3
American Invasion of Iraq: Causes and Consequences (PDF, 480 KB)
Perceptions, Spring 2007
2006
Iraq War and International Relations: Implications for Small States (PDF, 149 KB)
Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Vol. 19, No. 3
Authoritarian Persistance, Democratic Theory and the Middle East (PDF, 289 KB)
Democratisation, Vol. 13, No. 3
2005
Defying the Hegemon: Syria and the Iraq War (PDF, 744 KB)
Paper before the European Consortium on Political Research
