Latest research
Case Report: Carsamba, Bursa, Turkey – Integration Concerns of Parents about Syrian Children
Authors: Zahid Mukayed & Ezgi Irgil (University of Gothenburg)
November, 2020
Tufts University, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Introduction
This report focuses on the Turkish government’s treatment of refugees and Syrian children with the main focus on three concerns: potential statelessness, loss of the Arabic language and racism.
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Broadening the Positionality in Migration Studies: Assigned Insider Category
Author: Ezgi Irgil (University of Gothenburg)
June, 2020
Migration Studies, Oxford University Press
Abstract
This article contributes to the debates on positionality in migration studies by introducing assigned insider as a new category. I define it as a position when both the interviewees and the researcher are of the same local origin in which the researcher is considered ‘an insider of the host community’ and the interview questions are about a migrant group. I developed this category based on interviews with host community members during my field study in Bursa, Turkey, where I was born and raised. Previous studies focused on the researcher being an insider from a migrant community or being an outsider conducting research on a migrant community different from his/her own.
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Addressing Atrocity in Syria: New Challanges for Transitional Justice
Authors: Ashi Al-Kahwati & Johanna Mannergren Selimovic
March 2021
The Swedish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract
By studying the war in Syria, this paper aim to contribute to the wider discussion on the role of transitional justice in societies transitioning from conflict, and specifically regarding how to understand and address continuities of violence across war and peace.
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Authors: Amal Bourhrous, Dr. Virginie Baudais, Dr. Dylan O’Driscoll
January, 2021
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Abstract
Conflict dynamics in the Sahel are complex. The region faces a multidimensional crisis that includes the proliferation of terrorist groups, criminal networks, environmental pressures, state weaknesses and severe governance problems. In addition to this internal context, the Sahel crisis has been affected by external factors, such as the fall of Muammar Gaddafi and the civil war in Libya. Its deeper causes can be found in the structural factors of fragility in the sociopolitical dynamics of internal divisions, serial uprisings and weak states. Having started as a largely Malian conflict, the crisis now affects the whole Sahel region and, despite the deployment of military and security operations, it continues to get worse. A new approach is needed.
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Author: Maysam Behravesh
December, 2020
A chapter in “Navigating the Regional Chessboard” (Ed. Vogt, Achim & Schmid, Sarah), December 2020
Abstract
This article addresses Iran’s involvement in Yemen from a realist perspective and in the wider framework of the geopolitical rivalry between the Islamic Republic on the one hand and Saudi Arabia and its allies, particularly the United States, on the other. Focusing on the “demand” side of the civil war, or motives and incentives for its perpetuation, it tries to delineate how Iranian leaders perceive Yemen and how Tehran uses this pivotal node of “strategic depth” in the Arabian Peninsula for deterrence, security provision as well as power projection purposes. The article concludes Iran is in Yemen for the long haul and therefore urges a holistic policy approach to conflict resolution that recognizes long-term interests and concerns of all major conflicting parties on the ground and seeks to make Iran’s intervention and involvement in Yemen less necessary rather than more costly.
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What the World Can Do about the Middle East’s Coming Environmental Crisis
Author: Dr. Johan Schaar (SIPRI)
December 14, 2020
Summary
In the Middle East and North Africa, the twin problems of degraded natural resources and insecurity reinforce each other in a vicious cycle. In this paper, the author outlines why the international community should stop treating them in isolation.
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Addressing Missile Threats in the Middle East and North Africa
Authors: Dr. Tytti Erästö & Pieter D. Wezeman
November, 2020
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Abstract
This SIPRI Policy Brief contributes to the discussion on missile proliferation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by providing an overview of regional missile arsenals and by considering ways to address related risks. The paper makes policy recommendations, highlighting the need to move beyond the selective focus on certain types of missiles in the hands of certain states, towards a more comprehensive approach based on greater transparency, responsible arms exports and confidence- and security-building measures (CSBMs).
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“So Close Yet So Far Apart. Facilitating Dialogue and Cooperation across the Persian Gulf”
Authors: Rouzbeh Parsi & Dina Esfandiary
October, 2020
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract
Despite the shared history and cultural traits of the peoples living around the Persian Gulf, its littoral states are often at loggerheads. Deep-seated rivalries and suspicions continue to plague all attempts to create an inclusive and comprehensive security framework for the region. It is therefore necessary to look beyond the formal channels and methods of creating détente.
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“State of play of EU-Iran relations and the future of the JCPOA”
Authors: Rouzbeh Parsi & Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi
October, 2020
European Union:
Policy Department for External Relations
Directorate General for External Policies of the Union
Abstract
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), spearheaded by the European Union (EU), was a successful multilateral non-proliferation agreement. The hope was that it would also pave the way for dealing with other outstanding issues over which the EU and United States (US) were at loggerheads with Iran. Instead, with the election of President Trump, the main focus has been to save the JCPOA.
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