BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:talks.ox.ac.uk BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:FILM SCREENING: The Conspiracy: Assassination in Beirut - Dan Clif ton (Independent Writer/Director)\, Michael Taylor (Independent Investigat ions/Police Consultant) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260226T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260226T190000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/c6435831-7275-4f56-9ffe-1afed48e3606/ DESCRIPTION:The assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hari ri in a massive car bomb in Beirut on Valentine’s Day 2005 sends shockwa ves through the Middle East. With a rolodex of international contacts\, t he murder of this billionaire-turned-statesman known as ‘Mr Lebanon’ t riggers a massive investigation. But the terrorists behind his murder ha ve done everything to hide their tracks. With all the twists of a dark co nspiracy thriller\, this feature documentary follows the complex investiga tion to track down his killers.\nhttps://www.danclifton.co.uk/home/the-con spiracy\nSpeakers:\nDan Clifton (Independent Writer/Director)\, Michael Ta ylor (Independent Investigations/Police Consultant) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/c6435831-7275-4f56-9ffe-1afed48e3606/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:FILM SCREENING: The Conspiracy: Assassination in Beirut - Dan Clifton (Independent Writer/Director)\, Michael Taylor (Independent I nvestigations/Police Consultant) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:BOOK TALK: Order and Region Making in the Middle East - Professor Simon Mabon (Lancaster University) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260219T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260219T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/15ca2c30-4a23-4ab4-9742-04bac531bf58/ DESCRIPTION:At a time of widespread instability in the Middle East\, this book reflects on the construction and contestation of order across the reg ion. Combining conceptual reflections with contemporary empirical analysis \, the book offers a timely account of how competing visions of order play out and shape the Middle East. The book seeks to offer a discussion of th e concept of order that is grounded in International Relations approaches but applied to the Middle East using a range of important case studies. Br inging together established scholars and exciting new voices\, this collec tion is essential reading in understanding the shifting contours of the Mi ddle East.\n\nhttps://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-order-and-region-m aking-in-the-middle-east.html \nSpeakers:\nProfessor Simon Mabon (Lancaste r University) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/15ca2c30-4a23-4ab4-9742-04bac531bf58/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:BOOK TALK: Order and Region Making in the Middle East - P rofessor Simon Mabon (Lancaster University) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:BOOK TALK: Kingdom of Football: Saudi Arabia and the Remaking of W orld Soccer - Dr Kristian Coates Ulrichsen (Rice University) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260212T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260212T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/27ef2d82-4de4-4ef8-a78d-ce32b91c91a2/ DESCRIPTION:This talk explores how and why Saudi Arabia burst onto the lan dscape of world football in 2023 and examines what the speed and scale of Saudi engagement\, as investor\, owner\, sponsor\, host\, and participant\ , means for the Kingdom and for football more broadly. Analysis will place Saudi Arabia’s startling emergence as one of the hubs in world football in the 2020s in historical and comparative perspective\, set against prev ious periods of Saudi investment in football\, in the 1970s\, and attempts elsewhere to rapidly kickstart the domestic game\, in the United States\, Japan\, and China. Going beyond labels such as ‘sportswashing\,’ whic h have gained media currency in recent years\, Kingdom of Football examine s what drives Saudi policymaking and connects the move into football with domestic economic and social developments and external and foreign policy considerations. The talk also examines how the Saudi foray into football b uilds upon but differs from the approaches taken by other Gulf States\, su ch as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar\, and assesses the factors that w ill determine the sustainability and durability of the Kingdom’s engagem ent with football in the decade-long runup to the 2034 World Cup. \n\nhtt ps://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/kingdom-of-football/ \nSpeakers:\nDr Kri stian Coates Ulrichsen (Rice University) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/27ef2d82-4de4-4ef8-a78d-ce32b91c91a2/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:BOOK TALK: Kingdom of Football: Saudi Arabia and the Rema king of World Soccer - Dr Kristian Coates Ulrichsen (Rice University) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Decolonizing Security Studies - a North African perspective - Prof essor Nizar Messari (Al Akhawayn University) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260312T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260312T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/435f1019-33b3-4c70-84ea-15cc33f43439/ DESCRIPTION:\nSpeakers:\nProfessor Nizar Messari (Al Akhawayn University) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/435f1019-33b3-4c70-84ea-15cc33f43439/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Decolonizing Security Studies - a North African perspecti ve - Professor Nizar Messari (Al Akhawayn University) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Saudi Arabia and the Global Trajectory of Islamic Law - Dr Dominik Krell (CSLS) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260205T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260205T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/30ecf9a0-442a-4898-8ea4-517a0c9b9514/ DESCRIPTION:In this talk\, I explore how Saudi legal thought is shaping th e ways in which Islamic law is applied by Islamic courts beyond the Arabia n Peninsula. Since the 1960s\, Saudi Arabia has made significant efforts t o promote a distinct Saudi understanding of Islam globally\, mainly throug h international students at Saudi universities such as the Islamic Univers ity of Medina.\n \nI examine how this understanding of Islamic law has inf luenced Islamic courts in two contrasting contexts: The Gambia and Sri Lan ka\, two countries with a similar number of graduates from Saudi universit ies. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with Islamic judges and scholars in both countries\, the talk looks beyond simple depictions o f “Salafisation” or “Wahhabisation”. It explores both the reasons for\, and the consequences of\, the differing receptions of Saudi ideas in court practice\, and the implications this has for everyday Islamic adjud ication in local settings.\nSpeakers:\nDr Dominik Krell (CSLS) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/30ecf9a0-442a-4898-8ea4-517a0c9b9514/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Saudi Arabia and the Global Trajectory of Islamic Law - D r Dominik Krell (CSLS) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:The Code of Karam: How Literature Shapes Post-Revolutionary Social Spaces in Cairo - Dr Giedrė Šabasevičiūtė (Czech Academy of Sciences ) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251204T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251204T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/c760298c-14e9-4b81-8c14-a653b13c90da/ DESCRIPTION:In this talk\, I will present my upcoming book project on the role of literary practices in recreating spaces of sociability and solidar ity in post-revolutionary Cairo. Over the past two decades\, Egypt’s lit erary worlds have been reconfigured by two major phenomena. First\, the di gital disruption of publishing since the mid-2000s has expanded access to literary authorship\, allowing many new writers to enter the market. Secon d\, the Egyptian revolution and its aftermath encouraged more people to wr ite in search of individualized fictional worlds\, as the collective one p romised by January 25 had failed. As a result\, many new writers entered C airo’s associative literary scene\, bringing not only their literary tal ents and aspirations but also the divisions inherited from the revolutiona ry past.\n \nBased on a long-term ethnographic fieldwork in Cairo’s lite rary clubs\, I will show how the code of karam – or hospitality – enab led people to mend their revolutionary divides and create spaces of exchan ge and support through literature\, its rituals and objects. Ritualized an d deliberately kept free of politics\, these literary bubbles are sustaine d by an economy of reciprocal favors and financed by writers themselves to keep them as spaces of possibilities in their lives.\n \nThis presentatio n invites us to think of literature not merely as the production of texts\ , but as a set of practices that can be harnessed to recreate spaces of co mmunity and exchange after major disruptions. Literary spaces\, then\, are not solely about literature\; they are about creating environments which\ , by being designated as “cultural”\, are expected to provide “safe ” and “respectable” setting for the circulation of other kinds of re sources. \nSpeakers:\nDr Giedrė Šabasevičiūtė (Czech Academy of Scien ces) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/c760298c-14e9-4b81-8c14-a653b13c90da/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:The Code of Karam: How Literature Shapes Post-Revolutiona ry Social Spaces in Cairo - Dr Giedrė Šabasevičiūtė (Czech Academy of Sciences) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Stranger Visions: Ghuraba’ and Egypt’s Ideological Crisis - Pr ofessor Walter Armbrust (St Antony's College\, University of Oxford) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251127T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251127T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/decef64e-e895-4102-a4d7-a7ac980df06a/ DESCRIPTION:My paper examines a moment of ideological crisis in modern Egy ptian history\, refracted through the film Ghuraba’(strangers\, directed by Sa‘d ‘Arafa and written by ‘Arafa and Ra’fat al-Mihi). The fil m was screened in 1973\, at a postcolonial inflection point in which Marxi sm\, existentialism and an extreme formulation of Islamism were all depict ed as exhausted and inadequate. Ghuraba’ gropes toward\, but stops shor t of fully articulating\, an Islamic moral engagement with secular society and ideology. That still-inchoate post-ideological future offers a glimps e of roads not taken\, but perhaps also insight to dormant ideological\, p hilosophical or religious paths out of the sterile alliance of religious e xtremism and free-market fundamentalism that dominates our present.\nSpeak ers:\nProfessor Walter Armbrust (St Antony's College\, University of Oxfor d) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/decef64e-e895-4102-a4d7-a7ac980df06a/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Stranger Visions: Ghuraba’ and Egypt’s Ideological Cr isis - Professor Walter Armbrust (St Antony's College\, University of Oxfo rd) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Seeds in the Rubble: Cultural Vitality in the Arab World - Mr Sult an Sooud Al Qassemi (Founder\, Barjeel Art Foundation) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251120T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251120T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/7ca7190a-757d-43c4-8cbf-3d1ea661fafe/ DESCRIPTION:The past century has been a time of great turmoil in much of t he world. Europe\, perhaps\, bore the brunt of this turmoil\, with million s killed and entire cities\, such as Rotterdam\, Dresden\, and Warsaw larg ely reduced to rubble along with their museums\, and cultural institutions . The Arab World has also suffered its share of conflicts\, compounding th e adverse impact of colonialism on everyday life and culture. Events such as the Nakba in Palestine\, and conflicts such as the Lebanese Civil War a nd the 2003 American invasion of Iraq have left a string of structural and cultural devastation in addition to the toll on human life. However\, the Arab World has also seen attempts to rebuild\, both in lives and liveliho ods\, some more successful than others. These fragile steps forward can be derailed as conflicts arise such as in Gaza. Even in such dark cases ther e are some triumphs of humanity. This talk will attempt to shed light on t hese sparks of inspiration that reflect the vitality of the Arab World. \n Speakers:\nMr Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi (Founder\, Barjeel Art Foundation) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/7ca7190a-757d-43c4-8cbf-3d1ea661fafe/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Seeds in the Rubble: Cultural Vitality in the Arab World - Mr Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi (Founder\, Barjeel Art Foundation) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Food and Language: Rhetorical-Cultural Excavations in Arab Heritag e / الطعام والكلام: حفريات بلاغية ثقافية ف ي التراث العربي - Dr Said Laouadi (Cadi Ayyad University) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251030T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251030T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/9e758991-9b74-41c6-922e-48787f1dc31c/ DESCRIPTION:Winner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2025 for Literary and Ar t Criticism\, Dr Said Laouadi\, will be in conversation with Professor Mic hael Willis and Professor Eugene Rogan on his book 'الطعام والك لام: حفريات بلاغية ثقافية في التراث العر بي' / 'Food and Language: Cultural Excavations in Arab Heritage’ (2023 ).\n\nTranslation from Arabic to English will be provided by Taj Kandoura. \n\nAbout the book:\nPublished in 2023\, this work offers a critique of th e complex relation between rhetoric and food in Arab heritage\, analysing literary texts from poetry to proverbs and stories from a broad cultural p erspective. With its in-depth analysis and broad scope\, his research enri ches rhetorical studies with new\, unconventional approaches.\n\nAbout the author:\nSaid Laouadi is a Moroccan academic and professor of rhetoric an d discourse analysis at the Faculty of Arabic Language at Cadi Ayyad Unive rsity in Marrakech\, where he also serves as Vice Dean for Scientific Rese arch and International Cooperation and heads the Laboratory for Methodolog ical Integration in Discourse Analysis. Laouadi oversees the ‘Academic P icks’ programme\, which hosts leading Arab researchers in critical and l inguistic studies. Laouadi serves as a member of judging panels for severa l Arab and Moroccan literary awards\, while also contributing to various s pecialised academic journals as an editor and reviewer. His research explo res the intersection of rhetoric and culture\, with notable publications s uch as ‘The Kitchen of the Novel: Food in Fiction from Visuality to Weav ing’ (2024) and ‘Food and Language: Cultural Excavations in Arab Herit age’ (2023)\, along with studies on literature\, imagery\, and aesthetic s in poetic discourse”.\n\nSpeakers:\nDr Said Laouadi (Cadi Ayyad Univer sity) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/9e758991-9b74-41c6-922e-48787f1dc31c/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Food and Language: Rhetorical-Cultural Excavations in Ara b Heritage / الطعام والكلام: حفريات بلاغية ثقا فية في التراث العربي - Dr Said Laouadi (Cadi Ayyad Univer sity) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Morocco’s Party of Justice and Development in Government: The Ex perience and the Future - Mr Mustapha El Khalfi (Former Minister of Commun ications\, Morocco) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251113T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251113T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/35a1e8e0-505c-436f-b403-8512dcc56ffb/ DESCRIPTION:\nSpeakers:\nMr Mustapha El Khalfi (Former Minister of Communi cations\, Morocco) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/35a1e8e0-505c-436f-b403-8512dcc56ffb/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Morocco’s Party of Justice and Development in Governmen t: The Experience and the Future - Mr Mustapha El Khalfi (Former Minister of Communications\, Morocco) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Gaza Genocide as a Symptom: Fragile World Order and Regional Impac ts - Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu (Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Türkiye) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251016T170000 DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251016T183000 UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/60654b1b-b407-4f89-a76a-00f313d27429/ DESCRIPTION:Speaker Bio:\nAhmet Davutoglu\, former Prime Minister and Mini ster of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye\, is a world-renowned professor of international relations. Davutoglu\, who gives conferences in many parts of the world\, is the author of many books such as 'Systemic E arthquake' and 'Alternative Paradigms'.\nSpeakers:\nProfessor Ahmet Davuto ğlu (Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Türkiye) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/60654b1b-b407-4f89-a76a-00f313d27429/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Gaza Genocide as a Symptom: Fragile World Order and Regio nal Impacts - Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu (Former Prime Minister of the Rep ublic of Türkiye) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Big Tech and the Automation of Genocide in Gaza - Dr Samer Abdeln our (University of Edinburgh Business School) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250530T170000 DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250530T183000 UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/7ae209ab-0879-4ae0-91df-73eebbf390ac/ DESCRIPTION:This event is going to be live online. For registration: https ://forms.office.com/r/dFY3nRh6KJ \nSpeakers:\nDr Samer Abdelnour (Universi ty of Edinburgh Business School) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/7ae209ab-0879-4ae0-91df-73eebbf390ac/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Big Tech and the Automation of Genocide in Gaza - Dr Sam er Abdelnour (University of Edinburgh Business School) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:The Devaki Jain Lecture - Empowered voices: Jordanian women shapin g their future - Rana Husseini (author\, journalist and activist) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250523T170000 DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250523T183000 UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/3a934e15-00b6-439b-95e7-1516f1994c4a/ DESCRIPTION:Empowered voices: Jordanian women shaping their future\n\nThe Middle East Centre is honoured to host this year's Devaki Jain Lecture. Th e series\, established in 2015 by Devaki Jain\, welcomes esteemed women sp eakers from the South. Past speakers have included Dr Graça Machel\, Prof essor Eudine Barriteau\, and Dr Noeleen Heyzer.\n\nhttps://www.sant.ox.ac. uk/middle-east-centre/middle-east-centre/middle-east-events/\nSpeakers:\nR ana Husseini (author\, journalist and activist) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/3a934e15-00b6-439b-95e7-1516f1994c4a/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:The Devaki Jain Lecture - Empowered voices: Jordanian wom en shaping their future - Rana Husseini (author\, journalist and activist) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Dame Zaha Hadid Mini Series – Celebrating 10 Years Of The Invest corp Building - Philip Michael Wolfson (Wolfson Design) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250516T170000 DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250516T183000 UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/f18a6378-853a-45c2-a2d7-f91e537ca71e/ DESCRIPTION:Followed by drinks reception.\nSpeakers:\nPhilip Michael Wolfs on (Wolfson Design) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/f18a6378-853a-45c2-a2d7-f91e537ca71e/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Dame Zaha Hadid Mini Series – Celebrating 10 Years Of T he Investcorp Building - Philip Michael Wolfson (Wolfson Design) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Sudan's current war: a longer view on peacemaking and prospects - Dr Richard Barltrop (Visiting Senior Fellow\, LSE Middle East Centre) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250131T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250131T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/b81c3771-edf4-4dcc-94b7-02d3ec3ac391/ DESCRIPTION:Bio:\nRichard is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the LSE Middle Ea st Centre. His research is on contemporary international approaches to pea cemaking\, and why peace processes fail or succeed\, with a particular foc us on Yemen\, Sudan and South Sudan\, and considering other examples.\n\nR ichard specialises in work on mediation\, peace processes and peacebuildin g\, and international approaches to conflict\, development and peace\, foc using on the Middle East and Africa. Since 2001 he has worked for the UN D evelopment Programme in Iraq\, Libya\, Somalia\, South Sudan\, Sudan\, Yem en and regionally\, and for the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan and the UN political mission in Yemen.\n\nHe is the author of Darfur and the International Community: The Challenges of Conflict Resolution in Sudan (I B Tauris/Bloomsbury\, 2011/2015) and was a visiting fellow at Durham Unive rsity in 2015. He has a DPhil in International Relations from the Universi ty of Oxford.\n\nAbstract:\nIn April Sudan will enter the third year of a war that has caused enormous harm to lives\, has been ruinous for the coun try\, and shows no sign of ending. The war was unexpected\; it is differen t from previous wars in Sudan’s conflict-ridden modern history\; and it is occurring at a time when international politics is not favourable for c oncerted external and multilateral action to bring about and support peace . For Sudanese and outsiders\, an immediate priority is how can lives be p rotected and suffering minimised. Beyond this\, a fundamental question is peace: how can the war be ended and a lasting peace be established?\n \nTh is seminar explores what lessons should be drawn from the longer history o f peacemaking in Sudan and from the experience and outcomes of peacemaking efforts in other civil wars in recent times. From this\, three main recom mendations emerge for Sudanese and external actors. The recommendations co ncern: (i) the need in the immediate and near term for external actors to push for a ceasefire and to accept the relative benefit of the Sudanese Ar med Forces having some ascendancy in the war\; (ii) the need to take a lon g-term approach to peace process and peacebuilding\; and (iii) the need to prioritise and support the development of Sudanese vision for and ownersh ip of a peace process for Sudan.\nSpeakers:\nDr Richard Barltrop (Visiting Senior Fellow\, LSE Middle East Centre) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/b81c3771-edf4-4dcc-94b7-02d3ec3ac391/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Sudan's current war: a longer view on peacemaking and pro spects - Dr Richard Barltrop (Visiting Senior Fellow\, LSE Middle East Cen tre) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:The chaos (fawḍà) Bashshar al-Asad warned against – Damascus University 10th November 2005 – and present-day Syria - Professor Johann es Waardenburg (IULM) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250221T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250221T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/52b6d1eb-03c1-409e-90fa-55139071daa2/ DESCRIPTION:With the fall of the al-Asad dynasty in Syria in the early hou rs of Sunday 8th December 2024\, nearly fourteen years after the start of the Arab Spring\, a question arises: Has the warning given by Bashshar al- Asad in his speech at Damascus University in the autumn of 2005 come true? Have his departure and the breakdown of al-muqāwamah wa-l-ṣumūd - ide ntified commonly as the strategy of resistance - really brought chaos to t he region? If that is not the case\, why did the decisive actors keep him in power in Syria for approximatively another 20 years after he made that presentation? Imagining al-Asad bluffed while he felt the whole internatio nal community was after him in the 2005 follow-up to the murder of Rafīq al-Ḥarīrī\, the Prime Minister who oversaw Lebanon's reconstruction\, why did no one at the time call his bluff out? Rather\, looking at the rem arkably rapid reintroduction of Bashshar al-Asad to the international scen e after 2005\, this presentation will try to assess critically what the ch aos was that everyone was afraid of in the event of the al-Asads falling t hen. Why does this same chaos seem manageable now? Have Western actors tog ether with Turkey and the Gulf countries simply studied the regional setup better\, or might the incidence of Israel's forever war strategy have bee n a decisive factor for others to make a shift unthinkable until recently\ , for the sake of the future of the region.\nSpeakers:\nProfessor Johannes Waardenburg (IULM) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/52b6d1eb-03c1-409e-90fa-55139071daa2/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:The chaos (fawḍà) Bashshar al-Asad warned against – Damascus University 10th November 2005 – and present-day Syria - Profess or Johannes Waardenburg (IULM) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:The Axis of Resistance - Dr Kamran Matin (University of Sussex)\, Dr Amal Saad (Cardiff University)\, Yasmeen al-Eryani (Co-Executive Direct or\, Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250207T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250207T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/f8e958d0-8191-4599-951f-6c27b71a74b5/ DESCRIPTION:\nSpeakers:\nDr Kamran Matin (University of Sussex)\, Dr Amal Saad (Cardiff University)\, Yasmeen al-Eryani (Co-Executive Director\, San a’a Center for Strategic Studies) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/f8e958d0-8191-4599-951f-6c27b71a74b5/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:The Axis of Resistance - Dr Kamran Matin (University of S ussex)\, Dr Amal Saad (Cardiff University)\, Yasmeen al-Eryani (Co-Executi ve Director\, Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Israeli Public Opinion\, War and Prospects for Peace - Dr Dahlia S cheindlin (Fellow\, Century International & Columnist\, Haaretz Newspaper) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250214T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250214T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/ab78ef24-0852-4911-b09f-dc1e2bcd5066/ DESCRIPTION:Israelis have shown increasingly hardline\, right-wing\, natio nalist trends in public opinion surveys in recent years\, leading to lower support for peace\, or faith that any democratic-oriented solution to the conflict is possible. Have October 7 and the war in Gaza changed attitude s? Which trends have displayed continuity\, which public attitudes are new \, and what kind of future do Israelis support? An analysis of surveys bef ore and during the war shows that Israelis continue to hold hardline attit udes\, but they are deeply divided by identity\, religion\, age and ideolo gy\, and angry at their government. They are also responsive to changes in circumstances\, and there are still opportunities to re-build support for peace. \nSpeakers:\nDr Dahlia Scheindlin (Fellow\, Century International & Columnist\, Haaretz Newspaper) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/ab78ef24-0852-4911-b09f-dc1e2bcd5066/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Israeli Public Opinion\, War and Prospects for Peace - Dr Dahlia Scheindlin (Fellow\, Century International & Columnist\, Haaretz N ewspaper) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Do we really owe Arabs nothing? - Professor Fouad Laroui (Professo r of epistemology and writer) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250314T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250314T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/aff2ab73-cdc8-4669-981f-3ec45a5decb9/ DESCRIPTION:\nSpeakers:\nProfessor Fouad Laroui (Professor of epistemology and writer) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/aff2ab73-cdc8-4669-981f-3ec45a5decb9/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Do we really owe Arabs nothing? - Professor Fouad Laroui (Professor of epistemology and writer) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:*CANCELLED* Public opinion in Palestine since 7 October - Professo r Khalil Shikaki (Director\, Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Rese arch) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250228T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250228T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/f833344b-e676-49ba-88db-736b149c10e5/ DESCRIPTION:\nStatus: This talk has been cancelled\n\nSpeakers:\nProfessor Khalil Shikaki (Director\, Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Resea rch) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/f833344b-e676-49ba-88db-736b149c10e5/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:*CANCELLED* Public opinion in Palestine since 7 October - Professor Khalil Shikaki (Director\, Palestinian Center for Policy and Su rvey Research) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Lebanon and Syria amidst regional turmoil - Associate Professor Jo seph Bahout (Director of the Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs\, AUB) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250124T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250124T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/6a03e522-c177-41c9-be7d-decdb854ebd8/ DESCRIPTION:\nSpeakers:\nAssociate Professor Joseph Bahout (Director of th e Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs\, AUB) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/6a03e522-c177-41c9-be7d-decdb854ebd8/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Lebanon and Syria amidst regional turmoil - Associate Pro fessor Joseph Bahout (Director of the Institute for Public Policy and Inte rnational Affairs\, AUB) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Defining antisemitism: what is the point? - Professor Shai Lavi (T el Aviv University)\, Dr Brian Klug (Oxford) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20241205T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20241205T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/d86c9b18-4400-469c-8f55-2ca6910d1953/ DESCRIPTION:Since October 7 2023\, the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaz a has led to public protests against Israel and demands for an immediate c easefire. In this connection\, controversy over antisemitism on campuses a cross the globe\, including Oxford\, has intensified. At the heart of the controversy is the definition of antisemitism published by the Internation al Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). The definition has been adopted by numerous states and institutions\, including Oxford University. The sem inar will raise the following issues\, among others: What useful role can definitions play in this controversy? Can the IHRA definition perform this role? Is it\, in practice\, used in a partisan way? Does the Jerusalem De claration on Antisemitism (JDA) give better guidance? More fundamentally\, can a clear line be drawn between antisemitic and non-antisemitic critiqu e of Israel\, or is there a deep ambiguity in the phenomenon itself?\nSpea kers:\nProfessor Shai Lavi (Tel Aviv University)\, Dr Brian Klug (Oxford) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/d86c9b18-4400-469c-8f55-2ca6910d1953/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Defining antisemitism: what is the point? - Professor Sha i Lavi (Tel Aviv University)\, Dr Brian Klug (Oxford) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Gaza – a war on healthcare - Professor Nick Maynard (University of Oxford)\, Dr Debbie Harrington (Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundat ion Trust)\, Dr Rebecca Inglis (University of Oxford) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20241129T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20241129T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/8bff84be-f818-4ddd-922d-a3cb30dcecca/ DESCRIPTION:Nick Maynard\, Debbie Harrington and Rebecca Inglis have many years of experience of travelling to Gaza to teach medical students and pr ovide humanitarian medical care\, including work at Al Aqsa Hospital in Ga za since October 7th\, 2023. They will talk about their experiences\, and specifically about the devastating impact of the direct targeting of the h ealth care system and healthcare workers in Gaza.\nSpeakers:\nProfessor Ni ck Maynard (University of Oxford)\, Dr Debbie Harrington (Oxford Universit y Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)\, Dr Rebecca Inglis (University of Oxfor d) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/8bff84be-f818-4ddd-922d-a3cb30dcecca/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Gaza – a war on healthcare - Professor Nick Maynard (Un iversity of Oxford)\, Dr Debbie Harrington (Oxford University Hospitals NH S Foundation Trust)\, Dr Rebecca Inglis (University of Oxford) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Regional dimensions of the Gaza crisis\, and the Arab role in the UN Security Council - Mouin Rabbani\, Hasmik Egian DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20241108T170000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20241108T183000Z UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/57c2d87d-8a1c-4ed0-8480-08d818aa79ec/ DESCRIPTION:Ms Egian’s presentation will explore the role played by Arab States on the UN Security Council during their terms as non-permanent Cou ncil members\, and what impact they may have had on issues related to the Middle East.\n\nRabbani will examine the extent to which regional dynamics played a role in the 7 October 2023 attacks\, the position of Hamas withi n the coalition known as the Axis of Resistance\, and how the Gaza crisis has influenced the region's politics during the past year.\nSpeakers:\nMou in Rabbani\, Hasmik Egian LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/57c2d87d-8a1c-4ed0-8480-08d818aa79ec/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Regional dimensions of the Gaza crisis\, and the Arab rol e in the UN Security Council - Mouin Rabbani\, Hasmik Egian TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:From the cradle to the street: family and the 1979 Revolution in I ran - Professor Naghmeh Sohrabi (Brandeis University) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20241025T170000 DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20241025T183000 UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/e7a2f120-4db9-44cf-b372-63a622c466ef/ DESCRIPTION:\nSpeakers:\nProfessor Naghmeh Sohrabi (Brandeis University) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/e7a2f120-4db9-44cf-b372-63a622c466ef/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:From the cradle to the street: family and the 1979 Revolu tion in Iran - Professor Naghmeh Sohrabi (Brandeis University) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Colonial subjects and the right to have rights: Algeria\, 1834 - P rofessor Charles Kurzman (University of North Carolina) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20241018T170000 DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20241018T183000 UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/a907594d-32c5-4209-aec4-e12c381be633/ DESCRIPTION:This presentation\, a chapter from Professor Charles Kurzman's current book project\, examines the public debate over what rights\, if a ny\, Algerians would have under French occupation\, featuring a French gen eral urging his country to do to the Algerians what the United States had done to Native Americans\, and an Algerian representative urging France to obey the Law of Nations and make Algerians French citizens if it was not going to grant them independence.\nSpeakers:\nProfessor Charles Kurzman (U niversity of North Carolina) LOCATION:St Antony's College (Investcorp Lecture Theatre)\, 62 Woodstock R oad OX2 6JF TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/a907594d-32c5-4209-aec4-e12c381be633/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Colonial subjects and the right to have rights: Algeria\, 1834 - Professor Charles Kurzman (University of North Carolina) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR