Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies

Deserving of an honourable mention from the entries of our recent essay competition, Florence Jones' piece on 'The Chinese Dream: Dreaming as Constructing in the Definition and Self-Definition of China' is now up on our website.

Ms Jones, of the Graduate School for Interdisciplinary Studies MLitt Global, Social and Political Thought programme, focuses her research on Nationalist Imagery and ideological nation-building, which is a core theme for this engaging essay.

Although the research is not focused directly on one of the MECAC regions, the panel deemed this essay worthy of an honourable mention in the postgraduate category due to its strong engagement with the competition themes and the importance of post-colonial studies in academia.

Institute of Middle East, Central Asian and Caucasus Studies Essay Competition: ‘Understanding Legacies of Imperialism in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus’. – Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies Institute of Middle East, Central Asian and Caucasus Studies Essay Competition: ‘Understanding Legacies of Imperialism in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus’. eh229 Tuesday 30 August 2022 Share this with Facebook Share this with Twitter Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this w...

MECACS Student Essay Prize Results

MECACS is pleased to announce the winners of our first Student Essay competition on ‘Understanding legacies of imperialism in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus’. The competition attracted entries from student from a range of Schools including Classics, Graduate School for Interdisciplinary Studies, History, International Relations, Modern Languages, and Philosophical, Anthropological and Film Studies. Congratulations to our winners and thank you to all students who participated. The winning essays will be published on the MECACS blog in due course – watch this space!

Winners

- Kasumi Sakurada ‘The significance of ‘dignity’ in constructing peace in Egypt as exemplified by the 2011 Egyptian Revolution’ (2nd year International Relations and Philosophy)

- Oliver Mizzi ‘Syria’s Long War – UCD and the Battle Between Ba’athist and Islamist’ (Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Security Studies Masters programme)

Honourable Mentions

- Thomas Hodgson ‘Russian-centric Historiography and its implications for the Caucasus’ (1st year Modern History and Russian)

- Florence Jones ‘The Chinese Dream: Dreaming as Constructing in the Definition and Self-Definition of China’ (Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Studies)

CALL FOR BRISMES ANNUAL CONFERENCE VOLUNTEERS

The Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies (MECACS) of St Andrews is hosting the annual conference of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) between July 4th and July 6th (more details about the conference, see https://www.brismes.ac.uk/conference). During the three-day conference, the MECACS, in coordination with BRISMES, expects to host and organise nearly 70 panels on 'Exploring and Contesting the (re)production of coloniality in the Middle East: Borders, Transnationalism, and Resistance'. We would appreciate any students who are Honours undergraduate, PGT, PGR students, or recent graduates volunteer to help us with:

- Setting up the space for registration and with registration itself;
- Assisting BRISMES/ publishers in setting up the exhibition;
- Assisting delegates in finding rooms;
- Housekeeping of venues before and during panels, including ensuring water in the room, confirming presenters' slides on the computer or the connection between their laptops and the projectors, ensuring that the chair for every panel receives their chairing notes;
- Or hand the microphones to people who have questions for panellists if the venue is big.

The MECACS will hold an in-person preparation meeting with all volunteers the week before the conference. At the meeting, we will offer some IT training, finalise the duty roster, have a tour of our venues and discuss any questions all volunteers might have. And it is most likely that all volunteers will also meet again on the day before (July 3rd ) the conference to confirm everything is all set.

While BRISMES will issue a letter confirming their participation as volunteers at the conference, all volunteers will also be issued a registration fee waiver and have access to the plenaries and the panels (plus coffee/tea and lunch). Volunteers can therefore attend these panels as long as their attendance does not prevent them from doing their volunteer work.

If you are interested in joining us or have any questions, please contact Dr Hsinyen Lai ([email protected]).

Conference Home Conference Conference Conference Menu Home For Delegates 2022 Conference Programme Call for Papers Keynotes About St Andrews Programme, Rates & Registration Solidarity Fund FAQ For Exhibitors & Sponsors Past Conferences 2021 Conference Contact Us The BRISMES Annual Conference BRISMES brings tog...

New report up on our website summarising the workshop co-hosted by the Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies and the School of Classics on Cultural and Religious Identity during the Syrian Uprising, as part of the University of St Andrews Sanctuary Week and the Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) Syria Programme.

Report – Cultural and religious identity during the Syrian uprising – Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies Report – Cultural and religious identity during the Syrian uprising eh229 Tuesday 7 June 2022 Share this with Facebook Share this with Twitter Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with LinkedIn Share this with WhatsApp Share this with Email On 11th March...

CALLING ALL University of St Andrews STUDENTS: The Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies is delighted to announce the launch of our brand new summer essay competition, focusing on 'Understanding legacies of imperialism in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus.' The competition is open to all University of St Andrews students across all disciplines. For further details, please see below.

Check out the latest interview now up on our blog, in which we speak to political-military analyst Bilal Y. Saab about the subject of his new book - ‘Rebuilding Arab Defense: U.S. Security Cooperation in the Middle East’.

https://lnkd.in/dc9YGScG

Interview with Bilal Saab: US Military Assistance in the Middle East – Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies Interview with Bilal Saab: US Military Assistance in the Middle East eh229 Friday 29 April 2022 Share this with Facebook Share this with Twitter Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with LinkedIn Share this with WhatsApp Share this with Email Bilal Y. Saab...

New interview now up on our blog, in which we speak to MECACS Research Associate Paolo Zucconi about populism within the Visegrad states and relations with Russia.

Populism in the Visegrad States and Relations with Russia – Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies Populism in the Visegrad States and Relations with Russia eh229 Friday 22 April 2022 Share this with Facebook Share this with Twitter Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with LinkedIn Share this with WhatsApp Share this with Email Interview with Paolo Zuc...

Check out our most recent interview, now up on the blog. In this piece, we speak to Dr Josephine Jackson about the subject of elite interviewing and R2P, as applied to the case studies of Syria and Libya.

Interview with Dr Josephine Jackson: Libya, Syria, Elite Interviewing and the R2P – Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies Interview with Dr Josephine Jackson: Libya, Syria, Elite Interviewing and the R2P eh229 Friday 18 March 2022 Share this with Facebook Share this with Twitter Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with LinkedIn Share this with WhatsApp Share this with Email....

We're delighted to be welcoming later today Professor Alexander Cooley of Barnard College, Columbia University in the City of New York, to present on 'Kazakhstan's Political Transition Goes Global: The Nazarbayevs, Transnational Kleptocracy and Exile Politics', as part of our Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies seminar series. Please register to attend by emailing [email protected].

Another interview conducted by the Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies now up on our blog. In this piece, we speak to Dr Aliya Tskhay, a Research Fellow at the School of Management and a MECACS Research Associate, about China's Geo-Economic strategies in Central Asia.

Balancing regionalism: Dr Aliya Tskhay on China’s Geo-economic Strategies in Central Asia – Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies Balancing regionalism: Dr Aliya Tskhay on China’s Geo-economic Strategies in Central Asia eh229 Thursday 3 March 2022 Share this with Facebook Share this with Twitter Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with LinkedIn Share this with WhatsApp Share this ...

New Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies interview now up on our blog with Karolina Kluczewska, postdoctoral researcher at the Ghent Institute for International and European Studies - GIES, Universiteit Gent, Belgium, on the politics of HIV/AIDS in Tajikistan:

The Politics of HIV/AIDS in Tajikistan – Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies The Politics of HIV/AIDS in Tajikistan eh229 Wednesday 23 February 2022 Share this with Facebook Share this with Twitter Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with LinkedIn Share this with WhatsApp Share this with Email Interview with Karolina Kluczewska, p...

Check out Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies member Professor Rick Fawn's recent article published in the Sunday Post on the implications of the conflict in Ukraine for Belarus.

ANALYSIS: As we all look to Ukraine, we must not forget Belarus. Russia won’t We are rightly focused on the massive Russian military build-up around Ukraine and the most recent, and potentially most troubling, is in Belarus.

We're delighted to be welcoming this coming week Dr Carsten Wieland and Dr Michelle Burgis-Kasthala of The University of Edinburgh to present on the subject of humanitarian assistance and war crimes accountability in Syria, as part of our Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies seminar series. Please email [email protected] to register to attend.

We're delighted that Dr Erica Marat of the College of International Security Affairs at the National Defense University is joining us tomorrow to give a talk on the Central Asian reaction to the Taliban, as part of our MECACS and School of International Relations seminar series. Please email [email protected] to register if you wish to attend.

Calling all students and staff!

We are looking for new submissions for the MECACS blog! Due to the interdisciplinary nature of MECACS, blog entries that cover the regions are welcome from all academic disciplines - not only IR.

The requirements for blog entries are as follows:
- Maximum length is 1,500 words including footnotes but excluding agenda. This is to ensure that entries are easily accessible and digestible.
- Please use a clear and coherent referencing style throughout.
- Times New Roman
- Size 12
- 1.5 Spacing
- We encourage authors to submit visuals along with blog entries but please ensure you have the right to use these visuals.
- Authors are encouraged to submit a short bio.

Authors can submit their papers by emailing [email protected] stating in the subject “MECACS Blog Submission”. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

Thank you Dr Una McGahern of Newcastle University for a fantastic talk last week on the cross border movement of Palestinian citizens as part of our MECACS Seminar series.

The University of St Andrews Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies are delighted to announce that we are now on Facebook!

MECACS runs a regular seminar series, staff work-in-progress presentations, hosts conferences and workshops. MECACS scholars regularly provide expert consultation and media commentary.

This year we are particularly looking forward to increasing our engagement with undergraduate students, and welcome anyone within the community of the University of St Andrews to attend our events.

Please follow our page for updates about MECACS events, and other information about the Institute and our members.