New SOAS institute moves Middle Eastern studies beyond conflict

Middle Eastern studies in the UK is at a “critical moment” as a period of relative stability offers a chance to refashion the discipline away from solely focusing on conflict, according to a leading scholar.

Lina Khatib, the new director of the recently launched SOAS Middle East Institute – a successor to the former London Middle East Institute, which closed in 2019 – warned that the current context could also see the region “relegated to a lower status” in the UK’s foreign policy priorities, with a knock-on effect on academia.

In the last decade, the world has closely followed the rise of ISIS and violence spreading across Iraq and its neighbours, as well as developments in the Israel-Palestine conflict and the aftermath of the Arab Spring. But Dr Khatib said things had slowed down in recent years, which changed the political priorities that influenced what the UK decided to invest in.

“We are at a critical moment right now, especially in the UK,” she added. “The Middle East has historically been seen as a region of conflict and crisis, and policy in general towards the Middle East has tended to be coloured by this approach. This means that when the Middle East goes through periods of relative lack of direct violence, as it is today, it makes it less important for policymakers in the UK.”

Dr Khatib, who previously served as director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, said that a weakness of Middle Eastern studies had been too much emphasis on conflict and overlooking the small, positive changes that had been taking place.

“The focus on conflict is problematic when it comes to understanding the region because it means that it dismisses the changes that are happening on the ground, which might not catch the headlines,” she said.

“People are always striving for changes and for a better life, so I feel now is a good moment to take a step back and reflect on these gaps and shed light on the things that have traditionally been overlooked.”

Nevertheless, Dr Khatib said, this was a “double-edged sword” because even when there was a spotlight on the region it tended to use conflict as a primary lens through which to understand the region.

“Both approaches are kind of simplistic, problematic and dogmatic. Academics have always tried to push back and do their things, but the context of this kind of black and white has always made it hard for Middle Eastern studies in general.”

Despite these challenges, Dr Khatib said, she did not want to “put the Middle East in a box” because a lot of the issues the region was experiencing were the same as those being faced elsewhere.

The relaunched institute will be research-led and public-facing, with a focus on innovation. Dr Khatib wants to turn it into the go-to place for innovative thinking about the issues that matter in the region.

It will also adopt interdisciplinary approaches. Dr Khatib said these were central to SOAS’ approach, as well as her own, and meant it would not overlook the “softer side of politics”.

“The Arab Spring took many by surprise but was the product of many incremental changes in the region – something that happened as a result of interactions between politics, the economy, societal changes, the media, ecology,” she said.

“So if you are going to really understand the Middle East you need this wider lens to look at the intersections between these different disciplines.

“The same applies everywhere – the Middle East is not unique in that regard, but this institution is going to fill a gap, especially in the UK, when it comes to how the Middle East is approached.”

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com