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| NEWSLETTER | #60 | 20/05/2026 |
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| Summer sign at CMES - Japanese flowering cherry (Prunus serrulata ‘Kanzan’) |
During an especially busy spring period, CMES organised several important public panels and seminars. On 13 April, in connection with Lund Sustainability Week, CMES hosted the panel A Sustainable Middle East in a Turbulent World? at the Pufendorf Institute. This was followed on 27 April by the panel discussion What Does the Future Hold for Iran? Finally, on 8 May, CMES welcomed acclaimed SVT reporter Cecilia Uddén for a public seminar titled What Is Going to Happen in Gaza?
Several new publications by CMES researchers have also been released. Most recently, CMES researcher Hossein Hashemi published a policy-relevant article in The Conversation examining how climate change is reshaping Saharan dust storms and increasing their impact on Europe.
The CMES team also continues to grow. We are delighted to welcome Pelle Valentin Olsen, who will divide his time between CMES and the Department of History as Associate Senior Lecturer. In addition, Saman Shahnazi Mansouri recently commenced his postdoctoral position, jointly shared between LTH and CMES.
Looking ahead, the final two CMES spring research seminars will feature a presentation by Pelle Valentin Olsen on Leisure, Entertainment, and Everyday Life in Modern Iraq, as well as the concluding seminar of the Eco-Syria project: Exploring Conflict–Environment Interactions for Sustainable Development and Conservation. Finally, on 28 May, CMES welcomes back former Fulbright Scholar Dalia Dassa Kaye for a talk on her new book, Enduring Hostility: The Making of America’s Iran Policy.
For the latest updates, stay connected through the CMES website, social media channels, and by subscribing to the newsletter.
Ronny Berndtsson
CMES Director,
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| Alice Panepinto (Queen’s University Belfast). Photo: Linus Edlund |
| A full house at CMES gathered researchers, students and members of the public for a seminar on settler violence in Palestine, where legal perspectives on state responsibility sparked an engaged discussion and a lively Q&A. |
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| The event opened with remarks by Lund University Vice-Chancellor Erik Renström. Photo: Linus Edlund |
| Recent developments in Iran highlight the complex interplay between domestic unrest, regional conflict and global geopolitics. At a CMES panel at Lund University, researchers and practitioners explored possible futures for Iran — emphasising uncertainty, internal dynamics and the limits of external intervention. |
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| Andreas-Bandak. Photo: Linus Edlund |
How do Syrians navigate uncertainty and reshape their futures after years of conflict and upheaval?
This question was at the heart of the CMES seminar “Worlds in the Making: Viability, Orientation and Recalibration in Syrian Lives,” with Andreas Bandak, University of Copenhagen. |
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| CMES Director Ronny Berndtsson, Professor Karin Aggestam, Dr Pinar Dinc, Dr Maria Andrea Nardi, Dr Hossein Hashemi. Photo: Linus Edlund |
| How can the Middle East move towards sustainability and peace amid escalating conflicts and environmental crises? This question was at the heart of a well-attended panel discussion hosted by the Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) during Sustainability Week 2026. |
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| Merouan Mekouar, York University, Canada. Photo: Linus Edlund |
| Researchers conducting fieldwork in repressive and illiberal countries face profound ethical, personal and professional challenges — particularly when they are native to the societies they study. These issues were at the centre of a well attended CMES seminar by professor Merouan Mekouar, York University, Canada. |
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| The CMES Yearbooks summarize the Centre's activities during the year. |
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| CMES Researchers are regularly interviewed in newspapers, radio, and podcasts on the situation in the Middle East. |
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| Pelle-Valentin-Students at Baghdad College (1934)-Jusuit Archives and Research Center - Saint Louis - Missouri |
| Presentation by Pelle Valentin Olsen, CMES and Department of History, Lund University |
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| The Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) at Lund University invites you to explore the intersection of authoritarianism, climate policy, and displacement.ty |
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| CMES welcomes Dalia Dassa Kaye for a talk on her book Enduring Hostility: The Making of America’s Iran Policy. |
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Anne-Marie McManus. Photo: Forum Transregionale Studien Berlin
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| Guest lecture by Anne-Marie McManus, Forum Transregionale Studien Berlin. |
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| Presentation by Pinar Dinc, Lina Eklund, Maria Andrea Nardi, Mo Hamza, Hakim Abdi, CMES and Lund University. |
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| Photo: AI |
| CMES director Ronny Berndtsson at the Division of Water Resources Engineering has cowritten a publication on Salinity–Chloride Interaction Effects on Novel Citrus Combinations Under Various Field Conditions. |
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| City, Territory and Architecture |
| New article from CMES by Torsten Janson and Mattias Kärrholm. |
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| Map illustrating the ‘black hole’ of the fire-zone. Photograph: Torsten Janson. |
| New article co-written by CMES researcher Torsten Jansson. |
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