OBSERVARE
Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa
e-ISSN: 1647-7251
VOL12 N2, DT2
Thematic dossier - The Middle East.
Local dynamics, regional actors, global challeges
February 2022
1
EDITORIAL
THE MIDDLE EAST.
LOCAL DYNAMICS, REGIONAL ACTORS, GLOBAL CHALLENGES
GIULIA DANIELE
Giulia.Daniele@iscte-iul.pt
She is researcher and Guest Assistant Professor at the Centro de Estudos Internacionais of the
Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL, Portugal. Her main research interests extensively
cover the intersection of Middle East politics with a focus on Palestine and Israel, social
movements, gender and feminist studies, conflict resolution, settler colonialism, and ethno-
national narratives. Her first book is entitled “Women, Reconciliation and the Israeli-Palestinian
Conflict: The Road Not Yet Taken” (Routledge, 2014 hardcover and 2018 paperback). Among her
latest articles: "Political and Social Protests From The Margins: The Role of Mizrahi Jews in Israeli
Grassroots Activism" (Etnográfica, 2019) and "Mizrahi Jews and the Zionist Settler Colonial
Context: Between Inclusion and Struggle" (Settler Colonial Studies, 2020).
LUÍS NUNO RODRIGUES
luis.rodrigues@iscte-iul.pt
He is Full Professor at the History Department of ISCTE-University Institute of Lisbon (Portugal)
and Director of the Center for International Studies (CEI-IUL) and of the Master in
International Studies in the same university. He holds a PhD in American History from the
University of Wisconsin. His areas of expertise are 20th Century History of Portugal,
History of International Relations and History of the USA. He has supervised several
dozens of doctoral and master's theses. His most recent publications include the article
“Establishing a ‘Cultural Base’? The Creation of the Fulbright Program in Portugal”,
published in 2017 at the International History Review, and the collective book L'Aviation
et son impact sur le temps et l'espace, published in 2019 by Editions Le Manuscript. He
currently coordinates the research project "NoWall: Europe and the Fall of the Berlin
Wall" at CEI-IUL.
How to cite this editorial
Daniele, Giulia; Rodrigues, Luís Nuno (2022). Editorial. Janus.net, e-journal of international
relations. VOL12 N2, TD2 - Thematic dossier The Middle East. Local dynamics, regional actors,
global challenges, February 2022. Consulted [online] on date of the last
view, https://doi.org/10.26619/1647-7251.DT0122ED
JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations
e-ISSN: 1647-7251
VOL12 N2, DT2
Thematic dossier The Middle East. Local Dynamics, regional actors, global challenges,
February 2022, pp. 1-4
Editorial
Giulia Daniele, Luís Nuno Rodrigues
2
EDITORIAL
GIULIA DANIELE
LUÍS NUNO RODRIGUES
This dossier gathers articles by five graduates from the Master in International Studies,
based at ISCTE University Institute of Lisbon. The students came from different
disciplines and academic backgrounds, but in spite of their heterogeneous approaches
and perspectives, they have found a common field, namely a critical analysis of some of
the most contradictory and conflicted political and social dynamics occurring in the
contemporary Middle East and affecting also neighbouring countries. All the authors have
started their research due to personal interest and curiosity, with the aim of making the
complexity of such diverse contexts in the region visible and intelligible.
In recent times, Middle Eastern Studies have increasingly taken up a relevant role in
academia, particularly in a interdisciplinary framework. By deeply analysing the
interactions of the region with the current globalised world, this area of study has
attempted to break down traditional barriers among disciplines and to examine relations
and linkages that are present across the region. More in detail, the field of Middle Eastern
politics has developed specific interests and concerns both at the global and at the
regional level. Within a context defined by the most internationally recognised events
and junctures in the last twenty years, from the 9/11 attacks and the following Iraq
invasion in 2003 to the Arab uprisings of 2011 and the most recent withdrawal of US
troops from Afghanistan in 2021, domestic, regional and global levels of analysis have
been taken into account in the academic and political discourses.
The emergence of regional powers has also been crucial to understanding the most recent
panorama, as new geo-political interests and strategies throughout the region have
increased the role of growing regional actors, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Turkey,
as well as of rising international players, such as Russia and China. This has demonstrated
how the political and economic influence of the Middle East has developed, as a major
consequence of the centrality of the region in global politics.
In parallel, the study of this area of the world has been improved and transformed in the
past decades. Historically dominated in particular by issues such as war and nation
JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations
e-ISSN: 1647-7251
VOL12 N2, DT2
Thematic dossier The Middle East. Local Dynamics, regional actors, global challenges,
February 2022, pp. 1-4
Editorial
Giulia Daniele, Luís Nuno Rodrigues
3
states, Middle Eastern studies, and more specifically the field of Middle Eastern politics,
have more recently been directed towards further and heterogenous research interests,
including also wider perspectives concerning contentious actors and politics from below.
This has allowed for the growth of several sub-fields that have recognised different angles
and topics related to the region, from women's rights and gender equality to ongoing
sectarian tensions, from the increase of diverse forms of Islamism to the revival of
nationalist and authoritarian narratives, on the one hand, and the rise of social
movements practices, on the other.
Within this interdisciplinary background, this special issue intends to highlight the
importance of dealing with various lenses along with diverse theoretical and
methodological tools, in the process of interpreting the complexity of each peculiar
context within the region. According to the main goals of the Master in International
Studies at ISCTE in terms of knowledge and skills, the five articles originate from the
best dissertations in this area of study defended during the academic year 2019-20.
Mostly based on qualitative approaches, these papers are the product of extensive
research on the most relevant topics focused on current tensions, conflicts, challenges,
and turmoils, ongoing in several countries of the Middle East. Although these Master’s
students have worked on very specific issues, all of them have been able to contextualise
each unstable and challenging reality present in the heterogeneity characterising the
region. As a result, the common thread of this special issue is a critically analysis of the
complex, controversial and challenging socio-political dynamics occurring in the
contemporary Middle East and neighbouring areas, such as in particular the European
border with Greece.
Starting with one of the most intractable concerns of our times, namely the Palestinian
question, two authors have approached it in a complementary way by using different
disciplinary and methodological perspectives. In the first article of the dossier, João
Borralho deeply analyses the normalised relationship between Egypt and Israel in the
Gaza Strip, with a specific focus on the meaning of governing under siege. In the second
article, Mafalda Young stresses the importance of Palestinian graffiti as a powerful tool
of resistance against the ongoing Israeli military occupation, and how it has historically
and politically evolved since the first Intifada. By tackling another central framework
related to the political and social dynamics of the region, the third and fourth articles
highlight the relevance of working from a gendered perspective. In the third article
Elisabete Domingues deals in detail with the role of women in the current Yemeni conflict
resolution process, both through formal and informal tools. In the fourth article, Joana
Fernandes examines the status of women’s citizenship and rights in Saudi Arabia, while
comparing their current achievements with the case of Sophia - the female-looking non-
human being that was recognised as a Saudi citizen in 2017. Moving towards the borders
with the European Union, the last article by Claire Felix aims to give voice to the unheard
narratives of refugees coming mostly from Middle Eastern countries to Europe by passing
through Greece, and to question current European asylum and migration policies.
In a wider and interdisciplinary sense, this special issue intends to contribute to the
contemporary literature regarding the Middle East and its intertwined realities, along with
the main ongoing challenges. All these contributions, founded on original theoretical and
empirical studies, seek to underline the necessity of creating new spaces, new debates,
JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations
e-ISSN: 1647-7251
VOL12 N2, DT2
Thematic dossier The Middle East. Local Dynamics, regional actors, global challenges,
February 2022, pp. 1-4
Editorial
Giulia Daniele, Luís Nuno Rodrigues
4
and new opportunities for young researchers in order to become more visible and
engaged in this area of study. Indeed, these five young authors can profoundly enrich
and become actively part of the Portuguese academia working on these topics.
Lisbon, January 10, 2022