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e-ISSN: 1647-7251

Thematic dossier - The Middle East.

Local dynamics, regional actors, global challeges

February 2022

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. 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

Thematic dossier – The Middle East. Local Dynamics, regional actors, global challenges,

February 2022, pp. 1-4

Editorial

Giulia Daniele, Luís Nuno Rodrigues

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

Thematic dossier – The Middle East. Local Dynamics, regional actors, global challenges,

February 2022, pp. 1-4

Editorial

Giulia Daniele, Luís Nuno Rodrigues

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

Thematic dossier – The Middle East. Local Dynamics, regional actors, global challenges,

February 2022, pp. 1-4

Editorial

Giulia Daniele, Luís Nuno Rodrigues

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