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The Middle East provides us with news and food for thought almost on a daily basis. Despite the many challenges the region faces, it has been at the heart of defining societal, political and ideological developments for many centuries. Due to this position, the Middle East has attracted an enormous global interest from researchers and policymakers alike.

In order to shed light on a range of research topics regarding the Middle East, the Centre for Global Challenges in collaboration with Lorena de Vita and Professor Christian Lange brought together researchers and students from different disciplines, ranging from law to history, religious studies, sociology and cultural anthropology in a one-day colloquium. The event provided a platform to discuss the global Middle East from a multidisciplinary perspective as the speakers challenged the audience to think critically and originally about the region and facilitate dialogue on the interconnections between law, history, politics, and religion in the Middle East.

After an introduction by the director of the Centre for Global Challenges, Professor Joost de Laat, the discussion chair, Christian Lange, introduced the first speaker. Historian Ozan Ozavci commenced the day by elaborating on the ‘dangerous gifts’; constituting imperialism, security, and civil war in 19^th century Middle East.

The historical perspective of Dr. Ozavci was followed up by attorney Brianne McGonigle Leyh, who took us more towards contemporary times and told about transitional justice and human rights by using the case of Tunisia. Emphasizing the difficulties of implementing transitional justice measures and the obstructing role the government can play.

Following these historical and legal perspectives on the Middle East, Professor Martin van Bruinessen talked us through a genealogy of Middle Eastern studies and languages at Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ. Uncovering the small but intimate research and study groups within the ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ that touched upon the Middle East and its languages.

The second half of the day commenced with an in-depth lecture about the Salafi anti-Shiite discourse in Jordan and the region by religious studies scholar Joas Wagemaker. He explained the different anti-Shiite views in Jordan and the reasons behind this critical stance against the Shiites in Jordan and generally in the Middle East.

Subsequently, prof. dr. Rebecca Bryant talked us through the sovereign anxieties and mismanagement of water pipelines in the Turkish claimed part of Cyprus. Explaining the dilemmas of increasing sovereignty in a state through infrastructure services and the mismanagement of these policies.

Last, but certainly not least, Professor Kees van den Bos gave a lecture about radicalization and the relation with the violent rejection of law and democracy. He predominantly focused his presentation on the case of the Netherlands and elaborated further on the ways to prevent radicalization.

This final presentation concluded a day with lots of new insights for the attendees and the participating researchers. The Centre for Global Challenges would like to thank the speakers, the attendees, and especially Lorena de Vita, Christian Lange and Ozan Ozavci for co-hosting this event.