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| Middle East Centre | |
|---|---|
| Name | Middle East Centre |
| Formation | 20th century |
| Type | Research institute |
| Headquarters | London |
| Leader title | Director |
Middle East Centre is a research institute focused on the history, politics, culture, and contemporary affairs of the Middle East. The Centre conducts studies on subjects ranging from the Ottoman Empire and Safavid dynasty to modern states such as Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. It collaborates with universities, think tanks, and cultural institutions including Oxford University, Cambridge University, School of Oriental and African Studies, British Museum, and SOAS University of London.
The Centre traces intellectual antecedents to scholarly networks around the Levant Company, the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1841, and early Orientalist scholarship associated with figures like Edward Said, Bernard Lewis, T. E. Lawrence, and Gertrude Bell. Its institutional roots developed alongside postwar bodies such as the British Institute for the Study of Iraq and the Royal Asiatic Society. During the Cold War it addressed crises involving the Suez Crisis, the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, and relations with the Soviet Union, shifting focus after the Iranian Revolution and the Gulf War to topics involving United Nations diplomacy and European Union policy. In the 21st century the Centre expanded work on the Arab Spring, the Syrian Civil War, and issues related to ISIS and Al-Qaeda, partnering with archival projects on documents from the Ottoman Archives, the British Library, and the National Archives (United Kingdom).
The Centre's mission emphasizes multidisciplinary analysis of historical and contemporary phenomena affecting Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Yemen, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. It hosts seminars responding to crises such as the Lebanon hostage crisis, reconstruction programs after the Iraqi occupation, and transitional justice following the Arab-Israeli conflict. Activities include policy briefings for bodies like the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, consultancy for the World Bank, programming with the United Nations Development Programme, and public events in partnership with the Royal United Services Institute and the Chatham House.
Research strands cover imperial administration in the Ottoman Tanzimat, economic history involving the Suez Canal Company, social movements such as the Young Turks, and religious reform associated with Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Muhammad Abduh. Publications include monographs on the Treaty of Lausanne, edited volumes on colonial mandates, working papers on energy politics in the Persian Gulf, and policy reports addressing refugee crises like those from Rojava and Afghanistan. The Centre publishes journals and series in collaboration with publishers such as Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Brill Publishers, and Palgrave Macmillan and contributes chapters to edited collections on topics including the Arab-Israeli peace process, the Oslo Accords, and the Camp David Accords.
Educational programming includes postgraduate seminars linked to departments at University College London, fellowships named after benefactors and scholars like Gerald A. Silk and E. J. Hobsbawm, and language training in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hebrew, and Kurdish. Outreach involves lecture series featuring speakers such as Hanan Ashrawi, Shimon Peres, Hassan Rouhani, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (as subjects of study), public exhibitions co-curated with the Victoria and Albert Museum, and digital initiatives in partnership with the BBC and Al Jazeera to disseminate archival material on uprisings, peace negotiations, and migration.
The Centre maintains formal ties with academic units and think tanks including King's College London, Harvard University, Columbia University, Princeton University, Georgetown University, The Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Middle East Institute (Washington, D.C.). It convenes networks with regional institutes such as the American University of Beirut, the American University in Cairo, the Beirut Arab University, and the University of Tehran. Collaborative projects have involved the International Committee of the Red Cross, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and cultural diplomacy partners like the British Council.
Situated in central London near research hubs such as Charing Cross, the Centre occupies archival reading rooms, seminar suites, and exhibition spaces adjacent to collections at the British Library and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Facilities include a microfilm archive of rare Ottoman registers, a digital repository linked to the Internet Archive, oral history studios for projects on diaspora communities from Palestine, Iraq, and Syria, and a visitor programme connecting to consulates from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iran.
Governance comprises an advisory board with scholars and practitioners drawn from institutions such as Princeton University, Harvard Kennedy School, London School of Economics, and the European Council on Foreign Relations. Funding sources include philanthropic foundations like the Carnegie Corporation, the Ford Foundation, the Gates Foundation, governmental research councils including the Economic and Social Research Council, project grants from the European Commission, and endowments from private donors linked to families active in Gulf Cooperation Council states. The Centre adheres to institutional review and ethics frameworks used by partner universities and archival institutions.
Category:Research institutes