Center for International and Regional Studies

A warm Doha greeting from all of us at CIRS!

We have an exciting year planned for the Center. As in the past, our activities and our mission will be informed by a commitment to academic excellence, visionary thinking, and community engagement. Our primary concern at CIRS is to foster a forum for the flow and exchange of ideas, quiet and contemplative dialogue, and meaningful involvement in the larger community of which we are a part.

With these guiding principles shaping a vision of ourselves and our mission in the coming years, our focus is in three primary areas: research and scholarship; public affairs programming; and publications. In each of these areas, we are taking significant steps that, both individually and collectively, will greatly enrich the intellectual lives of Georgetown, Qatar, and beyond.

In the area of research and scholarship, we sponsor a number of working groups, bringing together international teams of experts and practitioners for seminars on topics of contemporary significance. This year, these working groups comprise scholarly teams studying the international relations of the Gulf region and issues related to migrant labor in the Gulf. As always, our goal is to present diverse scholarly analyses regarding these important and timely topics.

In addition, CIRS hosts a variety of other scholarly endeavors such as discussion panels, a Distinguished Lecture series, and also a Monthly Dialogue Series, which features our faculty’s on-going research for a smaller audience.

CIRS’s scholarly efforts have resulted in the publication of three Occasional Papers, dealing with the consequences of the influx of Iraqi refugees in Syria and Jordan; industrialization and biodiversity in Qatar; and a study of the socio-economic situation in Bahrain. 

Looking ahead, we hope to do more of the same — more publications, more public affairs programming, more collaborative efforts, and more research and scholarship — and to do it better. And, with the talented and energetic staff with whom I have the good fortune of working, I have no doubt that we are well on our way to becoming a world class institute for research and learning. Along the way, we are eagerly looking forward to serving you and other members of community in Doha, in Washington, DC, and beyond.

Sincerely,
Mehran Kamrava
Director