Center for International and Regional Studies

2008-2009 Research and Scholarship Initiatives

• The Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) conducted a comprehensive study of the international relations of the Gulf region. The first working group meeting took place in June 2008 and brought together a number of distinguished scholars of the Gulf to start work on an edited volume entitled The International Relations of the Gulf. The second working group meeting took place in January 2009, in order to finalize the project.
  
• As a result of the April 2008 conference Innovation in Islam, CIRS will publish a compilation of the papers presented.
  
• As part of the Migrant Labor in the Gulf research initiative, CIRS has awarded a number of Research Grants to scholars interested in the field.
  
• The Comparative Ethics of War working group meeting was co-sponsored by CIRS and the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO). The meeting took place over two days, May 3-4, 2009.
  
• CIRS continued its publication series in the 2008-2009 academic year with an Occasional Paper by Professor Steven Wright of Qatar University, entitled "Fixing the Kingdom: Political Evolution and Socio-Economic Challenges in Bahrain," which focuses on the various political challenges that Bahrain faces. CIRS also published online Briefs of its lectures and newsletters highlighting all its activities.
  
• CIRS welcomed its inaugural Post Doctoral Fellow. Read about the 2008-2009 Post Doctoral Fellow Katja Niethammer.

2007-2008 Research and Scholarship Initiatives

• During the 2007-2008 academic year, CIRS engaged in several major initiatives in the areas of research and scholarship. These include studies of the conditions and impact of Iraqi refugees in Syria and Jordan and conservation and industrialization in Qatar.
  
  
• The October 2007 conference "America and the Middle East: The View from the Outside" was sponsored by CIRS, in conjunction with the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University's research project entitled "America’s Role in the World."
  
  
• The December 2007 "Symposium on Global Development, Organizations, and Faith in the Muslim World" was co-sponsored with the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, which is undertaking a multi-year research project focusing on institutions inspired by and linked to faith.
  
  
• In March 2008, CIRS published an occasional paper entitled Conservation in Qatar: Impact of Increasing Industrialization by Renee Richer of Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar.