Sectarianism, Geopolitics and Dis(Order) in the Shadow of October 7th
13 March 2025. From 18:30 | Conference | English | IEMed
Since the deadly Hamas attacks of October 7th, order across the Middle East has become increasingly precarious. The destruction of Gaza and southern Lebanon, the killing of key Hamas and Hizballah leaders, the fall of Bashar Al Assad, the weakening of Iran, and ongoing questions about the role of the US have shaken the very principles that underpin order across the Middle East. In this lecture, we will reflect on the ways in which order has been contested and the causes of such contestation, arguing that the Middle East has entered an interregnum—a period in which the old order is fraying, but a new order is yet to emerge.
Lecture by Simon Mabon, Chair in International Politics, Lancaster University, and Director of the Richardson Institute.
Mabon is a Senior Lecturer in International Relations and Director of the Richardson Institute at Lancaster University. He received his PhD from the University of Leeds with the thesis Saudi Arabia and Iran: Soft power rivalry in the Middle East (2012). His research interests focus on Middle East Studies and International Political Theory, covering issues such as sovereignty, sectarianism, political Islam, Saudi-Iranian rivalry, and the Arab Uprisings. In 2012, Mabon was awarded a Research Fellowship with the think tank Foreign Policy Centre and has collaborated with them ever since. He served as an academic advisor to the House of Lords International Relations Committee from 2016 to 2017 on their inquiry into British relations with the Middle East. Some of his recent publications include The Struggle for Supremacy in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia and Iran (Cambridge University Press, 2023), and Houses Built on Sand: Violence, Sectarianism and Revolution in the Middle East (Manchester University Press, 2020).
Moderated by Gabriel Garroum, Margarita Salas Postdoctoral Researcher, UPF, and Affiliated Faculty Member, IBEI
Within the Aula Mediterrània 2024-2025 series.
Co-organised with the IBEI Masters’ Degrees.
Read AulaMed article by Simon Mabon.
Speakers
Simon Mabon
Chair in International Politics Lancaster University
Gabriel Garroum
Affiliated Faculty Member IBEIOrganised by
