What now for the Middle East? NUPI symposium and new podcast episode explore the region’s future
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Hamas’ attack on 7 October 2023 and Israel’s subsequent offensive in Gaza have fundamentally reshaped the Middle East. During the two-day symposium at NUPI, light was shed on a region characterized by immense human suffering and a political landscape in drastic flux.
The symposium brought together researchers, decision-makers and other working in relation with the region to discuss everything from the internal states of Israel and Palestine, to international diplomacy, and potential paths toward a solution to the conflict. It was opened by NUPI Director Kari M. Osland and organized by Frode Saugestad.
A deep dive into Hamas’ internal dynamics
One of the central themes during the conference was the role and evolution of Hamas. Following the panel “Where are what is Hamas today?”, moderator and Senior Researcher at NUPI Erik Skare invited Jeroen Gunning, Professor of Middle Eastern Politics and Conflict Studies at King’s College London, for an extended conversation in NUPI’s podcast The World Stage. Gunning is considered to be one of the founders of critical terrorism studies, and has researched Hamas extensively for decades.
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In the episode, Skare and Gunning explore how Hamas has evolved from being a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood focused on social welfare in the 1970s and 80s, to becoming the multifaceted movement is it today, with both political and military wings.
– Hamas is not a monolithic block, but characterized by internal tensions between pragmatists and hardliners. While pragmatists have at times accepted the idea of a two-state solution along the 1967 borders, hardliners view armed struggle as the only means to liberation, Gunning explains.
The movement exists in a state of tension between its role as the de facto authority responsible for the civilian population in Gaza and its role as a resistance movement.
– The 7 October attack can partly be seen as a result of this internal conflict, where the hardliners wanted to break out of their role as “prison wardens” in a blockaded Gaza, Gunning continues.
Five expert panels on the road ahead
For those who were unable to attend the symposium, recordings of all panels are now available on NUPI’s YouTube channel. You can also watch all the recordings here:
Panel 1: Where and what is Palestine today?
- Tine Gade, NUPI (moderator)
- Nadim Khoury, University of Inland Norway
- Jacob Høigilt, University of Oslo
- Dana El Kurd, University of Richmond
Panel 2: Where and what is Israel today?
- Nikolai Kleivan, Morgenbladet (moderator)
- Hanne Eggen Røislien, The Norwegian Defence University College
- Mairav Zonszein, International Crisis Group (via Teams)
- Dahlia Scheindlin, The Century Foundation (via Teams)
Panel 3: Where and what is Hamas today?
- Erik Skare, NUPI (moderator)
- Jeroen Gunning, King's College London
- Muhammad Shehada, European Council on Foreign Relations
Panel 4: Quo vadis? On the one-state, two-state, and other solutions
- Nils August Andresen Butenschøn, UiO (moderator)
- Jørgen Jensehaugen, PRIO
- Geir O. Pedersen, formerly with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Sigurd Falkenberg Mikkelsen, NRK
Panel 5: International Israel/Palestine: On international stakeholders and diplomacy
- Kari Osland, NUPI (moderator)
- Mara Rudman, University of Virginia
- Charlotte Lysa, NUPI
- Beth Oppenheim, European Council on Foreign Relations