NUPI's Centre for the Middle East and North Africa

NUPI's Centre for the Middle East and North Africa aims to increase knowledge of domestic and foreign policy in the countries of the region.

The Centre brings together NUPI's expertise across topics of great importance to Norway, including security and defence, development aid, peacebuilding and diplomacy, energy, radicalisation, and armed groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).

Political developments in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa affect their own national contexts and populations, and they also have ripple effects around the world. Recently, we have seen how long-standing, unresolved conflicts, such as the Israel-Palestine conflict, can destabilise the entire region. The war between Iran, Israel and the US since 28 February 2026 has shown how important the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea are for global energy security and the economy.

NUPI researchers work specifically on countries in the region, such as Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Their research covers foreign policy, gender and social change, football and politics, ideology and Islamism, ethnic and religious conflict, legal reform and governance, and water and peacebuilding, among other topics. 

NUPI researchers affiliated with the Centre:

• Tine Gade (Coordinator)
• Charlotte Lysa
• Erik Skare
• Morten Bøås
• Viljar Haavik