7th Annual Sadiqhi lecture. By Ziad Majed
The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 modified the political configuration in the Levant, offering Iran the opportunity to rise as the strongest regional power.
With new allies governing in Bagdad, old allies governing in Damascus and a powerful ally (Hezbollah) controlling South Lebanon, Teheran became directly involved in three Arab scenes, with a strategic depth and a territorial continuity. Moreover, Iran’s ties with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad allowed it to be at the heart of the Palestinian Israeli conflict.
Today, it is still uncertain how Iran’s “nuclear deal” with western powers on one side, and the Russian military intervention in Syria on the other, would affect those fronts. What is certain, however, is that the Levant is witnessing a new founding moment, after 1916, 1948, 1973 and 1979.
About Ziad Majed
Ziad Majed is a researcher and an assistant professor of Middle East Studies and International Relations at the American University of Paris.
He is the coordinator of the "Arab Network for the Study of Democracy" and the author of research papers and articles on political transitions in Syria, Lebanon and the Arab region. His latest publication is "Syrie, le Révolution Orpheline" (Syria, the Orphan Revolution), Actes Sud, Paris 2014.
7th Annual Sadighi Lecture
The Sadighi Research Fund was established with generous support from the Centre for Iranian Documentation and Research (CIDR) at the International Institute of Social history (IISH). This Fund provides funding to scholars undertaking projects on the social history of Iran. The Annual Lectures constitute one of the key pillars of Sadighi Research Fund’s objectives. Each year an eminent scholar is invited to present a lecture related to social sciences on topics of her/his respective expertise.
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