Gijsbert Oonk, Director of the Sport and Nation research program at Erasmus University Rotterdam, discussed his study exploring the relationship between national belonging, acquiring citizenship, and migration. Taking high profile examples from international sports events, he sought to unveil the complexities behind the question: who may represent the nation? The historical models of jus sanguine…
Reporter Sebastian Abbot discussed his critically acclaimed book, The Away Game, which tells the gripping story of a group of boys discovered in what may be the largest talent search in sports history. Over the course of a decade, an audacious program called Football Dreams held tryouts for millions of 13-year-old boys across Africa looking…
In this moderated discussion based on his latest book, Climate Change and the Nation State: The Realist Case, Anatol Lieven sets out a new political strategy to mobilize support for the effort to limit climate change. He argues that while international agreements and movements are valuable, in the end, their purpose is to get states to…
Qatar has no football history, or so the critics say. In this moderated lecture, Doha-born journalist and author Matthias Krug debunks that myth by telling the inside story of the country’s most cherished football and sporting moments and players over the past six decades. Krug expressed, “Qatar has become a capital of world sports which will host global…
On October 19-20, 2020, the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) held the second working group for its research initiative on Economic Migration to the US. The virtual meeting brought together scholars who presented draft papers on important themes related to immigration reform, transnationalism, education, and labor market participation and employment. In addition, several…
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ breaks new ground—the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East, the first in a Muslim majority society, and the first to be held in November. David Goldblatt, a sociologist, journalist, and bestselling author examined the economics, politics, and urban development that have accompanied the upcoming event and compared these…
Between June 22 and 29 2020, the Center for International and Regional Studies held the second working group for its faculty research initiative on “Tunisia in the Aftermath of the Arab Uprisings.” This CIRS project is a faculty-led initiative, under the intellectual guidance of Professor Mohamed Zayani. Adopting a hybrid model the group met and…
On April 23, 2020, CIRS hosted an online CURA workshop titled, “CURA Spotlight on Undergraduate Publishing,” featuring presentations by Suzi Mirgani, Assistant Director for CIRS Publications, Jackie Starbird, CIRS Publications and Projects Assistant, and Chaïmaa Benkermi, CIRS Publications Fellow. The workshop was centered around supporting undergraduate research and publishing, with a focus on the path towards…
Irene Promodh, a Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) junior majoring in International Politics and a CURA Research Fellow, presented her research titled, “FM Radio and the Malayali Diaspora in Qatar: At Home Overseas” in a virtual CURA Focused Discussion on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. Promodh undertook this research project as part of the Certificate in…
Between April 6 and 13 2020, the Center for International and Regional Studies held the second working group for its research initiative on “Football in the Middle East.” In light of the rapidly changing restrictions imposed on international travel as well as to maintain social distancing measures, this working group was held “virtually”. Paper contributors…
Uday Chandra, Assistant Professor of Government at GU-Q, presented on "Fascism 2.0: Lessons from Democracy in India" at a CIRS event on February 25, 2020. The talk drew on his book in progress, Fascism 2.0, which traces how and why India’s heterogeneous, multi-ethnic, multi-religious society has been recast under modern democratic conditions as a homogeneous,…
On February 15-16, 2020, the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) held a Research Roundtable on the topic of Economic Migration to the United States with the purpose to deepen our understanding of the challenges and opportunities of skilled immigration flows to the U.S. OECD countries, and, until fairly recently, the U.S. have developed…