UoA 27 Area Studies

The Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies (IAIS) is a multidisciplinary unit, employing an Area Studies approach to the study of Islam and the Muslim world generally, with a particular focus on the Middle East region. Though staff disciplinary backgrounds stretch across the humanities and social science disciplines, IAIS is founded on the principle that effective research on the region and its people requires the application of numerous, complementary techniques of analysis. This principle informs the research activities of IAIS staff and doctoral students and IAIS continues to foster an environment where this approach to regional studies thrives.

IAIS research can be divided into three inter-disciplinary research clusters:

Middle East Social Sciences
Middle East Humanities
Islamic Studies

Following a rigorous Area Studies approach, however, most IAIS research activity takes place in five sub-regional or topic-based interdisciplinary University Centres. The Centres host visiting speakers, conferences, workshops, reading groups and are home to externally funded research projects.

The promotion of these interdisciplinary Centres forms an important element of IAIS research strategy, transforming critical mass of expertise in a particular area to a productive cross disciplinary research environment. Each Centre has core staff and doctoral students, under the leadership of a Centre Director.

Key results

45 per cent of our research was assessed as world-leading (4*).
This represents a national ranking of 3 out of 23 submissions.
100 per cent of our research impact was graded as 4*.

Impact case studies

Name	Summary
Advising on deradicalisation	The rise in Islamist armed activism has led to de-radicalisation being seen as a major means of preventing terrorism, alongside classic security and counter-terrorism tactics. Since 2008, Dr Omar Ashour, from the University of Exeter, has emerged as a leading expert on de-radicalisation and transitions from armed to unarmed activism, advising governments (eg, UK, Canada, Netherlands), intergovernmental organisations (eg, UN and EU) and NGOs. His research has informed policy-makers and debate, and contributed to developing initiatives in de-radicalisation, both inside and outside of the Muslim world. His extensive media involvement has raised the level of public debate and public understanding both within the UK and internationally.
Political dynamics in post-2003 Iraq	Professor Gareth Stansfield’s research at the University of Exeter into aspects of post-2003 Iraq has informed UK government and international policy towards Iraq since the invasion, and has had impact on policy makers in the US and the UN, through interventions raised and derived from his research. Specifically, his research has had an impact in three areas: Research into conflict management in Iraq’s disputed territories has informed the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) recommendations for resolving the dispute. Research on political mobilisation and civil war dynamics in Iraq informed guidelines for asylum/human rights determination process for the UK Borders Agency (UKBA). Research into post-conflict stabilisation and approaches to state building contributed significantly to public awareness and policy debate through the media on managing the situation through federal and power-sharing arrangements in Iraq.

Name

Summary

Advising on deradicalisation

The rise in Islamist armed activism has led to de-radicalisation being seen as a major means of preventing terrorism, alongside classic security and counter-terrorism tactics. Since 2008, Dr Omar Ashour, from the University of Exeter, has emerged as a leading expert on de-radicalisation and transitions from armed to unarmed activism, advising governments (eg, UK, Canada, Netherlands), intergovernmental organisations (eg, UN and EU) and NGOs. His research has informed policy-makers and debate, and contributed to developing initiatives in de-radicalisation, both inside and outside of the Muslim world. His extensive media involvement has raised the level of public debate and public understanding both within the UK and internationally.

Political dynamics in post-2003 Iraq

Professor Gareth Stansfield’s research at the University of Exeter into aspects of post-2003 Iraq has informed UK government and international policy towards Iraq since the invasion, and has had impact on policy makers in the US and the UN, through interventions raised and derived from his research. Specifically, his research has had an impact in three areas:

Research into conflict management in Iraq’s disputed territories has informed the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) recommendations for resolving the dispute.
Research on political mobilisation and civil war dynamics in Iraq informed guidelines for asylum/human rights determination process for the UK Borders Agency (UKBA).
Research into post-conflict stabilisation and approaches to state building contributed significantly to public awareness and policy debate through the media on managing the situation through federal and power-sharing arrangements in Iraq.

Research centres

Our research centres are hubs of research activity with tightly-organised groups of researchers working together to create capacity for multiple bidding, co-authorship, running Masters programmes, and recruiting PGR students to vibrant, close-knit research communities.

Centre	About the Centre
Centre for Gulf Studies	The Centre for Gulf Studies has the world’s largest concentration of researchers in humanities and social sciences interested in the Gulf region, including the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Iran. Our expertise encompasses: archaeology, history, international relations, Islamic studies, material culture, political economy and politics.
Centre for Kurdish Studies (CKS)	The Centre for Kurdish Studies (CKS) has established and enhanced its international reputation since its formation in 2006. Through postgraduate scholarships and the appointment of postdoctoral fellows, the CKS has created a vibrant research environment for an international array of scholars, particularly those from Kurdistan itself. It has established and hosted the major international Kurdish Studies conference in 2009 and 2012.
Centre for Persian and Iranian Studies (CPIS)	The Centre for Persian and Iranian Studies (CPIS) was created in 2008 to coordinate and enhance the activities of scholars at the University of Exeter, within history, literature, philosophy, religious studies, politics, classics, and other fields relating to Persian and Iranian academia.
European Centre for Palestine Studies (ECPS)	The European Centre for Palestine Studies (ECPS) aims to function as a hub for intellectual engagement with the Palestine question, facilitating scholarly research, helping to refine public discussion, and offering programmes for postgraduate study.
Centre for the Study of Islam	The Centre for the Study of Islam unites researchers in areas related to Islam, its religion and culture, creating a forum for doctoral and post-doctoral research exchange. It aims to draw together researchers in Islamic Studies both within IAIS and across the University of Exeter.

Research projects

Please see the Institute of Arab and Islamic studies website for more information on our research projects.