This year Israel celebrates 75 years since it was established. That spawned the Arab-Israeli conflict and the displacement of the Palestinians, known as the Nakba. PRIO researchers have done extensive research on the formative years of Israel and the events surrounding the establishment.
A CMI report co-authored by PRIO researcher Jørgen Jensehaugen takes stock of the UNRWA, its role and way forward in context of a funding crisis.
In the MidEast Policy Brief 'Irresolvable Dilemmas? The Prospects for Repatriation for Syrian Refugees', Research Professor Kristian Berg Harpviken and Research Assistant Bjørn Schirmer-Nilsen address the challenges for Syrian refugees in major host countries, the refugees' eroding opportunities for onward migration, and their prospects for repatriation.
Over four sessions in October, 20 academics and practitioners from around the world met virtually to discuss the question of how education can enable refugee individuals and communities to build durable futures when
there is great uncertainty about where these futures will be? Recognizing the
protracted nature of refugee situations, the latest UNHCR education strategy
prioritizes the integration of refugees into the national education systems of
host countries. While this strategy may increase refugee children and youth's
access to 'inclusive and equitable quality education' (SDG4), it fails to
recognize the limbo in which refugees find themselves in low- and middle-income host countries: they are non-citizens
who cannot access the durable futures that education promises them.
In May, a new PRIO Middle East Centre project started. The project, entitled 'Reacting to COVID-19 Across the MENA region', aims to explore how Middle East states reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic and what these varied reactions say about the regimes in question, combining statistical analysis of regional patterns with five case studies: Jordan, Turkey, Iran, Israel, and Palestine. The case studies are published in the MidEast Policy Brief series, with an accompanying PRIO Paper presenting the statistical analysis.
On the occasion of the Royal visit – by His Majesty King Harald V and Queen Sonja – to Jordan 2-4 March, PRIO co-hosted the seminar 'Preserving Spaces for Dialogue in the Middle East' in collaboration with the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) at the University of Jordan. The seminar took place over two days and aimed at providing a space for academia and key stakeholders to meet. Attendees and participants from Norway included the King of Norway, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide, and Minister of Trade and Industry Iselin Nybø.
King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway will visit Jordan 2-4 March, accepting an invitation from King Abdullah II. As part of the program, PRIO will arrange a seminar, co-hosted with the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan. Attendees and participants from Norway will include the King of Norway, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide, and Minister of Trade and Industry Iselin Nybø.
Monograph
Report - External Series
MidEast Policy Brief
Report - Other
Report - Other
MidEast Policy Brief
MidEast Policy Brief
PRIO Paper