Gulf Studies

The Gulf Studies Programme at the University of Exeter is the only combined study and research programme on the region in existence. It encompasses the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, and Iran. The collective expertise of the academic staff members involved with the Programme covers (in alphabetical order): anthropology, Arabic, development studies, economics, history, international relations, Islamic studies, literature, material culture, Persian, political economy, political science, and sociolinguistics - see staff specialisations below. We offer three degrees: an MA (1 year), MPhil (2 years), and PhD (3 years). Applicants wishing to undertake policy-relevant research on the United Arab Emirates are eligible to apply for the Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Scholarship. The Scholarship is open to PhD students from all nationalities.

Gulf studies at Exeter began in 1978 with the foundation of the Centre for Arab Gulf Studies. In 1999, when the Centre was merged with the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies to form the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, it was transformed into the present Programme. The Institute's impressive building, completed in 2001, was donated by the Ruler of Sharjah, Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi - himself a PhD graduate of Exeter.

Please direct your questions to the Director of Gulf Studies:

Professor Gerd Nonneman
Al-Qasimi Chair of Gulf Studies
Professor of International Relations & Middle East Politics
Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies (IAIS)
University of Exeter
Stocker Road
Exeter EX4 4ND

(for tel. & email please click on name above)

Gulf Conference

We host the world's longest-running conference series on the Gulf region and Arabian Peninsula, begun in 1979. The next Conference takes place from 30th June - 3rd July 2010. Click here to view the list of conferences. Click here to view the 2006, 2007 and 2008 conference programmes.

Gulf Collection

The Gulf Collection at Exeter is one of the largest in the world. Its holdings include the personal papers of Sir Charles Belgrave and Sir William Luce, copies of historical documents (mainly government reports and correspondence in Portuguese, Dutch, French, English, and Arabic dating from 1560 to the present day), historical maps, gazettes, yearbooks, surveys, videos, journals, dissertations, books, data on oil, media reports, Western press cuttings, and daily Gulf newspapers. Most of the Collection is housed in the Institute building, in the Arab World Documentation Unit. Click here to view the on-line catalogue.

Gulf Specialists

1. The Arabian Peninsula

Dionisius Agius, PhD (Toronto, 1984). Specializes in the history of seafaring and seafarers in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean, Arabic language and linguistics, the semantics of material culture, and travel literature in Medieval Islam.

Rasheed El-Enany, PhD (Exeter, 1984) Professor of Modern Arabic Literature. His research focuses on: literary influence, comparative literature, literature and ideology, and literature and culture (especially perceptions of 'self' and 'other' in literary production).

Kamil Mahdi, PhD (Birmingham, 1982). Specializes in the economy and politics of Iraq and the political economy of the Arab Gulf States. Areas of expertise include oil, economic policies and development strategies in the Gulf, the state and economic reform, agrarian transformation and agriculture, water resources and policies, sanctions, and the US occupation of Iraq.

Ian Netton, PhD (Exeter 1976), Sharjah Chair of Islamic Studies. Specializes in medieval Arabic philosophy and theology, travel literature and Arab history. He has a particular interest in the history of Arabia and the wider Middle East from the rise of Islam to the late 19th century.

Tim Niblock, DPhil (Sussex, 1969). Al-Qasimi Chair in Arab Gulf Studies (1999-2008). Specializes in the Gulf Arab States, Iraq, Sudan, Egypt, and Libya, focusing on: political economy, state and religion, liberalisation / democratisation, citizenship, civil society, and international relations.

Gerd Nonneman, PhD (Exeter, 1993). Al-Qasimi Chair of Arab Gulf Studies (2007-). Specializes in the domestic, regional and international politics of the Gulf and the wider Middle East (including the three Gulf wars). Thematically, his main research interests include international relations and foreign policy, GCC-EU (and Middle East-European) relations, political economy, and political reform. Geographically he has focused particularly on Saudi Arabia and the smaller Arab Gulf States, Iraq and Yemen.

James Onley, DPhil (Oxford, 2001). Specializes in 19th and 20th century Gulf Arab history, focusing on: politics; society; culture; transnationalism; British hegemony (1820-1971); expatriates in the Gulf Arab States (1800-present); and the historical connections between the Gulf Arab States, Iran, and India.

Gareth Stansfield, PhD (Durham, 2001). Specializes in contemporary Iraqi and Kurdish politics; Gulf security and geopolitics; boundary disputes in the Arabian Peninsula; political development in traumatized societies; the role of military forces in Middle East states; and the application of international relations theory to the Middle East. He has supervised PhD students across a range of subjects including the political development of the UAE, Gulf security, and Iraqi political development.

Marc Valeri, PhD (IEP Paris, 2005). Specializes in modern and contemporary Oman; economic, social and political transformations in the Gulf Arab States; legitimacy, authoritarianism and democratization in the Middle East.

2. Iraq

Christine Allison (SOAS, 1997). Specializes in Yezidi Kurds, Kurdish society and culture, oral history, and folklore.

Kamil Mahdi, PhD (Birmingham, 1982). See listing under Arabian Peninsula, above.

Ian Netton , PhD (Exeter 1976). See listing under Arabian Peninsula.

Tim Niblock, DPhil (Sussex, 1969). See listing under Arabian Peninsula, above.

Gerd Nonneman, PhD (Exeter, 1993). See listing under Arabian Peninsula, above.

Gareth Stansfield, PhD (Durham, 2001). See listing under Arabian Peninsula, above.

3. Iran and Shi'a Islam

Hashem Ahmadzadeh, PhD (Uppsala, 2003). Specializes in Iran and Kurdistan, focusing on: sociolinguistics, nation-building, nationalism, democratisation, migration and diaspora, literature and the question of identity and its construction in the literary discourse, and gender studies.

Michael Axworthy, MA (Cambridge, 2003). Specializes in Iranian history and politics, especially Iran in the 18th century, and modern Iran.

Robert Gleave, PhD (Manchester, 1996). Specializes in Shi'ism; classical Islamic thought; and Islamic legal theory (usul al-fiqh), particularly Shi'i usul al-fiqh, and its relation to legal and religious practice throughout Muslim legal history.

Leonard Lewisohn, PhD (SOAS, 1988). Specializes in Persian mystical and philosophical thought, Sufism, and Persian language and literature.

Sajjad Rizvi, PhD (Cambridge, 2000). Specializes in the role of philosophy in Islamic culture and civilisation, Shi'i thought, and intellectual history in the Safavid and Qajar periods.