On the eve of 7 October 2023, news from the Middle East had been pushed into the background, successively overshadowed first by the COVID-19 pandemic and then by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The following day, the world began to be thrown into turmoil by a staggering chain reaction triggered by Hamas’s attack on the outskirts of the Gaza Strip.
Looking back, it is clear that the Israeli military response – initially focused on Gaza – gradually revealed a strategy of regional scope, reshuffling the cards across several now-interconnected theatres of operations (Iran, Iraq, Yemen, etc.). The descent into hell for the Palestinian people, the unprecedented weakening of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and a new Gulf War with global economic repercussions make it more complex and, hence, more important than ever to follow and understand what happens in the Middle East.
To make sense of this chaotic landscape, we are honoured to welcome Prof. Dr Gilles Kepel (Sciences Po Paris), a leading expert on the region and the ties that bind us to it. He will explain how the conflicts of recent years have revealed a profound shift in the global balance of power and exacerbated internal divisions within Western societies.
Research lines: Middle East and North Africa; Non-Arab Muslim World
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Evening conference
The Upheaval of the World: From October 7 to the Iran War
Prof. Dr Gilles KEPEL (Sciences Po Paris)
Moderator: Didier LEROY
Language : French
Simultaneous interpretation in English and Dutch will depend on the progress of the renovation work in the Frank De Winne conference room and cannot be guaranteed at this time.
Please note that online participation will not be possible..
13 October 2026, 17:00 – 18:30
> 16:30 – Registration
> 17:00 – Conference
> 18:30 – Reception
Campus Renaissance
Rue Hobbema/Hobbemastraat, 8
1000 Brussels