Since the fall of the Ba’ath regime, many Iraqi and Iraqi-Kurdish universities have developed Political Science and International Relations programmes to conceptualize political developments in Iraqi-Kurdish and Iraqi politics, as well as in the Middle East and globally. Iraq has also an interesting field of research for international political scientists since 2003. Especially in the field of ​​peace and conflict studies, Iraq has become an internationally recognised example of different aspects of conflict transformation and regional and transnational political conflicts between various actors inside and outside Iraq. The fragmentation of the country was often reflected in the regional fragmentation of the academic landscape.

The Iraqi Political Science Day aims to bring this fragmented academic landscape into greater exchange with one another. This workshop is jointly organised by political science and international relations departments from different universities in Iraq. It aims at strengthening the exchange of students, researchers, and teachers. The format of an academic workshop allows BA, MA, and PhD students to present their theses and to discuss them with peers and faculty members. Researchers and students from other universities, including those outside Iraq, are also invited if they are working on Middle Eastern affairs in general and Iraqi topics in particular. Regarding students and researchers from Iraq, this thematic restriction is not given and we explicitly welcome all topics of Political Science, International Relations, Political Economy, and Political Theory including multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary approaches. The invitation is aimed in particular at advanced BA students and furthermore MA and PhD students who are about to submit their work and wish to present it to a wider academic community for discussion. Current research projects by lecturers and researchers are also welcome.

Since not all Iraqis speak Arabic and English is becoming more and more important both as a language of instruction at Iraqi universities and as an international academic language in political science, the workshop will be held in English. However, contributions in Arabic and Kurdish (Soranî) are also possible. As we have to offer simultaneous translation, this must be indicated in the abstract.

Submission should include a 300-400 word abstract and a short bio (max. 100 words) with contact information (e-mail) by e-mail to: [email protected]

Deadline for Abstract submission: April 20, 2025

The Academic Committee, consisting of faculty members from all organizing universities, will then decide by April 25 and inform you whether your abstract has been accepted.

Selected participants are expected to submit a paper with 5,000-6,000 words by May 25th, This will be presented in a 15-minute session, followed by 20-minute discussion on May 29.

As an alternative to the lectures, there will also be the opportunity to submit posters and present them at the workshop. If you wish to present your work as a poster, please also submit an abstract and indicate that this is a submission for a poster and not for a talk.

There will be no automatic publication of the articles of this workshop, but there will be a possibility to get in contact with scientific journals. Depending on the topics, quality and language of the submissions, the publication of selected papers in an edited volume or a special issue of a scientific journal will also be considered.

The Scientific Committee that will select the presentations consists of:

Dr Martin Beck (Professor, University of Kurdistan Hewlêr)
Dr Elizabeth Bishop (Dean of College of International Studies, American University of Iraq – Baghdad)
Dr Hisham Ezz El-Din (Assistant Professor, University of Baghdad)
Dr Muslih Irwani (Associate Professor, American University of Iraq – Baghdad)
Dr Jalal Mistaffa (Deam of the College of Political Science, University of Sulaimani)
Dr Beastun Omer Nuri (Head of the Department of International Relations , Salahaddin University – Erbil)
Dr Mohammed Salih (Head of International Relations and Diplomacy, Tishk University)
Muhammad Sharif Ebrahimi (to Head of the Department of International Relations, Catholic University in Erbil)
Dr Thomas Schmidinger (Associate Professor, University of Kurdistan Hewlêr)
Dr Hala S. Yousif (Professor, University of Baghdad)

Presented by: Dr. Thomas Schmidinger