SALAM

Sustaining Alternative Links beyond Arms and the Military

This project proposes to rethink the centrality of the arms trade in international relations with and among Middle East & North Africa (MENA) countries.

It fosters and amplifies ideas from a network of scholars and practitioners working in and with the Middle East. Issues they will address include the arms trade’s advertised role in cementing bilateral and multilateral ties between North America, Europe and the MENA region; the opportunity costs of over- or sole reliance on weaponry as security; and alternative modes of engagement that might redefine a shared strategic agenda.

Structure

SALAM primarily consists of a series of round-table debates from which synthesis papers will produced. In each round, eight authors will each present a short paper as a starting point for discussion. While the debates will occur in private, each short paper and the resulting synthesis paper for each round will be published here on the PRISME website.

Rethinking Arms Transfers: Navigating the Complexities of U.S. Military Aid to the Middle East and Its Implications for Regional Stability and Human Rights

Nancy Okail

Foreign Policy for Ecological Justice or Ecological Colonialism? Troubling US and German Eco-Militarized Relations with Israel

Nico Edwards

The Potential Drawbacks Associated with Domestic Military Manufacturing in the GCC Countries

Omar Al-Ubaydli

Round 3, January 2024, online

What are the impacts of militarization of the foreign policy, and how does it affect the emergence of different approaches to issues such as migration and terrorism?