Scholars and experts will discuss the challenges and changes shaping North Africa at an upcoming conference hosted by King’s College London.

The online event, Navigating North Africa in 2020: Dominating Narratives and New Perspectives, will feature three panels that will identify cross-cutting themes and provide unique insight into the current challenges facing the rapidly-transforming region.

The panels will be chaired by senior academics, and bring together early academics and early career researchers, as well as experts working in the region.

The conference is taking place on Tuesday, 6 October, and will feature a keynote address from George Hodgson, Head of North Africa Joint Unit, Middle East and North Africa Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Professor Jonathan Hill, Director of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, Professor Michael Willis, Director of the MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies and from Oxford University, Professor Katerina Dalacoura, from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Dr Dalia Ghanem, from the Carnegie Middle East Centre will also be among those to address guests. 

Organisers, Negah Angha and Inga Kristina Trauthig, from King’s Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, said: “North Africa is rapidly transforming, but each of its five constituent countries are following markedly different trajectories. This conference will offer new perspectives on how to analyse North African developments in 2020.

“Our three panels will identify cross-cutting themes and provide insights into the current challenges and dominating narratives, including the way peaceful undercurrents are often marginalised in the literature and examining the role Islamist forces truly still play in the region today, and many more.”

The online panels will look in depth at the role of political Islam across North Africa, at religious voices and peace in the region, and at the current trans-regional threats posed by terrorism, migration, and smuggling.

For more information about the panels and panellists, and to register please visit the listing on Eventbrite. 

This conference will take place on Zoom and will be livestreamed to the War Studies YouTube channel.