London, United Kingdom

1-2 October


The borderland regions of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have long faced a complex array of security, economic, political, and demographic challenges that exacerbate instability and fuel violence across borders. International efforts to promote peace, enable inclusive governance, and advance regional prosperity must consider these interconnected dynamics.

The Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research programme hosted an in-person conference to examine power and political dynamics and socio-economic stresses in MENA’s borderlands, and their implications for regional peace and stability. The event brought together local, regional, and international experts, policymakers, and practitioners for a series of moderated panels and roundtable discussions. Participants assessed emerging trends and explored how policy and programme responses can adapt to better support conflict stabilisation, resolution, and prevention.

Panellists included international and local researchers affiliated with XCEPT programme partners — including the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, the Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House), and King’s College London — as well as XCEPT Research Fund awardees, international policy actors, and representatives of multilateral and regional organisations.

Conference highlights video

Key themes and topics included:

  • Navigating interlinked regional (in)stability. Taking a birds-eye view of the drivers of instability in a fragmented and interconnected region, discussions explored the transnational dimensions of MENA conflicts, reflecting on the shifting roles of key regional players and the implications for international efforts to improve security and advance peace.
  • Scrutinising transnational flows. How do licit and illicit networks enable conflict across borders in the MENA region? This session explored the transnational flows of people, goods, money, and ideas that feed war economies and exacerbate instability.
  • Responding to the cross-border and transnational dimensions of conflict. Participants discussed how international interventions to help resolve conflict interact with local dynamics. This included scrutinising how political settlements, stabilisation programming, and border security efforts can undercut effective governance and livelihoods in borderlands, reinforcing the conditions for resurgent violence. Discussion examined how conflict responses should adjust to mitigate negative impacts on local populations.
  • Addressing the impacts of conflict on people, society, and the environment. The MENA region is reeling from decades of protracted conflict and instability, with cascading impacts from massive population displacement, environmental degradation, and intergenerational trauma. How do the power dynamics and mechanisms shaping the movement of people across the MENA region affect further risks to stability posed by climate and environmental stresses? Participants discussed the complex relationship between conflict, trauma, and mental health, raising considerations interventions and policies to support recovery from conflict and mitigate future cycles of violence

Panellist spotlight with Inna Rudolf, Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR)

Panellist spotlight with Peter Salisbury, XCEPT Yemen project co-lead 

Panellist spotlight with Jihad Yazigi, Editor-in-Chief, The Syria Report

Panellist spotlight with Maha Yahya, Director, Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

Panellist spotlight with Tim Eaton, Senior Research Fellow, Middle East North Africa Programme, Chatham House.

Panellist spotlight with Rim Turkmani, Senior Policy Fellow, LSE Middle East Centre.

Panellist spotlight with Renad Mansour, Senior Research Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme and Director, Iraq Initiative, Chatham House

Panel Session: Conflict, trauma and mental health: Exploring pathways to peace and violence in fragile and conflict-affected situations
This session examined the role of individual and collective traumas – from adverse childhood experience to collective memories – in conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, highlighting the implications for policy and practice.

Panellists: 

  • Fiona McEwen, Co-Lead and Survey / Interventions Director for XCEPT at King’s College London
  • Craig Larkin, Reader in Middle East Politics and Peace and Conflict Studies, King’s College London
  • Nafees Hamid, Co-Lead and Research and Policy Director for XCEPT at King’s College London