German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

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Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies | Editor GIGA Focus Middle East

Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

  • Short CV

    • Since 10/2019: Director of GIGA Institute of Middle East Studies, Hamburg

    • Since 10/2019: Professor for contemporary history and politics of the Middle East at the University of Hamburg

    • 2012 - 2019: Senior Research Fellow, Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB)

    • Since 2013: Adjunct Lecturer, Barcelona Institute of International Studies (IBEI)

    • 2016 - 2018: Scientific Advisor to the Kuwait Chair at Sciences Po, Paris

    • Spring 2014: KSP Visiting Professor, Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA), Sciences Po

    • 2009 - 2012: Visiting Research Fellow, Princeton University

    • 2006 - 2010: Director of Economic Studies, Gulf Research Center (GRC), Dubai

    • 2000 - 2006: Work for banks in Frankfurt, Mainz and Dubai in equity and fixed income trading

    • Education: PhD in Economics (Political Science and Islamic Studies as minors) Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (1999); Free University of Berlin (1995-1996); M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies (Political Science, Economics, Islamic Studies), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (1995); Institut Français d'Études Arabes de Damas and University of Damascus (1993-1994)

    Current Research

    • Contemporary history of Iraq (1979-2003)

    • Political Economy of the Middle East

    • Energy and food security

    • Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation

    Countries and Regions

    • Gulf region

    • Iraq

    • Egypt

    • Syria

    Memberships

    • Marco Polo book series of Department of Asian and North African Studies of Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, Member of editorial board, since 2021
    • Review of Economics and Political Science, Editorial Board Member of Review of Economics and Political Science, journal of the American University of Cairo, since 2020
    • Association for Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies, Member of Advisory Board, since 2019
    • German Middle East Studies Association for Contemporary Research and Documentation, Member of DAVO, since 2019
    • Food Security, Member of editorial board of Food Security, since 2013
    • Middle East Studies Association, Membership in region-specific association or network, since 2013
    • Journal of Arabian Studies, Member of editorial board, since 2010

    Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

    Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies / Editor GIGA Focus Middle East

    T. +49 40 42825-504eckart.woertz@giga-hamburg.de

    Publications

    GIGA Focus Middle East | 1/2024

    Ten Things to Watch in the Middle East and North Africa in 2024

    From the Gaza War to other regional conflicts and the lasting importance of oil, the Middle East and North Africa region remains pivotal for Europe. We present ten issues that will play a central role in the relationship between both regions in the year ahead.

    Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

    Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies / Editor GIGA Focus Middle East

    Olena Osypenkova

    Doctoral Researcher

    International Journal of Environmental Studies | 01/2024

    Europe’s Brazil?: How Ukraine Could Transform Europe’s Role in Global Food Supply

    Ukraine is an untapped asset. It presents opportunities both nationally and for Europe as an engine of foreign policy in a century troubled by climate change and resources scarcity. Its 32 million ha of arable could easily become 40 million ha which would add 25% of new cropland to the European Union – from 160 million to 200 million ha – making Europe the world’s largest agricultural producer.

    Martin Keulertz

    Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

    Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies / Editor GIGA Focus Middle East

    International Journal of Middle East Studies | 08/2023

    The Past is Never Dead. It's Not Even Past: History and Memory in Iraq Studies

    20 Years after the US invasion of Iraq this roundtable section reflects on recent Iraqi history and contemporary developments with an eye toward memory politics. It builds on a conference held at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg in March 2023 and portrays emerging avenues for research.

    Dr. Achim Rohde

    Academy in Exile

    Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

    Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies / Editor GIGA Focus Middle East

    GIGA Focus Middle East | 1/2023

    Iraq 20 Years after the US Invasion: Challenges and Continuity

    The legacy of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq left its imprint on successor regimes post-2003 in terms of institutions, policies, and infrastructures. How to address these development challenges while also ensuring continued political stability is the task now facing both domestic and international partners.

    Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

    Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies / Editor GIGA Focus Middle East

    Water International | 11/2022

    Virtual Water, International Relations and the New Geopolitics of Food

    Food security and virtual water considerations interact in a corporatized third food regime, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the world’s largest grain importing region. The virtual water paradigm that Tony Allan first coined can be applied creatively to international relations that are increasingly characterized by ‘weaponized interdependence’.

    Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

    Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies / Editor GIGA Focus Middle East

    Research Projects

    Research Project | 01/05/2021 - 31/12/2025

    SAGE-Centre: Sustainable Adaptation to Global Change in the Middle East

    The overarching goal of SAGE is to contribute to sharing of and exposure to knowledge and capacity-building in disciplines relevant for sustainable resource management, to conduct multilateral, inter- and transdisciplinary research on areas of concern, and to make cutting-edge, relevant research available for decision-makers.
    DAAD, 2021-2025

    Research Project | 01/04/2021 - 31/03/2024

    World Order Narratives of the Global South (WONAGO)

    The decades since the late twentieth century are marked by the end of the bipolar world order and the rise of countries of the Global South. Most explanations focus on political and economic power shifts and do not pay much attention to ideas of order, especially those prevalent in the Global South. To provide a more inclusive perspective, this project researches world order narratives in Latin America, Africa, Middle East and Asia. It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of its Area Studies strategy.
    BMBF, 2021-2024

    Research Project | 01/06/2020 - 28/02/2021

    Population Growth and Security in Africa

    As recent projections estimate, population growth will remain a challenge throughout Africa, although growth rates have slowed over recent decades. Africa’s population will continue to grow strongly over the next few decades, especially in sub-regions such as the Sahel. Many observers and practitioners have started to warn that population growth may escalate distributional conflicts and could increase related challenges such as uncontrolled migration.
    FFO, 2020-2021

    Media Contributions

    ntv | Interview | 16/04/2024

    Deutschland wird in einer Art Mittäterschaft gesehen

    Nach dem Angriff des Iran hoffen viele Staaten, dass eine militärische Reaktion Israels und eine möglicherweise weitere Eskalation ausbleiben. GIGA-Experte Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz spricht über die militärischen Verbindungen zwischen Israel und Deutschland und erklärt, warum die Unterstützung nicht überall auf Verständnis trifft.

    Hamburg journal | Interview | 15/04/2024

    Hamburg Journal

    ARD Mittagsmagazin | Interview | 15/04/2024

    Sorgen vor einem Flächenbrand im Nahen Osten wachsen weiter

    Nach dem Angriff des Iran auf Israel wachsen die Sorgen vor einem Flächenbrand im Nahen Osten weiter. GIGA-Experte Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz ordnet die Lage im ARD Mittagsmagazin ein.

    Lectures

    Workshop | 22/02/2024 - 23/02/2024

    Resource Mobilization and Regime Survival in Saddam Hussein's Iraq

    IBEI-GIGA Workshop Security, Conflict and Peace, IBEI, Barcelona Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz (Speaker)

    Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

    Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies / Editor GIGA Focus Middle East

    Kreisky Forum | 29/01/2024

    Weizen, Waffen, Widerstand: Russlands Nahostpolitik nach Ukraine- und Gaza-Krieg

    Organiser: Kreisky Forum Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz (Consultant)

    Vortrag

    Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

    Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies / Editor GIGA Focus Middle East

    German Institute for Global and Area Studies | 18/01/2024

    Lehrmodul zum israelisch-palästinensischen Konflikt

    Organiser: German Institute for Global and Area Studies Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz (Consultant)

    Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

    Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies / Editor GIGA Focus Middle East

    Teaching

    Teaching | University of Zurich | 2023

    Fluch oder Segen der Ressourcen? Demographie und Ökonomie des Nahen Ostens

    University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland

    Seminar an der Universität Zürich

    Teaching | Universität Hamburg | 2023

    Iraq 20 Years after the US Invasion: The Politics and Memory of the Transition from Dictatorship and Occupation

    Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany

    https://www.giga-hamburg.de/en/events/conferences-and-workshops/iraq-20-invasion-politics-memory-transition-dictatorship-occupation

    Teaching | Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg | 2023

    „Fireside Chat“: Die Berufsperspektive Think Tank

    Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg Heidelberg Germany

    Seminar an der Hochschule für jüdische Studien Heidelberg

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