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Research Centres

Outside the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies building on Streatham Campus

European Centre for Palestinian Studies
المركز الأوروبي للدراسات الفلسطينية  

Founded in 2009 by Professor Ilan Pappé and Dr Ghada Karmi, the European Centre for Palestinian Studies (ECPS) is based within the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies (IAIS) at the University of Exeter (Russel Group). ECPS is committed to producing interdisciplinary research on the history of Palestine and the Palestine-Israel issue, grounded in academic rigour, decolonial methodologies, and scholar-activism.

من نحن

تأسّس المركز الأوروبي للدراسات الفلسطينية عام 2009 على يدي البروفيسور إيلان بابِيه والدكتورة غادة الكرمي ضمن معهد الدراسات العربية والإسلامية في جامعة إكستر. ويُعنى المركز بدراسة تاريخ فلسطين وقضيتها في إطار علمي رصين مستندًا إلى مناهج أكاديمية نقدية تراعي تفكيك البُنى الاستعمارية وتزاوج بين المعرفة الأكاديمية والنشاط المجتمعي.

Leadership & Vision

The Centre is currently co-directed by Professor Ilan Pappé and Dr Nadia Naser-Najjab are both deeply committed to the decolonisation of education. Their leadership fosters inclusive and collaborative research practices that centre Palestinian voices and experiences. ECPS actively builds partnerships with students and scholars in Palestine, facilitating knowledge exchange and strengthening research through solidarity.

Our directors encourage students to:

  • Organise events and lead workshops
  • Collaborate with international researchers
  • Engage with Palestinian academics and activists
  • Participate in Arabic-language talks and outreach

These activities ensure that ECPS remains a vibrant space for dialogue, learning, and action.

 

Name Position
Professor Mick Dumper Professor in Middle East Politics
Dr Uri Davis Honorary Research Fellow
Dr. Jeff Halper  
Dr. Sahar Huneidi  
Dr Ghassan Khatib Honorary Research Fellow

Dr Sami Miaari

Honorary Research Fellow
Mr Leslie McLoughlin Honorary Research Fellow
Professor Tim Niblock Professor Emeritus
Professor Gareth Stansfield Al-Qasimi Professor of Gulf Studies

Academic Excellence & Resources

ECPS draws on the expertise of scholars from IAIS and across Exeter’s departments of Politics, History, and Economics. The University of Exeter also houses the Arab World Documentation Unit (AWDU), a unique and digitised collection of primary and secondary sources on Middle East affairs. Within AWDU, the Palestinian Archive includes rare materials documenting:

  • British campaigning for Palestine
  • Arab political and military activity in Palestine and the Levant

These resources are used by researchers worldwide and form a cornerstone of ECPS’s scholarly work.

Global Impact

Over the years, ECPS has become a leading centre for Palestine Studies in Europe. We regularly convene high-profile events and conversations that bring together global specialists. Our expertise informs:

  • Government briefings
  • Media analysis
  • University curricula
  • Civil society initiatives

We are proud to contribute to public understanding and policy through research that is both historically grounded and urgently relevant.

Research & Future Directions

ECPS is a hub for postgraduate research focused on the history of Palestine/Israel and the search for just solutions. We are developing new research orientations and events that respond to current realities and envision future possibilities. Our work aims to offer alternative pathways toward:

  • Peaceful co-existence
  • Collective well-being
  • Freedom and dignity

Advisory board

Our partners beyond academia

Funding

We have succeeded in establishing the Shireen Abu Aqleh MA Scholarship in Palestine Studies for four years. 

However, our aim is to establish a permanent scholarship fund. The aim is to allow the brightest students from around the world to study at ECPS.

Our mission is to train a new generation of researchers into the subject. If taking a postgraduate degree is expensive for most students, it is prohibitive for students from the Occupied Territories. Therefore, lying at the heart of our funding campaign is the establishment of full scholarships for students from Gaza and the West Bank to study at either master’s or Ph.D. level at the ECPS in Exeter.

We also wish to help post graduate students from the Palestinian diaspora so as to reach all who are interested in the history of Palestine, wherever they are. We believe that offering such educational opportunities to the most dedicated Palestinian students from the various Palestinian communities will be a major contribution not only to the education of the generations to come but to the leadership of a future Palestine. We are also working to establish at least one post-doctoral fellowship to attract the very best of the rising generation of scholars in the field to contribute to the work of the Centre.

Latest news and events

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Events

We host a number of research seminars, workshops, and assorted events. You can find a list of upcoming and past events in the drop-down menus below.

Upcoming events

There are no current events to display, but please come back soon for updates.

Past events

WhenDescriptionLocationAdd to your calendar
12 March 2025

ECPS Webinar: Imagining Palestine

IAIS Building/LT1 Add event
11 February 2025

ECPS Webinar : Starvation as a weapon of war in Palestine

online Add event
16 January 2025

POSTPONED ECPS - TALK -Online 'Ashlaa and the Genocide in Gaza'

online Add event
7 November 2024

Palestinian Cultural and Tourism Actors : Nadine Aranki

Peter Chalk Centre 1.4  Add event
21 February 2024

Wikipedia and Palestine-Israel Event

Peter Chalk Centre 2.4 Add event
22 November 2023

Collective punishment as a colonial technique: A Discussion between David Anderson and Laleh Khalili

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7 July 2023

Global Synergies and the Palestine Question

TBC Add event
24 - 25 June 2023

Initial Consultation Workshop

IAIS Building/LT1 Add event
23 March 2023

Palestine in the Victorian Age: Colonial Encounters in the Holy Land

Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies Add event
8 February 2023

Palestinian Women and Health under Colonial Power

IAIS Building/LT2 Add event
18 January 2023

Book Talk: 'The Bride: An Illustrated History of Palestine'

IAIS Building/LT1 Add event
21 September 2022

On life and death in Palestine

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9 June 2022

Global Conversations

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26 May 2022

Global Conversations

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17 March 2022

Global Conversations

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17 February 2022

Global Conversations

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20 January 2022

A conversation with Mustafa Barghouti and Ilan Pappé

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28 June 2021

'Voices from Gaza'

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15 June 2021

A talk By Dr Mohammed Hashim Ghosheh (recipient of the King Faisal Prize in 2020)

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14 June 2021

Conversations about Kurdistan and Palestine, Rurality, rural lives, and alternative futures

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10 June 2021

A conversation with Paul Gilroy and Ilan Pappé

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1 June 2021

Understanding the Situation in Palestine: An Introduction' event by ECPS

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27 May 2021

A conversation with Nadine El-Enany and Ilan Pappé

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26 May 2021

Palestine is a Feminist and a Decolonial Issue

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24 May 2021

Conversations about Kurdistan and Palestine, Rurality, rural lives, and alternative futures

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18 May 2021

CSI in association with the ECPS hosts: Dr Kenny Schmitt (Al-Quds Bard College) - Living Islam in Jerusalem Today: The Disruption of Religious Practice under Settler Colonialism

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12 May 2021

A conversation with Yanis Varoufakis and Ilan Pappé: On crisis and disobedience

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29 April 2021

A conversation with Judith Butler and Ilan Pappe: On humanity, violence and imagination

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26 April 2021

Conversations about Kurdistan and Palestine, Rurality, rural lives, and alternative futures

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22 April 2021

A conversation with Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé: On impasse, internationalism and radical change

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15 April 2021

European Centre For Palestine Studies : Guest Lecture: Hana Sleiman

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4 February 2021

Guest lecture in the European Centre for Palestine Studies

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13 May 2019

Professor Richard Foltz (Concordia University) presents "What is the meaning of 'Tajik'?"

IAIS Building/LT1 Add event