BRISMES Award for Services to Middle Eastern Studies

About the Award

This is an honorary award established in 2000 by BRISMES Council. It is presented annually in recognition of outstanding services to Middle Eastern Studies.

2023 Recipient

Professor Karma Nabulsi

Professor Karma Nabulsi, an Emeritus Fellow in Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford’s Department of Politics and International Relations, and a Fellow in Politics at St Edmund Hall, is renowned for her scholarship in 18th and 19th-century political thought, particularly in the areas of the laws of war and issues of representation and democracy.

This award honours Karma not only as a distinguished scholar but also as a dedicated educator and advocate for multiple generations of undergraduate students. Throughout her career, she has been a staunch defender of student welfare and academic freedom. Among her many contributions, Karma initiated and directed The Palestinian Revolution, a digital humanities project developed in collaboration with Professor Abdel Razzaq Takriti and universities in Palestine, Cuba and South Africa.

Karma has worked tirelessly to develop this Arabic-English teaching resource that will be used by students and scholars for decades to come, reshaping the way the Palestinian struggle is presented, studied, and interpreted.

Terms of Reference

The award is intended for persons or organisations who have made a consistent contribution to Middle East Studies in Britain over a period of years or to a person or organisation who has made an outstanding single contribution over the previous year. Anyone or any organisation fulfilling these criteria, as specified below, is eligible, without exception on the basis of nationality, residence, profession or background. The following are guidelines to the criteria that BRISMES will consider but BRISMES will accept nominations outside these guidelines if the proposer makes a persuasive case for doing so.

  • For an outstanding record in published research on the Middle East;
  • For the establishment of new departments or significantly expanding positions in the field of Middle East Studies;
  • For providing/winning major new resources for Middle East Studies in Britain;
  • For exceptional contributions to raising the profile of Middle East Studies in and outside the UK.

2001-2022 Recipients

  • Professor Laleh Khalili (2022)
  • Professor Nicola Pratt (2021)
  • Professor Paul Starkey (2020)
  • Professor Deniz Kandiyoti (2019)
  • Paul Auchterlonie (2018)
  • Professor Charles Tripp (2017)
  • Sir Roger Tomkys (2016)
  • Professor Carole Hillenbrand, CBE (2015)
  • Professor Ian Netton (2014)
  • Alastair Newton (2013)
  • Professor the Baroness Afshar, OBE (2012)
  • Sir Harold Walker (2011)
  • Patrick Seale (2010)
  • Professor Roger Owen (2009)
  • Professor Fred Halliday (2008)
  • Professor Edmund Bosworth (2007)
  • Professor Harry Norris (2006)
  • Professor Geoffrey Lewis (2005)
  • Professor Ann Lambton (2004)
  • Dr Derek Hopwood, OBE (2003)
  • Professor William Montgomery Watt (2002)
  • HH Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi (2001)

Database of Expertise

The Database of Expertise in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies provides a publicly available list of MENA experts with their research and areas of expertise.

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