Education

WMD Disarmament & Security in the Middle East

Registration for Summer 2022 is now closed. Please use the form below to register your interest for our next course.

Our course of 8-sessions will provide students with a thorough understanding of weapons of mass destruction proliferation across the Middle East and North Africa region and efforts to strengthen international non-proliferation regimes. The course will be taught through a gender lens and with perspectives from the Middle East.

Banning nuclear weapons in the Middle East has been linked to broader regional security issues and the eventual banning of all weapons of mass destruction. A Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone (WMDFZ) was first proposed by Egypt in 1990 with backing from Iran. The proposal for a WMD-free zone in the Middle East, however, faces daunting challenges in the most troubled region of the world.

Through class discussion and guest speakers from academia and practitioners in WMD non-proliferation, this course will provide students with the ability to analyse these challenges, revisit past efforts to achieve the zone and identify future scenarios to rid the region of all WMDs.

Objectives

  • Gain understanding about WMD non-proliferation globally and in the region.
  • Examine the security and disarmament sector through a gender lens and the importance of diverse voices to actively engage and shape this discourse. 
  • Observe the history of WMD proliferation across the region.
  • Explore the role foreign states play in the development of WMD programs in the region.
  • Learn about the link and impact of nuclear war on the environment.
  • Examine the risk of WMD acquisition and possible use in the future.
  • Learn advocacy, activism and the role of civil society in WMD non-proliferation in the Middle East.
  • Analyze current and future efforts to establish a WMDFZ in the Middle East.

Lecture topics

1: Course introduction & background on the WMD Free Zone in the Middle East
2: World power, WMDs & global non-proliferation conventions
3: Nuclear Weapons Free Zones and unconditional security assurances as applied to the Middle East
4: History of regional WMD proliferation & future risks
5: Environmental and Humanitarian Cost of Nuclear War
6: Multiple initiatives to achieve a WMD Free Zone in Middle East
7: Gender in Disarmament and Security Sector
8: Advocacy, activism and role of civil society in WMD non-proliferation

Dates

Session 1: Tuesday 12th July
Session 2: Thursday 14th July
Session 3: Tuesday 19th July
Session 4: Thursday 21th July
Session 5: Tuesday 27th July
Session 6: Thursday 29th July
Session 7: Tuesday 2nd August
Session 8: Thursday 4th August
Final presentations: Tuesday 16th August

All sessions will start at 16:00 UK time, 11:00 New York time.
All sessions will be recorded so that students in time zones that make participation complicated will be able to take part.

Requirements

Your final grade will be based largely (80%) on a writing assignment and group presentation. The requirements for this course include one individual written assignment, a group assignment and a presentation.

Final grades will be assigned based on your performance in the following areas: Participation 20%, Essay 35%, Group Assignment & Presentation 45%.

The course is based on a pass or fail grading system, with successful students receiving a certificate from METO.

Fee Structure

CategoryFee
Government officials and diplomats€700
Academics & researchers€450
Students from outside the Middle East and North Africa**€250
Students from the Middle East and North Africa*€150
Members of the METO University NetworkFee waived

*Scholarships are available for students from the Middle East and North Africa.
**Scholarships are available for students with limited financial means.

Course enquiries

Please fill out the form below to register your interest in our education course. Leave us your name, e-mail address and institution and we’ll get back to you. Thank you.