Source description last updated: 25 March 2020

In brief: The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public research university specialised in the social sciences that is located in London (UK).

Coverage on ecoi.net:

Research papers and reports published by the LSE Middle East Centre and, previously, publications of the LSE Crisis State Research Centre (up to 2010)

Covered quarterly on ecoi.net for countries of priorities A, B and C.

Mission/Mandate/Objectives:

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a research university specialised in the social sciences that emphasises “international, interdisciplinary and issue-oriented” research (LSE: Research for the world, undated).

“The [LSE] Middle East Centre works to enhance understanding and develop rigorous research on the societies, economies, politics and international relations of the region. The Centre promotes both specialized knowledge and public understanding and has […] strengths in interdisciplinary research and in regional expertise. […]

The activities of the LSE Middle East Centre include “[p]romoting independent and critical research on the Middle East and North Africa” and “[f]ostering open and critical debate about the politics, societies and economics of the region”. (LSE: Middle East Centre: About, undated)

Funding:

Current and past activities of the LSE Middle East Centre have been funded by the Aman Trust, the UK Department for International Development, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Leverhulme Trust, Research Councils UK and UNICEF, amongst others (LSE: Middle East Centre: About, undated).

Scope of reporting:

Geographical scope: Middle East and North Africa

Thematic scope: politics, society and economy

Methodology:

At the LSE Middle East Centre, “[r]esearch is conducted by Centre staff, academics based in other LSE departments and by Visiting Fellows” (LSE: Middle East Centre: Research, undated).

Depending on their specific scope, objectives and research design, research reports/papers may be based on fieldwork that involves structured and/or semi-structured interviews (see, for example, Al-Kaisy, Aida: A fragmented landscape: barriers to independent media in Iraq, June 2019, p. 9 (published by LSE)), open-ended interviews or focus group discussions (see, for example, Bor, Güley: Response to and reparations for conflict-related sexual violence in Iraq: the case of Shi'a Turkmen in Tel Afar, October 2019, pp. 9-10 (published by LSE)). This is combined with desk study of public sources (see, for example, Skelton, Mac/Saleem, Zmkan Ali: Iraq’s disputed internal boundaries after Isis: heterogeneous actors vying for influence, p. 11, published by LSE). Some papers are primarily based on desk research (see, for example, Al-Khafaji, Hayder: Iraq's popular mobilisation forces: the possibilities for Disarmament, Demobilisation & Reintegration, November 2019).

Language of publication:

English

 

All links accessed 25 March 2020.