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The Department of Culture, Politics and Society of the University of Turin successfully hosted the 11th edition of its "Understanding the Middle East" Summer School from June 30 to July 4, 2025, as part of the MARE Project. Held at Campus Einaudi, the program brought together 23 students from around the world with 9 internationally renowned scholars. 

The 2025 theme was: ”Environment, Politics and Conflicts in the Middle East: Resources, Strategies and Humanitarian Emergencies” addressed critical challenges facing the MENA region. 

The 11th edition critically engaged with environmental issues in the Middle East and North Africa and their connections to activism, state and non-state actors' policies, as well as their international dimension. Key questions explored included: How and to what extent is the environment at the core of the political agenda of MENA leaders? In what ways do capitalist accumulation, neoliberal policies, and foreign intrusion impact the environment in the MENA region? How do civil society activists try to politicize environmental issues?

The Summer School favored a political science approach, offering useful tools of analysis to better understand the complexity of environmental politics in the Middle East and North Africa while putting forth thoughtful explanations rather than oversimplifications.

More information on the TOMidEast website and Facebook page.