Dr. Mahjoob Zweiri
The Gulf is often one of the most misunderstood regions of the world. This could be arguably attributed to the perception of wealth in recent decades (mainly from oil and gas) and the desert climate. Changing the stereotypes on this part of the world requires concerted efforts on governments to implement policies that will attract non-Gulf citizens and use education as a tool to shift the paradigm.
However, the Gulf is more than oil and gas and wealth, though it has played a significant role on the global energy stage for decades. Now, Gulf Arab states are witnessing a time of new policy departures and challenging security patterns due to their strategic geographical location.
To tell the region’s history and its path, the Gulf Studies Center, of the College of Arts and Sciences at Qatar University (QU), was established to create and reshape the narrative.
It is the first program regionally and internationally offers a degree PhD program and MA in Gulf Studies in the English language. In the last three years (2018/2021), the Academic Team of Gulf Studies Center has produced around 95 academic publications.
“The Center was established to create and reshape the region’s narrative. The Gulf region is being studied by others, Orientalists, Westerners, and there is one narrative about it. There is a desert, oil, and towers, but Gulf is beyond that. It is society, education, youth, etc.” said Dr. Mahjoob Zweiri, Director of Gulf Studies Center.
In an exclusive interview with The Peninsula, the Director of Gulf Studies Center clarified: “Now what we are doing is that we say no actually. There is more than just desert and oil in the Gulf as Mohamed Al Rumaihi in Kuwait said in one of his books that “the Gulf is not oil. The Gulf is beyond that. It is a society, education, youth, evolving, and elections. Many changes are happening in the Gulf, and we have to present.”
The Center receives students from all countries, including China, Japan, Europe, and Africa. “The Gulf Study program includes around 70 students from 28 nationalities, 44 of them are PhD students and others are MA students. So far, we have around 70 graduates’ from both MA and PhD programs,” said Zweiri.
The Gulf Studies Center is now celebrating its 10 anniversary and on the occasion he stated: “What we are celebrating is the tenth anniversary of Gulf Studies Center as a field of speciality. It was established as a niche area at QU in 2013, to cover three areas security and politics, energy and economy, and culture and society, as well as to produce and advance thought-provoking research on the Gulf Region.”
These are the main areas, he said. Nevertheless, when you talk about security, there are a lot of aspects about security you talk about like food security, cyber-security, and international relations, he said.
Before establishing the Gulf Studies Center, the Gulf Studies launched its one-of-a-kind Gulf Studies MA Program. The program was launched in 2011, and it takes a fundamental approach where classes are delivered in small groups, with maximised interaction and engagement between the student and the instructor. Following the tremendous success of the MA program, Gulf Studies launched a PhD program, which allows students to take their research and academia a step forward.
The MA program received the first batch of students in September 2011. In 2013, the Gulf Studies Center was established as part of Qatar University’s strategy to promote research in the area, then in 2015, the PhD program was launched.
“We accept students twice a year, and we are proud to say that we are one of the highest program that receives applications, and we choose the best of the best. We choose a maximum of five percent of the applications because we focus on the quality of the students and the quality of the research,” said the Director.
Students select their researches themselves based on their interests. However, the Center has to identify the framework, there are three areas that we have mentioned, and students can’t go beyond it.
On the Center’s achievement, he said: “We organized around 55 events, workshops, conferences, and roundtables cornering the Gulf. Our publications focused on hot issues like the Gulf crisis and contemporary Qatar.
“We published several books including, the 2017 Gulf Crisis and ‘Contemporary Qatar’ book. Until 2025 we will have a book for each Gulf state, contemporary Oman, contemporary Saudi Arabia, and the focus will be on the last twenty years to look to what the major changes in these countries,” Zweiri added.
The Center is keen on recruiting faculty who are experts in the field and staff with experiences that will help enrich the vision and mission of the Center.
“In the past three years, the Center improved its overall performance and has a great diversity of students and faculty members from more than 30 nationalities, which help in its diversification and activities.
Commenting on being the Director of the Center, Dr. Mahjoob said: “As the director of the Gulf Studies Center, I am confident that the Gulf Studies Center will continue to achieve its vision and objectives as it is keen to the growth of the platform of scientific research and academia to serve Qatar University, and the Qatari community.”
