Intellectual and Discursive Battles over Palestine              2025 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE   

An international Conference | 4-5 October 2025 | University of Macedonia | Thessaloniki - Greece

The conference is organised by the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies (University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece)  with the support of its Research Laboratories

• Laboratory of International Politics and Legal Studies (POLIS)

• Culture-Borders-Gender/LAB

• Eastern and Southeastern Europe History Lab

in collaboration with:

• Τhe American University of Iraq - Baghdad

• Centre for the Study of Conflict, Emotion and Social Justice (CESJ) Bournemouth University

• DESIRE - Center for the study of democracy, signification and resistance 

• The Civil Wars Study Group

• The Department of Political Science and International Relations at Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey

• The Institute of Research and Study on the Arab and Islamic Worlds at the University of Marseille, France 

• The Leiden Institute of Area Studies (Leiden University), The Netherlands

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The conference is funded by the Research Committee of the University of Macedonia

Scientific Committee 

• Yazan Badran, Assistant Professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel & DESIRE (international)

• Elizabeth Bishop, Dean of the College of International Studies, American University of Iraq-Baghdad, Iraq.

• Iannis  Carras – Associate Professor, Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies, University of Macedonia (Greece)

• Erdem Damar, Assistant professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Baskent University (Turkey)

• Vincent Geisser, Director of the Institute for Research and Studies on the Arab and Muslim Worlds (CNRS, AMU) (France)

• Christian Henderson, Associate Professor, University Lecturer, Leiden University (The Netherlands)

• Leonidas Karakatsanis – Assistant Professor, Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies, University of Macedonia (Greece)

• Panos Kourgiotis Assistant Professor, Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies,  University of Macedonia (Greece).

• Nikos Marantzidis – Professor, Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies, University of Macedonia & The Civil Wars Study Group (international)

• Fotini Tsibiridou – Professor, Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies,  University of Macedonia (Greece)

• Konstantinos Tsitselikis – Professor, Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies,  University of Macedonia (Greece)

• Dimitris Stamatopoulos – Professor, Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies,  University of Macedonia (Greece)

• Savvas Voutyras - Senior Lecturer in Politics at Bournemouth University, Centre for the Study of Conflict, Emotion and Social Justice (CESJ) (UK)

Organising Committee (local - University of Macedonia) 

 Co-ordinators

• Panos Kourgiotis [Chair of the local organising committee / co-coordinator] – Assistant Professor in History, Language & Religion of the Arab World

• Leonidas Karakatsanis – [Co-coordinator] - Assistant Professor in Comparative Politics in the Turkey/Middle East

Committee members

• Iannis Carras – Associate Professor in Modern & Contemporary European and Balkan History

• Nikos Marantzidis – Professor of Political Science/Political Sociology

• Fotini Tsibiridou – Professor of Economic & Political Anthropology

• Konstantinos Tsitselikis – Professor of International Institutions & Law/Human Rights

• Dimitris Stamatopoulos – Professor of Balkan and Late Ottoman History

Conference Student Support Team (local) 

• Ani Galianidou (Secretariat and Student Team Coordinator - undergraduate student - BSO/UoM)

• Katerina Deka (Secretariat and Student Team Coordinator - undergraduate student - BSO/UoM)

On-site student support team: 

• Efstratia Chatzi (Support team member - undergraduate student - BSO/UoM) 

• Andreana Kanara  (Support team member - undergraduate student - BSO/UoM)

• Manto Kovitou  (Support team member - undergraduate student - BSO/UoM)

• Markos Pathekas  (Support team member - undergraduate student - BSO/UoM)

• Christos Pexomatis (Support team member - undergraduate student - BSO/UoM) 

Co-organisers