American University of Beirut

Food Politics in the Middle East by Dr. Eckart Woertz


​​Dr. Eckart Woertz, the director of the Institute of Middle East Studies (IMES) at the German Institute of Global ‎and Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg, delivered a lecture on " Food Politics in the Middle East " on March 11 at ‎the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. In his lecture, Dr. Woertz explored the heart of the global food ‎security challenge, as Middle East stands in the spotlight of simultaneous global crises in the fields of food, ‎water, and energy. He gave a rare insight about the geopolitics of the Middle East, which is not only playing a ‎prominent role in global oil, but also in global food markets and food security.  

​Then, Dr. Tariq Tell, Assistant Professor of Political Studies in the Department of Political Studies and Public ‎‎Administration at the American University of Beirut, made comments on the lecture with a connection to ‎the history of agrarian transformation in the Middle East. Last, Dean Rabi Mohtar expressed his reflections and ‎thoughts before Dr. Keulertz opens floor for discussion.‎

Dr. Woertz had visited to Beirut from March 10-13 and accepted the invitation of the Food Security Program ‎for delivering a guest lecture (limited to an audience of 20 people due to COVID-19 outbreak in Lebanon)​. In addition to the guest lecture, Dr. Woertz spoke with students of the Master of ‎Science in Food Security program and met with faculty experts in food and water security.‎
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Know more about the guest speaker:
In addition to​ his capacity as the director of the Institute of Middle East Studies (IMES) at the German Institute ‎of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg, Dr. Woertz is professor for contemporary history and politics of ‎the Middle East at the University of Hamburg. He is author of Oil for Food (Oxford University Press 2013), co-‎editor of the Water-Energy Food Nexus in the Middle East and North Africa (Routledge 2016) and editor of GCC ‎Financial Markets (Gerlach Press 2012). Besides academic publications he has contributed to numerous ‎consultancy and policy reports for clients in the Middle East and at international organizations. Previously he ‎held positions at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB), Sciences Po in Paris, Princeton ‎University and the Gulf Research Center in Dubai​ and worked for banks in Germany and the United Arab ‎Emirates in equity and fixed income trading.‎

Access the Dr. Woertz's lecture, watch the full event video via YouTube.





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