Current Call for Papers

The editors welcome submissions for the sixth issue of the Oxford Middle East Review. The theme for this issue will be:

Borders and Boundaries.

Borders do not only affect human mobility and the circulation of goods and services, but they also influence our understanding of culture and identity. Depending on one’s perspective, borders can be subjective, contentious, or empowering. To some, a border can represent a threat; to others, a refuge. In either case, however, borders are vehicles for social interaction and cultural exchange and production.

Additionally, travel bans and border closures due to the COVID-19 crisis have brought forward new questions on the meaning of borders. How is the pandemic shifting current political and economic borders? How is it affecting human mobility, and how are migration policy responses to COVID-19 affecting the labour market?

For this issue of OMER, we encourage applicants to explore the functional as well as the intangible aspects of borders. We invite applicants to investigate the symbolic and/or physical manifestation of borders and their impacts on the political, economic, social, and/or cultural landscape of the Middle East and North Africa region. Empirical, comparative, and theoretical approaches are encouraged, and we also welcome projects centred around specific case studies. Papers will be considered for the journal’s two sections:

Policy Section:

Shorter briefs or position papers up to 2,000 words (including references and citations) aimed at influencing contemporary debate or policy-making.

Research Section:

Articles from 7,500 to 10,000 words (including references and citations) that present original material from any discipline and engage critically with the theme in the context of the Middle East and North Africa region.