🚨 Exciting news: a new SALAM workshop is coming! This spring, explore “Nuclear Politics in and with the MENA Region” with cutting-edge contributions from across the region and beyond. Dive into the evolving dynamics of nuclear diplomacy, deterrence, and energy in the Middle East

Jennifer, Coralie, and Dalia will contribute to our upcoming SALAM workshops, including on:
☢️ Nuclear politics (May 2025)
🧠 Sectarianism & militarization (Fall 2025)
💰 Capitalism & the arms trade (Spring 2026)
🗣️ DAMES Forum in Nice (Fall 2026)
prismeinitiative.org/projects/sal...

🌟 And please join us in welcoming our newest Associate Expert: Dalia Ghanem! A powerful voice on political violence, civil-military relations & gender in the region, Dalia will bring sharp, grounded analysis to our work. #WomenInSecurity #MiddleEast

🔹 Coralie Pison Hindawi
A specialist in disarmament & international law, Coralie explores how Middle Eastern states engage with global norms like R2P and WMD regimes. Her insight helps bridge local realities and international frameworks. #ArmsTrade #InternationalLaw

🔹 Jennifer L. Erickson
A leading scholar of #armscontrol, export norms & the politics of sanctions, Jennifer helps unpack how global standards shape regional behavior. Her work on responsible trade is central to our SALAM conversations. #Nonproliferation #SecurityStudies

At the PRISME Initiative, we’re proud to work with a brilliant group of Associate #Experts helping us reimagine security in #MiddleEast beyond arms & the military. Meet our expert trio shaping conversations in 2025–2026 | prismeinitiative.org/about/ 👇
#SALAM #InclusiveSecurity #MENA

Security Beyond Arms: The Dual-Use Debate. How can Gulf states enhance security as they boost trade? Lauriane Héau (SIPRI) explains how export controls aren’t just about restrictions, they are tools for responsible trade & regional stability prismeinitiative.org/blog/relevan... #ArmsControl

Participants explored complexities of militarization, identifying opportunities to shift security priorities. They examined global & regional shifts, structural barriers, and pathways to decenter arms in favor of human & environmental security. Their memos are available here: https://buff.ly/42nSplz

The Synthesis Paper distills key insights from the forum. It outlines concrete recommendations for practical policy changes, collaborative advocacy, and broader public engagement to ultimately prioritize human security over the militarization of states: https://buff.ly/3WQ8HjV

Participants explored complexities of militarization, identifying opportunities to shift security priorities. They examined global & regional shifts, structural barriers, and pathways to decenter arms in favor of human & environmental security. Their memos are available here: https://buff.ly/42nSplz

4th SALAM Workshop: Decentering Arms in Middle East Security (DAMES)

The DAMES Forum (September 2024), focused on solutions and community-building, gathered experts to ponder how stakeholders in and engaged with the MENA can reduce the reliance on arms as a cornerstone of their security strategies.

The Synthesis Paper highlights how such policies lead to infrastructure destruction, socioeconomic devastation & conflict exacerbation. It underscores need to move away from short-term military objectives & geopolitical gains toward human security & sustainable peacebuilding: https://buff.ly/3C6dMxl

Participants examined consequences of militarized policies in MENA, weighing sovereignty, geopo interests & humanitarian justifications. They explored role of internal & external factors, impacts on stability & trade-offs for human security. Their memos are available here: https://buff.ly/4h1dNBz

3rd SALAM Workshop: Impacts of Militarized Foreign Policy

The third SALAM workshop (April 2024) gathered experts to discuss the impacts of militarized foreign policy, and in particular how it affects the emergence of different approaches to issues like migration and terrorism.

The Synthesis Paper, echoing the debate, revisits how MENA states boost local arms production to diversify economies & reduce reliance on foreign partners—and highlights how this diverts funds from key socio-economic needs, impacting human security, esp. amid climate change: https://buff.ly/3Wry4YY

Participants assessed current policies by 1) addressing their economic and political trade offs; 2) scrutinizing the economic and political motivations underlying them; and 3) challenging their claimed social, political, and economic benefits. Their memos are available here: https://buff.ly/4h2AzsO

2nd SALAM Workshop: The Opportunity Cost of the Arms Trade

The second SALAM workshop (September 2023) gathered experts to discuss how arms manufacturing and trade divert attention from or interact with other pressing conversations in and between North America, Europe, and the MENA.

The Synthesis Paper revisits how these propositions were explored from different viewpoints and through various case studies, highlighting nuances within conventional narratives and questioning whether evolving conditions today require entirely new analytical models: https://buff.ly/3PHz8UC

Participants challenged assumptions around the arms trade. They probed whether it successfully ensures security in the MENA region, is an efficient diplomatic tool to exert influence over partners, or helps improve collaboration among actors. Their memos are available here: https://buff.ly/3Wrur5i

1st SALAM Workshop: The Role of the Arms Trade

The inaugural SALAM workshop (April 2023) gathered experts to discuss the role the arms trade plays in bilateral and multilateral ties between countries in North America, Europe and the MENA region.

Since then, we’ve:
✅ Hosted 4 major debates under the SALAM project (Sustaining Alternative Links beyond Arms & Militarization).
✅ Launched the DAMES Forum, our 1st in-person event, focused on solutions & community-building.

PRISME was launched in 2023 to bring together scholars & practitioners from MENA, Europe & North America to decenter arms & rethink security beyond militarization.

🔗 More here: prismeinitiative.org

🌍 Introducing PRISME: Rethinking Security in the Middle East 🌍

We’re excited to launch PRISME on Bluesky! 🎉 Our initiative fosters collaborative, non-militarized approaches to security in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Here’s what we’ve been working on! 🧵👇