The London Middle East Institute (LMEI) closed in the summer of 2019 and is transitioning into a new SOAS Middle East Institute (SMEI) under the umbrella of the Centres and Institutes Office (CIO). The CIO was established in 2019, replacing the Centres and Programmes Office, to bring together 12 regional Centres and Institutes at SOAS under one roof.
Check back here regularly for further updates about the SOAS Middle East Institute, which will complete its transition from LMEI soon.
Middle East studies has deep roots and a long history at SOAS. Over the past century, the Middle East has been at the heart of SOAS academic offerings and its regional perspective on world affairs.
The London Middle East Institute was established in 2002 to foster scholarly and public interest in the MENA region. Home to over 100 academic members, we pride ourselves as the world’s premier institution with one of the largest concentrations of interdisciplinary expertise in this field globally.
It's two specialist sub-centres – The Centre for Iranian Studies (CIS) and Centre for Palestine Studies (CPS) – each with over 30 academic members reflect the depth of expertise we host.
The London Middle East Institute is home to the following two centres:
Address: London Middle East Institute, Centres and Institutes Office, SOAS University of London (School of Oriental and African Studies) London WC1H 0XG, United Kingdom.
Telephone:
E-mail: smei@soas.ac.uk
The Founding Patron and Donor, whose generous support helped the establishment of the LMEI, is Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber of the MBI Al Jaber Foundation. The Foundation supports a wide range of Middle East-related educational activities.
The Middle East in London was the London Middle East Institute's bi-monthly magazine. The magazine's final issue was published in June 2019. Digital copies of the magazine from 2011 to 2019 are available on our website.