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New Project Teams Will Explore Geopolitical Conflict and Humanitarian Crises in the Middle East and Beyond

Duke Bass Connections logo; text: New projects related to international geopolitics.

The Israel-Hamas war has led to a devastating humanitarian crisis and brought profound human suffering to Israelis and Palestinians. From communities on the ground to the classroom, the conflict has sparked fierce debate about politics and regional dynamics in the Middle East, the intricate interplay of historical, political, socioeconomic and environmental factors in shaping conflict, and the role of local and international actors to reduce suffering and promote peace and justice.

In partnership with the Provost’s Initiative on the Middle East, nine new Bass Connections project teams starting this fall will explore topics related to geopolitical conflict and humanitarian crises in the Middle East and beyond.

Please follow the links below for more information on each project team.

Students interested in applying for a Bass Connections project team during the main application cycle will be able to explore 2025-2026 project teams in January 2025.

New Project Teams Pursuing Research Related to the Middle East

Diaspora, Exile and Interreligious Dialogue

Israeli Jews and Muslim and Christian Palestinians are the most recent examples of people who have undergone exile, live in diasporas and dream of return. But neither sees the exile of the other nor recognizes the other’s dream of restoration. This project centers religious dialogue as a pivotal component of the path to peace by exploring the affinities of Jewish, Christian and Muslim conceptualizations of exile. Team members will work to develop a body of research exploring the connections between these traditions and topics, facilitate campus interreligious dialogue and engage with other academic communities via a week-long joint summer school and international conference organized by the International Network for Interreligious Research and Education.

Evidence-Based Humanitarian Aid Delivery in South Sudan

In South Sudan and other contexts affected by humanitarian crises, there is an urgent need to ensure that aid is more efficiently and equitably distributed. In partnership with the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration in South Sudan (IOM), this project team will analyze survey data from South Sudanese households and develop evidence-based guidance to advise humanitarian and development actors on the optimal allocation of aid and programming.

Humanitarian Impacts of the War in Gaza: Shelter, Water and Sanitary Solutions

Gaza is experiencing a profound humanitarian crisis, including the unprecedented destruction of basic services necessary for human life, such as water systems, wastewater treatment systems and medical facilities. This project team will examine the humanitarian impacts of the war in Gaza, focusing on the provision of shelter and access to basic services, such as water and sanitation. Students will survey best practices in refugee camp design, create project designs for low-cost water purification systems and shelters and a business plan to help support NGO fundraising.

Impact of Conflict on Gazan Children with Heart Disease

Armed conflict causes tremendous challenges to the health of civilians, particularly vulnerable populations such as children with congenital heart disease. This project team will measure and document the impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Gazan children with congenital heart disease, their families, and the healthcare providers in Israel who previously cared for this population.

Learning from the Middle East: Tolerance and Suffering 

This project aims to increase tolerance for opposing viewpoints and mitigate suffering by engaging students in civil discourse around humanitarian crises in the Middle East. Team members will learn the history of the region and engage in dialogue and reflection on the ethical dimensions of political actions. They will then develop student-led research proposals to address an ethical dilemma associated with the conflict and its humanitarian implications. 

Meeting the Need for Reconstructive Surgery in Palestine

After the acute phase of a conflict, a significant reconstructive surgical need emerges that is often overlooked by international aid agencies and difficult to service by a decimated healthcare infrastructure. Reconstructive surgical interventions (ranging from reconstructions of the hand to burn care and scar release) improve quality of life, allow patients to re-enter society and enable them to support their families. This project team will create an actionable needs assessment and forward-thinking blueprint for meeting the reconstructive surgery need in Palestine following the ongoing active conflict.

Providing Emotional Support to Children in War Zones: Gaza and the West Bank 

This project team will bring together experts in international geopolitics, family-based mental health interventions and global mental health in the Middle East to lay the groundwork for a pilot initiative to provide mental health coping support for children in the Palestinian Territories. Students will map the landscape of current mental health intervention efforts in the region, examine and identify trauma-based mental health interventions in war zones and work to develop a global mental health network at Duke.

The Science of Refugee Camps 

The Middle East is home to numerous refugee camps, and given current geopolitical and climate trends, their numbers are likely to grow. This project team will describe and contrast practices and outcomes at refugee camps in order to inform future management structures and practices. Team members will study several refugee camps in the Middle East and North/Central Africa, engaging in comparative analysis across camps to draw conclusions about what management structures work best under different conditions. 

War and Visual Archives: The Israel-Gaza War and Beyond 

The Israel-Gaza war has generated an unprecedented volume of visual imagery, particularly on social media. These archives are at once historical and political documents, tools of persuasion and propaganda, legal documents and tools of community building. Students will explore the relationship between war, visual media and archiving, and curate an exhibit of visual and digital archives of the Israel-Gaza war.

Why International Geopolitics and Humanitarian Crises Projects?

These nine project teams are the result of a special call for proposals related to international geopolitics and humanitarian crises that was announced in May 2024, in partnership with the Provost’s Initiative on the Middle East.

While the six interdisciplinary themes of Bass Connections support a broad range of research related to persistent societal challenges, these themes are not all-encompassing, and we recognize the need to respond nimbly to pressing world events and new challenges confronting society.

Past Bass Connections pop-up themes have focused on hurricane recovery and resilience, immigration, the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthening democracy in a polarized world and Duke’s centennial.

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