MIDDLE EAST
The region is central in the life of Karin Kneissl who also spent part of her childhood in Jordan. Her dissertation in international law is titled "The concept of borders in the Middle East". For her research she studied as a stipend, inter alia, at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, in Syria and Egypt. During her diplomatic assignments at the Austrian Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs she was posted to the Middle East department during some year. Though she did several brief missions to the Middle East, she was never posted in the region. To better understand people and their issues Karin Kneissl learnt Arabic and Hebrew next to her law studies. She does practice Arabic during her regular journeys, which bring her to Lebanon and Egypt most of the time. In the year 2014, she published an autobiographic book entitled "Mein Naher Osten" (My Middle East). She describes her turbulent stages of life which brought her back again and again to this complex and war-ridden world, to which she owes a lot. As she writes at the beginning of her book: Without the Middle East I would have never become the one I am.
EVENTS
Professor Karin Kneissl, Director of the G.O.R.K.I. Center at St. Petersburg State University, gave a public lecture on Palestinian-Israeli relations
St. Petersburg University hosted a public lecture by Karin Kneissl, head of the G.O.R.K.I. Center (Geopolitical Observatory for Russian Key Issues) of St. Petersburg State University, energy analyst, professor, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Austria. The topic of her lecture is "Territory, History and Religion in the Arab-Israeli Dilemma".
Lecture for young scientists
Karin Kneissl lectured for an audience of young scientists at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. One of the main themes of debate was on demography and the current refugee dramas.
PUBLICATIONS
Karin Kneissl: Jordan’s royal dynasty is volatile, but it’s a matter for Jordanians to solve themselves
Karin Kneissl: The US and Saudi Arabia have always had a messy alliance. How much is Biden prepared to shake it up?
The new Middle Eastern normal
Le Monde Essay, Cercle Diplomatique 1/2021
Arabian slights: How a deepfake video caused a rift in the Arab world and led to a three-year blockade of Qatar
Having followed the Qatar crisis for years some thoughts on the deep rift and some possible developments
Surviving assassination attempts and being kidnapped by Carlos the Jackal: The extraordinary life of the oil man who was Mr OPEC
Angry young man