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17Mar

The geopolitical implications of the Israel-US-Iran war

Hosted by the Middle East Centre
In-person public event (Old Theatre, Old Building)
Tuesday 17 March 2026 6.30pm - 8pm

A panel of academic experts is brought together by the Middle East Centre at LSE to discuss the current Israel-US-Iran war.

The panel will delve into the geopolitical dynamics shaping the conflict and its potential consequences at both regional and international levels. It will discuss how widely the war may become entrenched across the region beyond its first, tactical phase, affecting the domestic politics of its key players. It will examine how the war will reshape regional power balances, alliances and security structures across the Middle East. Finally, the panel will analyse the war’s impact on theatres of conflict in Europe and Asia and the way it will affect an international order already in flux.

Meet our speakers and chair

Toby Dodge is Professor of International Relations in the Department of International Relations at LSE. Toby's research concentrates on the evolution of the post-colonial state in the international system. The main focus of this work on the developing world is the state in the Middle East, specifically Iraq.

Peter Trubowitz is Professor of International Relations, and Director of the Phelan US Centre at LSE and Associate Fellow at Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs.

Sanam Vakil is the director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House. Her expertise spans Iranian and Gulf politics, regional security dynamics, and US foreign policy, with a particular focus on the evolving strategic landscape of the Middle East and its global connectivity.

Katerina Dalacoura is Associate Professor in International Relations at LSE, and Director of the LSE Middle East Centre. She held a Major Research Fellowship by the Leverhulme Trust between 2021 and 2024. The project findings will shortly be published as a book monograph by Cambridge University Press, under the title Islamic International Thought in Turkey: History, Civilisation and Nation.

More about this event

The LSE Middle East Centre builds on LSE's long engagement with the Middle East and North Africa and provides a central hub for the wide range of research on the region carried out at LSE. The Middle East Centre works to enhance understanding and develop rigorous research on the societies, economies, politics and international relations of the region. The Centre promotes both specialised knowledge and public understanding and has outstanding strengths in interdisciplinary research and in regional expertise. As one of the world's leading social science institutions, LSE comprises departments covering all branches of the social sciences. The Middle East Centre harnesses this expertise to promote innovative multidisciplinary research and understanding of the region.

Hashtag for this event: #LSEEvents

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Featured image (used in source code with watermark added): Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Middle_Eastern_terrain.jpg by Envisat satellite on Wikimedia Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/deed.en

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