On April 30,2024, the 125th lecture of the Think Tank Construction Lecture Series of the Middle East Studies Institute (MESI) of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) was held at Hongkou Campus.Victor J. Willi, the executive director of Middle East Institute Switzerland was invited to give a lecture titled Making Sense of Middle East Geopolitcs: A Historical Perspective.

The lecture was hosted by Professor Ding Jun, Director of the MESI at SISU. Associate Professor Chen Yueyang of China-Arab Research Center on Reform and Development, researchers including Zhang Yuan, Han Jianwei, Qian Xuming, Shu Meng and Han Yuxin, as well as graduate students and international students attended this lecture.

Taking the definition of the concept of geopolitics, its basic characteristics and the direction of the development of the discipline as the starting point, Director Victor J. Willi explained the geo-features of the Middle East region from the historical perspective, and analyzed the geopolitical environment in which the important countries in the Middle East are situated, and then finally evaluated the current geopolitical pattern of the Middle East region.

After the lecture, Director Victor J. Willi also interacted with the students and faculty on topics such as the differences between the Middle East policies of Europe and the United States, the technical skills of conducting field research in the Middle East, the U.S. election and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and answered their questions in detail.

Finally, Director Ding Jun summarized the lecture and expressed his gratitude to Director Victor J. Willi for his wonderful lecture and the active participation of teachers and students.