Abstract

The Middle East is at a crossroads, shaped by seismic political shifts and profound uncertainties. The end of the Assad regime in Syria reveals a landscape teetering between renewal and fragmentation, while Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and escalating tensions dominate dystopian imaginaries. Yet, Gaza and Palestine remain central to global futurist thought, offering a lens for reimagining the region’s transformative potential.

This talk explores whether the Middle East is destined for perpetual crisis or can emerge as a site of “pan-progressivism”—a paradigm rooted in revolutionary legacies, cultural innovation, and activism. Juxtaposing Gulf Futurism, as seen in NEOM and other ambitious technological projects, with grassroots movements advocating for feminism, equality, and multi-ethnic solidarity, it proposes a framework for aligning these seemingly divergent forces into a cohesive vision of transformation.

The diaspora, particularly since the 2015–2016 refugee crisis, plays a pivotal role. Millions of immigrants, forging connections beyond national boundaries in Europe and North America, have shaped post-migrant alliances. These transnational exchanges fuel the radical idea of a Middle Eastern Union—uniting diverse histories, cultures, and aspirations into a shared vision for the future.

Bio

Naika Foroutan is Professor of Social Sciences at the Humboldt-University in Berlin where she heads the Department of Integration Studies and Social Policies at the Berlin Institute for Integration and Migration (BIM). Foroutan is Director of the German Center for Integration and Migration (DeZIM) a governement-funded research institute that provides empirical analysis on migration and integration and monitors ‘Racist Realities’ for the German government.

Foroutan's research focuses on countries of immigration, their changing identities and attitudes towards minorities as well as the impact of pluralization on norms and values. In her book The Post-migrant society: A promise of plural democracy she developed a much acclaimed theoretical framework for analyzing social transformations in migration-impacted societies

She has published widely on societal conflicts related to minorities in pluralistic democracies, with a particular focus on the equal treatment of Islam and Muslims, on Muslim identities and anti-Muslim attitudes as well as on Islamism and radicalization. Her surveys on "East-Migrant Analogies" gained considerable attention by comparing East Germans with immigrants and testing for effects on anti-Muslim racism. This empirical study was followed by her book, "The Society of Others", which she published together with journalist Jana Hensel. Her latest book “Es wäre einmal deutsch…” ("It would once be German...") was published in June 2023. It is a compilation of essays and thoughts about the past decade in which Germany has become an immigration country and a postmigrant society.