Description:

We invite you to join us on 22 October for the session From Ceuta to Hormuz: Geopolitics of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, organised by the UAB Geography Alumni Network.

The event will take place online at 6:30 pm.

The session will be delivered by Eduard Soler, Associate Professor of International Relations at UAB and Senior Associate Researcher at IBEI.

The talk starts from a simple idea: the same geographical area can be referred to by many different names (the Mediterranean, the Arab World, MENA, or Western Asia), and each label reflects a different way of understanding who holds power and why. Building on this premise, the speaker will argue that the region remains one of the world's main hotspots of conflict, despite the dominant narrative that places the centre of global strategic competition in the Pacific.

To illustrate this, the session will focus on two particularly sensitive locations in 2026: the Strait of Gibraltar and the Strait of Hormuz.

In both cases, we will examine what is changing, why these areas are so strategically volatile and which actors, state and non-state, regional and extra-regional, are pursuing power strategies there.

The session will be moderated by Joan Carles Llurdés, Vice-Dean for Inclusion, Economy and Facilities, Secretary of the Faculty and Coordinator of the Geography Alumni Network.

Registration

• If you are a UAB alumnus/alumna, student, administrative and services staff member (PAS), or academic staff member (PDI), please register through the form. Participation is free of charge.
• If you have no affiliation with UAB, please register through the form and make a €20 bank transfer to the following account to gain access to the event: ES91 2100 3675 72 2200203408. Once payment has been made, please send proof of payment to alumni@uab.cat.

Place: Online

Date: Thursday 22, October2026 - 18:30h

End date: Thursday 22, October2026 - 21:00h

Organiser: Alumni UAB

Add to my calendar 2026-10-22 18:30:00 2026-10-22 21:00:26 Europe/Madrid From Ceuta to Hormuz: Geopolitics of the Mediterranean and the Middle East - UAB Geography Alumni Network

We invite you to join us on 22 October for the session From Ceuta to Hormuz: Geopolitics of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, organised by the UAB Geography Alumni Network.

The event will take place online at 6:30 pm.

The session will be delivered by Eduard Soler, Associate Professor of International Relations at UAB and Senior Associate Researcher at IBEI.

The talk starts from a simple idea: the same geographical area can be referred to by many different names (the Mediterranean, the Arab World, MENA, or Western Asia), and each label reflects a different way of understanding who holds power and why. Building on this premise, the speaker will argue that the region remains one of the world's main hotspots of conflict, despite the dominant narrative that places the centre of global strategic competition in the Pacific.

To illustrate this, the session will focus on two particularly sensitive locations in 2026: the Strait of Gibraltar and the Strait of Hormuz.

In both cases, we will examine what is changing, why these areas are so strategically volatile and which actors, state and non-state, regional and extra-regional, are pursuing power strategies there.

The session will be moderated by Joan Carles Llurdés, Vice-Dean for Inclusion, Economy and Facilities, Secretary of the Faculty and Coordinator of the Geography Alumni Network.

Registration

• If you are a UAB alumnus/alumna, student, administrative and services staff member (PAS), or academic staff member (PDI), please register through the form. Participation is free of charge.
• If you have no affiliation with UAB, please register through the form and make a €20 bank transfer to the following account to gain access to the event: ES91 2100 3675 72 2200203408. Once payment has been made, please send proof of payment to alumni@uab.cat.

Online Alumni UAB