In my latest article for The Conversation , I present how the declining presence and capacity of the Lebanese state has paved the way for a far-right group 'Soldiers of God' to exploit the country's unsettled past to stir sectarian tensions.

theconversation.com/lebanon-far-ri…

Huge thanks to all the incredible speakers at the Talk4Peace final event - Julia Palmiano Federer Sara Cook Nafees Hamid, PhD Enda Young Liza Wilkinson Nilanjana Premaratna Laura Davis Ola Saleh Gail Ritchie Stéphanie Heckman Also thanks to Mitchell Institute at QUB and HEA for support. Dr Maria Deiana

When I was a mid-20s cog sci masters student in Paris, Dan Dennet's computer broke the night before a talk so & I friend helped him fix it. As a thank you, he took us out to dinner. It was a small gesture for him, but it was magical night for us. He was a powerful force. RIP

Very happy to be speaking at #TheBerlinMoot today on The Brain and Peace. You can watch some of the talks live here: berlinmoot.org

Check out this nice synthesis by Emma Ciccarella on the role of unconscious biases in conflict dynamics

Very happy to share my recent article in ICSR /XCEPT Research on understanding the role of unconscious bias in conflict dynamics.

Front-page The Times and The Sunday Times coverage of my UK gov commissioned study on increasingly extreme anti-blasphemy activism in the UK, some of it linked to militant Pakistani anti-blasphemy group Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) and it's founder Khadim Rizvi
thetimes.co.uk/article/blasph…

Check out Inna Rudolf photo-essay from her trip to Iraq for our XCEPT Research at King's College London.

Check our latest KCL-XCEPT podcast about how collective memory shapes Lebanon's current experience of the conflict with Israel.

Iraq's #PMF strongly condemn the retaliatory #US strikes on facilities of #hashd affiliated brigades in al-Qa'im. 16 have been reported killed in the attacks and 36 injured, including civilian casualties.

What does this mean for the #Iran -aligned Islamic resistance in Iraq? 🧵

What makes the decades-long Israeli–Palestinian conflict so intractable? Cognitive scientist and political-violence expert Nafees Hamid, PhD explains what psychological research tells us.

Read more here: edition.cnn.com/2024/01/16/opi…

Was very happy to speak as part of this excellent panel. Watch the full event bellow ICSR Security Studies XCEPT Research

Fantastic new podcast we just released for XCEPT Research with Mohamad Kari exploring the challenges and even politics of translation of stories of people in conflict zones. Check it out!

“Whether it’s acknowledged or not, competitive victimhood can lead to infinite regress, where each side points to an earlier historical fact to demonstrate greater victimhood & thereby entitlement to greater sympathy.” ⁦Nafees Hamid, PhD⁩ ⁦CNN⁩ cnn.com/2024/01/16/opi…

Practical, implementable strategies from cognitive scientist Nafees Hamid, PhD on cultivating human connections to diminish conflict & achieve peace.

'When third parties...help negotiate peace deals, their main tools for (dis)incentivization are material in nature...Carrot-and-stick policies, such as the promise of foreign aid coupled with the threat of sanctions, backfire' by Nafees Hamid, PhD

cnn.com/2024/01/16/opi…

What makes the decades-long Israeli–Palestinian conflict so intractable? As a cognitive scientist, I give my analysis in this CNN Opinion @CNN piece based on psychology research.

Read here: edition.cnn.com/2024/01/16/opi……

🧵to come

Veronika Engert Nafees Hamid, PhD Colette Rausch We will be touching on this topic at our upcoming conference #TheBerlinMoot on 17 & 18 April.

Learn more: berlinmoot.org

Veronika Engert Nafees Hamid, PhD Colette Rausch 'As #peacebuilders , we come in with our paradigms or assumptions. We need more humility, to sit and centre the communities we’re working with and a co-sharing of learning.'-Colette Rausch

Thank you to everyone who joined and participated in our event on the brain and peace!

Veronika Engert 'Symbolic concessions, such as acknowledgement, lowers support for violence and increases compromise.'

Nafees Hamid, PhD discusses how to successfully negotiate with moral absolutists who are willing to give costly sacrifices for their beliefs.