The Evgeniy Primakov Center for International Cooperation invites Bachelor’s and Master’s students to participate in the 6th International Contest of Research and Analytical Papers on the Middle East in honor of Evgeniy M. Primakov.

One of the main goals of the competition is to identify the most promising experts in Middle Eastern studies and develop a platform for their communication.

The Objectives of the Contest
– identifying promising young professionals engaged in Middle East region research;
– creating a space for expert communication of young professionals;
– encouraging students to research problems of the Middle East region;
– drawing the attention of Russian and foreign academic and educational institutions to the problems of the region.

Who Can Apply?
Applicants who meet the following requirements by the deadline for submission of applications are eligible to participate in the Contest:
– status of a student at a state or non-state educational institution as part of a Bachelor’s, Specialist’s or Master’s degree programme;
– no degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Candidate of Sciences or Doctor of Sciences;
– 18-25 years old;
– proficiency in Russian and/or English (B2 level or higher).

Topics
The topic of the article shall be determined by the contestants themselves within the following spheres:

1. Russia and countries of North Africa

• Revitalization of the African dimension of Russia’s foreign policy: focus on the North
• Economic cooperation between Russia and North African countries in the new global reality
• Military-technical cooperation in the interests of regional security

2. Russia and the Gulf states

• Economic cooperation between Russia and the countries of the region in the new global reality
• Approaches of Russia and the Gulf states to ensure regional security
• New formats of interaction in the context of the changing world order

3. Russia and Israel

• Prospects and challenges of social cooperation
• Regional cooperation in the context of new regional challenges

4. Russia and Iran

• Country responses to global challenges
• Economic cooperation under sanctions
• Regional cooperation to achieve mutual interests

5. Russia and Turkey

• Cooperation for security in the Eastern Mediterranean
• Strategic partnership or global rivalry?
• The place of Russia and Turkey in the new world order

Previously published articles or those which do not correspond to the Middle Eastern studies research field shall not be accepted for consideration.

Assessment Criteria
− Relevance of the topic and the correctness of the problem statement
− Degree of independence of the essay
− correspondence of the text to the chosen topic and its originality
− Analytical approach
− Depth of analysis and completeness of disclosure of the topic
− Literacy and style
− Structure of the essay
− Knowledge of relevant sources and scientific literature, accuracy in quoting
− Conclusions (logic and validity)

Formal Requirements for the Paper
- article’s language: Russian or English;
- length: 0.5-0.8 author’s sheet (1 author's sheet contains 40 000 characters);
- font: Times New Roman;
- font size: 14;
- spacing: single, without intervals between paragraphs;
- width alignment;
- author’s name and surname written in the upper left part of the document;
- the title of the article written in the center in bold;
- use of subsections in the text with their names written in bold; the volume of each paragraph should not exceed 200 words;
- use of page references and bibliography as appendix in accordance with the Harvard Citing & Referencing System.

The file should also contain a short abstract with keywords.

Awards
Articles submitted for the Contest will be evaluated by the expert commission, which will select 5 laureates and 10 prizewinners out of 15 finalists based on results of the voting by secret ballot. Each of them will receive the following awards:
- 1st Degree Laureate (1st place) shall be awarded a commemorative gift and a certificate worth 30,000 roubles;
- 2nd Degree Laureate (2nd place) shall be awarded a certificate worth 20,000 roubles;
- 3rd Degree Laureate (3rd place) shall be awarded a certificate worth 10,000 roubles;
- 4rd Degree Laureate (4th place) shall be awarded certificate worth 5,000 roubles;
- Prize winners shall be awarded diplomas.

Terms of Participation
Travel expenses to/from Moscow and accommodation costs for the finalists attending the final conference will be covered.

All participants of the Contest will have an opportunity to present the results of their research at the conference and discuss them with prominent experts specializing in the Middle Eastern studies. Attending the conference without participation in the Contest is also possible.

Based on the results of the Contest, an edition of research and analytical articles shall be published (Russian Science Citation Index).

Contest Timeline
Submission deadline: March 10 (23:59 Moscow time), 2024
Results announcement: March 27 2024;
Final conference: April 2024.

How to Participate?
In order to participate in the Contest, it is necessary to fill in and submit the form with files enclosed. Titles of the enclosed documents should be written as “Surname Article” and “Surname Photo.”

Please note that in case the submitted documents do not comply with the official guidelines, the Organizing Committee has the right to reject the application.

In case you have any questions, please contact the organizers of the competition at Primakov-center@yandex.ru