Peace Mediation in a Turbulent Middle East: Roles, Achievements, and Challenges

Sultan Barakat is a Distinguished Professor at the College of Public Policy at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. He is a renowned scholar in the study of war-torn societies and their recovery. He has supervised over 20 PhDs in politics and post-war recovery and graduated a generation of M.A. peacebuilders and reconstruction specialists. Professor Barakat founded and directed the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Doha Institute from 2016 to 2022 and previously led the post-war reconstruction unit at the University of York from 1993 to 2019.
He has published extensively, with recent books including Russia’s Approach to Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Shelter and Reconstruction after War and Disaster, both released in 2023. With over 30 years of experience, Barakat has worked on conflict management, humanitarian response, and post-conflict recovery, influencing global practices through his publications and advisory roles with organizations like the UN, World Bank, and EU.
He has led evaluations and peace initiatives in various conflict zones, demonstrating his commitment to stability and resilience. His involvement in mediation efforts in Yemen, Syria, and Afghanistan highlights his contributions to peacebuilding. Barakat continues to shape discourse in conflict resolution, earning recognition as a leading authority in the field.

Professor Aiko Nishikida specializes in contemporary Middle Eastern politics, particularly Palestine and Israel, as well as migration and refugee studies. She has conducted field research and held research appointments in Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and other countries. She holds a master’s degree from the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics at the University of Tokyo and a Ph.D. from the School of Cultural and Social Studies at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI). She also serves as a board member of the Palestine Student Fund, a non-governmental organization that supports stateless refugees living in Jordan.

Dr. Amane Kobayashi specializes in international relations in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly Libya, as well as energy geopolitics. Prior to assuming his current positions in April 2026, he served as a Senior Research Fellow at the JIME Center of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ), and as a diplomat at the Embassy of Japan in Libya (2021–2023). He holds a B.A. in Policy Management, an M.A. in Media and Governance, and a Ph.D. in Media and Governance from Keio University.

Gentaro Kamei is a professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure at Keio University Faculty of Law, where he also serves as the Dean of the Faculty of Law and the Graduate School of Law.

Dr. Akiko Horiba specializes in conflict analysis, peacebuilding, and Southeast Asian area studies, with a particular focus on Indonesia. She graduated from the Faculty of Theology at Sophia University and studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. She earned a master’s degree from the Weston School of Theology in Boston (now part of Boston College) and completed the required coursework for the doctoral program in Area Studies at Sophia University’s Graduate School of Foreign Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in Area Studies.
Before joining the Sasakawa Peace Foundation as a Senior Research Fellow in 2015, she worked as a policy secretary to a member of Japan’s House of Representatives, among other positions. Following a secondment to The Nippon Foundation, she assumed her current position. She also serves as a part-time lecturer at the Institute of Science Tokyo, Rikkyo University, and Hosei University. In addition, she is a board member of Japan Platform, a fellow at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS), and a member of NATO’s Civil Society Advisory Panel on Women, Peace and Security (WPS).