Welcome to the European Wasatia Graduate School for Peace and Conflict Resolution
The trilateral European Wasatia Ph.D. Programme for Peace and Conflict Resolution aims to analyse conceptions of and conditions for reconciliation in the Middle East. It refers to overarching discourses from different academic disciplines (Middle East and Political Sciences, Philosophy, Sociology, Law, Theology, Literature and Media Studies) and with regard to the German context (dealing with a dual past). Other international areas of conflict (Northern Ireland, South Africa, the Balkans) are considered relevant for initiating mutual learning processes among the Ph.D. students. The analysis of social, legal, political and (inter-)religious conditions for reconciliation is combined with learning practical dialogue skills (such as Holocaust education and Scriptural Reasoning). The aim is to train multipliers capable of fostering dialogue to address social challenges (particularily in the field of anti-Semitism) at both academic and civil society levels.
German Dialogue Prize 2025 Honours the Commitment of Ralf Wüstenberg and Zeina Barakat
Flensburg, 21.11.25
Prof. Dr. Ralf Wüstenberg and Dr. Zeina Barakat have been awarded the German Dialogue Prize 2025 in recognition of their exceptional dedication to the European Wasatia Graduate School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, an initiative closely connected to the Interdisciplinary Centre for European Studies (ICES). The award ceremony took place on 20 November 2025. The laudatory address was delivered by Bishop Nora Steen, who has been associated with the graduate school for many years. In her speech, she highlighted the school’s central mission: to educate young scholars who act as ambassadors of hope—individuals who open spaces for dialogue, acknowledge differences, and shape reconciliation as a shared and ongoing process beginning with individuals.
Bishop Steen praised the awardees for their remarkable combination of scholarly depth and empathy, which has profoundly influenced the development of the graduate school. Their leadership has helped create an environment in which trust can grow and dialogical competence can flourish well beyond academic settings. The theme of this year’s ceremony—“Dialogue: Discovering What We Share, Respecting What Differentiates Us”—emphasised the essential role of initiatives that strengthen constructive dialogue, especially at a time when this capacity is increasingly challenged in society.
The European Wasatia Graduate School and ICES is moved by the appreciation for Wasatia’s ongoing contributions to fostering an open, respectful, and forward-looking culture of dialogue at EUF and far beyond. (read more: Official EUF Press Release)
Prof. Dr. Ulrike Freitag Middle East Advisor at Wasatia Graduate School
Flensburg, 31 October 2025
The Faculty of the European Wasatia Graduate School for Peace and Conflict Resolution is delighted to announce that Professor Dr. Ulrike Freitag will contribute her distinguished expertise on the Middle East to the work of the Wasatia School. Professor Freitag, Director of the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO) and Professor of Islamic Studies at Freie Universität Berlin, succeeds Professor Dr. Udo Steinbach, who passed away unexpectedly in August 2025. Professor Freitag studied History, Islamic Studies, Arabic-Turkish Studies, and Modern German Literature at the Universities of Bonn and Freiburg as well as in Damascus. She was a fellow of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Historisches Kolleg in Munich. Following her PhD at the University of Freiburg in 1991, she undertook numerous research stays across the Arab world and in Southeast Asia (Singapore), and held various academic positions, including as Lecturer in the Modern History of the Near and Middle East at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. After completing her habilitation in Islamic Studies at the University of Bonn in 2002, Professor Freitag was appointed Director of the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient in Berlin, in conjunction with a professorship at Freie Universität Berlin. Alongside her broad academic work and extensive publication record, Professor Freitag is also a respected public voice on issues concerning the Middle East. Her commentaries and analyses have appeared in leading media outlets such as Der Tagesspiegel, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), and Deutschlandfunk, among others. The European Wasatia Graduate School warmly welcomes Professor Freitag and looks forward to an inspiring collaboration and the valuable perspectives she will bring to its interdisciplinary work on peace and conflict resolution.
