[1][2][3][4] Its aim is the study and understanding the heritage of the Eastern Mediterranean and the challenges it faces in the twenty-first century,[4] being at the crossroads between the academic and policy world.
[1][2][3][4] Initially the regional focus was on Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, and the neighboring countries of Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, and Turkey.
[6] Fares also serves as a forum, organizing events such as conferences,[7][8][9] for the discussion of policy issues from an international perspective, welcoming both for scholars within the school as well as reaching out to guest speakers.
[13][14] Past notable speakers included former British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair; former President of France Valéry Giscard d'Estaing;[4] former U.S.
[1] Before Vali Nasr became dean of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in 2012, he held the position of associate director at the Fares Center.
[23] She bemoaned the overspecialization within the field, the neglect of attention to humanities/arts and, uninteresting writing, and linked these problems to Middle East studies as a whole, because researchers were "still a long way from being pathfinders in the world of scholarship generally.
She was honored for her "exemplary personal commitment to French-American relations" and for her efforts to promote French academic research and thought at prestigious American universities.
At the time of his appointment, Shehadi stated his intent to continue to serve as an associate fellow of the London-based think tank Chatham House, where he is the director of a program focused on Palestinian refugees in the Middle East.
As Interim Director of Fares, Warde brought numerous high profile speakers to Fletcher including His Excellency Yusuf Kalla, Prince Moulay Hicham of Morocco, and President and CEO of Oxfam America Abby Maxman.
The Fares Center has organized an annual conference after which it has compiled its participants' contributions, and published a report within the series Lighting the path to understanding.