There is likely to be a huge increase in demand for courses that include the study the Middle Eastern conflict or Islamic politics as a result of the recent terrorist attacks on the US, according to leading academics here.
"It is an area which is extremely understudied within the whole of the island," says Dr Beverley Milton-Edwards of Queen's University Belfast, an expert on Islamic politics. QUB is still the only university in the Ireland that runs more than one course on any studies relating to the Middle East, she says.
The few courses that do contain elements of Middle Eastern or Islamic politics are heavily over-subscribed, she says. She urges the development of stronger academic research networks specialising in these subjects or even the establishment of a centre for Middle Eastern and Arab studies, such as those in Britain.
"When you think about Ireland's involvement in the Middle East, the Irish forces serving in the Middle East, and Ireland's place on the Security Council, a number of opportunities have been missed," says Milton-Edwards.
"I do know that the Government has been stepping up its efforts on the Palestinian-Israeli peace process in general, and there are ways that can filter back to the academic community."
The attacks on the US are likely to strengthen the current focus of courses in Middle Eastern politics, says Dr Nabil Adawy, director of international studies at the University of Limerick.
Courses that had initially focused on internal conflicts in the area had now changed to take into account the relationship between the Middle East and the rest of the world, particularly after the Gulf War.
"It's hard to talk in terms of immediate reaction, but there's always been a fairly high level of interest in the Middle East," says Dr John Doyle, chairman of the board of the MA in international relations at Dublin City University.
The course, which contains a module on the Middle Eastern conflict, is now in its sixth year and is the second most popular taught masters course in DCU.
Ireland certainly needs more experts specialising in the Middle East, says Doyle. However, he added that the field of international relations is a reasonably new phenomenon in Irish universities, and therefore may need some time to flourish.
