Diskussionspapiere – Wirtschaft, Gesellschaft und Geographie im Vorderen Orient
The series was founded in 1990 by Prof Dieter Weiss (ed. 1990-2016) and Dr Marin Trenk (ed. 1990-1993) at the Department of Economics of the Middle East at the Free University of Berlin. Since 1997 the Discussion papers have been edited by Dr habil. Steffen Wippel.
The series is interdisciplinary and transregional in nature and includes publications that critically examine economic development processes and closely related social and cultural issues in the Near and Middle East, the Gulf region, and North Africa, as well as in adjacent world regions. The contributions range from revised versions of university theses to essays and longer papers by established scholars. The series is aimed at a broader, interested audience, also at those beyond professional circles, including the media, political foundations, NGOs, practitioners, and representatives of politics, business, and culture.
The 'Diskussionspapiere' were initially published by the Berlin-based publishing houses Das Arabische Buch and Klaus Schwarz Verlag and later by Walter de Gruyter Wissenschaftsverlag. Starting with number 122 (2022), the series will be published in open access by MENALIB – The Middle East Virtual Library, of the Specialised Information Service Middle East-, North Africa- and Islamic Studies (FID). In cooperation with the publisher of the series, the FID Middle East ensures on the one hand a clear visibility through cataloging and on the other hand a secure long-term availability of the volumes via the repository MENAdoc. Back issues will also be digitized and republished, given the consent of the authors. The Diskussionspapiere are subject to an intensive review and editing process by the editor.