Symposium
Nexus Symposium with Sigrid Kaag and Robert Malley -
Thursday 7 May 2026
7.30 PM – 9.30 PM
Erasmus University Rotterdam, Theil Building
Middle East Diplomacy: The Inevitability of Tragedy?
Nexus-symposium with Sigrid Kaag and Robert Malley
‘The past is never dead’, goes William Faulkner’s famous quote, ‘It’s not even past.’ History is never just history; dramatic historic events do not merely belong to the past, but retain their hold on time and inevitably continue to impact the present.
This Faulknerian wisdom undoubtedly applies to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which in the last two and a half years resulted in the horrendous war in Gaza. For decades, attempts have been made to bring the conflict to a permanent end, but the situation has only worsened in the meantime. While negotiators and diplomats bend over backwards trying to find ‘clean’ solutions on behalf of their political leaders, history takes its course. And elsewhere in the Middle East, too, more and more countries are once again bursting into flames, dragged into Trump and Netanyahu’s war against Iran. A war of which the consequences are already felt globally at the gas station.
Why have the many attempts at peace not yet borne any fruit? What is needed to make this peace succeed? Is lasting peace in the Middle East even possible? These are questions that Sigrid Kaag and Robert Malley – two top diplomats with a profound experience in Middle Eastern peace negotiation – will talk about during the Nexus Symposium ‘Middle East Diplomacy: The Inevitability of Tragedy?’
During a public conversation moderated by Rob Riemen, and a subsequent Q&A with the audience, Kaag and Malley will especially focus on the role of diplomacy in Middle Eastern conflict situations. What is a diplomat capable of, torn between idealism and pragmatism? How do they follow their own path, maneuvering in a sticky web of disparate political interests, reluctance and incompetence? Members of the Nexus Institute can also view the whole symposium through our livestream.
Prices
Standard: € 30
Under 36: € 15
Nexus Companion: € 20
Nexus Connect (under 36): € 5
Nexus Friend: two free tickets
Tickets - Become a member and receive tickets at a member rate!
Speakers
Program
- 19:30
- Public conversation
- 20:15
- Q&A
- 21:30
-
End
Must-read: ‘Tomorrow is Yesterday’ by Robert Malley and Hussein Agha
In Tomorrow is Yesterday (2025), Robert Malley and the Palestinian Hussein Agha — who served as an advisor to Yasr Arafat — write about the failed peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They argue that after 7 October 2023, the world was dragged back into the past and confronted with the complexity of a history that has too often been set aside out of ignorance, unwillingness or in favor of simplistic solutions. With a refreshing combination of perspectives, the book offers a disturbing insight into a diplomatic farce and asks how things could be different.
Practical information
The symposium will take place in lecture hall CB-1 in the Theil Building on Erasmus University’s Woudestein campus. Erasmus University is located at Burgemeester Oudlaan 50 in Rotterdam, and the campus can easily be reached by tram, bus, and metro. Ample parking is also available. Detailed directions and a campus map can be found on the Erasmus University website.
Tickets will be sent to you via email. Your virtual ticket includes a QR code, that will be scanned at the door. Should you have lost the email with the ticket, please contact us as soon as possible at info@nexus-instituut.nl.
Members of the Nexus Institute can also view the symposium through our livestream, that will be available on the night of the symposium on this page. To access the livestream, you will need to be logged into your member account first.
As a visitor, you may be filmed or photographed during the symposium.