This article constitutes an initial and cursory approach to the development of studies on the contemporary Arab and Islamic world in Spain, thereby taking an historical approach to the introduction and progress of contemporary Arab studies, exploring its academic development from a programmatic and institutional perspective. Its contextualisation in the political and academic development of the country enables the progressive expansion of this area of research to be understood, in addition to the continued interest in its study and disciplines and the legal and institutional difficulties its development has faced. Today, studies of the contemporary Arab world run through multiple fields of research, university degrees, and non-university institutions. In its aim to form an initial reflection on the development of this line of study and research, the present article acts as an introduction to the other articles which, broken down into different academic disciplines, make up this monograph.
Arabism, research, contemporary Arab world, university, research centres, journals.