Working Towards Sustainable Peace and Development Through Cooperation: An Interview with Ahmed Abdel-Latif

By Omar Auf /

The Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding is a unique Egyptian organization with a mandate for peace through capacity building, convening and research. Director-General Ahmed Abdel-Latif leads the center through its many activities, including serving as the Aswan Forum’s Secretariat.

Not All Data Is Created Equal

By Ariana Bennett /

Data drives policy, and policy drives change. The impact of this policy, however, hinges on the quality of the data.

A Pandemic of Vaccine and Technology Hoarding: Unmasking Global Inequality and Hypocrisy

By Lauren Paremoer / Summer 2021

Intellectual property waivers are key to dismantling global vaccine apartheid and providing equitable vaccination to Africa and other continents.

Global vaccine equity is a moral and economic imperative—here is how to get it right

By Junaid Nabi /

With increasingly dangerous variants of the COVID-19 virus spreading across the Global South, vaccine equity is not only a moral imperative, but also key to keeping the global economy afloat.

Regulating Change in Historic Cairo

By Amina Abdel-Halim / June 3, 2021

Renovation and conservation projects in Historic Cairo fall within a complex legal framework, which sometimes does more to hinder development than to promote it.

Doughnut Economics: Living in a Sustainable World

By Dania El Akkawi /

How humanity can transform from traditional growth-first economic policies to a 21st century vision centered around sustainable development.

Shaping Africa’s New Normal

By Amina Abdel-Halim / April 28, 2021

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, African nations are working through the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development to set the continent back on track with its developmental Agenda 2063.

Africa and the United States: Reengaging with Africa’s Prosperity in Mind

By Carl Manlan / Winter 2021

With China as a dominant foreign power in Africa, the only option left for United States to engage with the continent is to follow its priorities: namely, prioritizing African youth.

Why the Phrase “Arab Spring” Should be Retired

By Sean David Hobbs / Winter 2021

It’s time to stop using a Western-based concept ten years on from the events that began the Arab Uprisings.

Learning from a Diplomatic Trailblazer to Tackle Global Inequalities

By Sean David Hobbs /

Guest speaker at the 16th Nadia Younes Memorial Lecture, Dutch Minister Sigrid Kaag, presented ideas for geopolitical challenges in the Middle East and North Africa during and after the coronavirus pandemic.

Exposing Inequality, Accelerating Innovation: COVID-19 and the Digital Economy

By Omar Auf /

COVID-19 has highlighted the great promise borne by the digital economy, as well as the challenges standing in the way of reaping its full potential.

Enhancing Mediterranean Integration

By Blanca Moreno-Dodson / Summer 2020

Trade liberalization, human capital development, and sectoral reforms can bring Mediterranean countries closer together.

Will the U.S. Evolve its Foreign Policy from Past Mistakes?

By Sean David Hobbs / Fall 2020

Former U.S. Ambassador and American University in Cairo President Francis Ricciardone evaluates how the United States has dealt with global crises in the 21st century.

Five Years after Agreeing on the Sustainable Development Goals: Where are We?

By Laila El Baradei /

Much more needs to be done on the SDGs, how they are reported, and how they are ultimately evaluated.

Addressing the Global Health Crisis of Stunting in Times of COVID-19

By Carl Manlan and Javaid Iqbal and Junaid Nabi /

Stunting can be prevented by using technology to improve agriculture and strong governmental support.

What the Beirut Blast means for Lebanon’s Refugees

By Ola G. El-Taliawi and Tamirace Fakhoury / September 11, 2020

Inclusive refugee policies and a renewed approach to humanitarian relief will be needed to protect Lebanon’s most vulnerable.

Urban-Rural Disconnect: COVID-19 and Sustainability

By David Dumke and Thomas L. Crisman and Zachary S. Winters /

The Urban-Rural Disconnect and how COVID-19 is influencing the Nexus of water, energy and food.

Annexation Makes No Policy Sense

By Daniel C. Kurtzer / June 15, 2020

The fors and againsts of the West Bank’s annexation.

COVID-19 and Social Policies in the MENA Region

By Ghada Barsoum /

A new test to overly-stressed systems.

Challenges to Migration Governance in the Arab Region

By Amina Abdel-Halim / June 3, 2020

Since its endorsement in 2018, a wealth of challenges have delayed the full implementation of the Global Compact for Migration in the Arab region.

Reinventing Governance for a Fragile and Complex New World

By Ashraf Swelam /

The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare the weaknesses of the international system; to fix the present and prepare for the future, we must pivot to a resilience paradigm.

Egypt’s Most Vulnerable and COVID-19

By Elena Habersky / Summer 2020

Are refugees and asylum seekers protected by its strong domestic laws and international commitments?

Women and Education in the Arab World

By Sean David Hobbs /

Malak Zaalouk, education expert, discusses the position of women and access to education in the Arab World with the Cairo Review’s Senior Editor Sean David Hobbs in a special podcast recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic lock-down.

Long-term Implications of COVID-19

By Amina Abdel-Halim /

Most policy-makers are taking on COVID-19 as a one-time challenge, but a multi-round scenario could have disastrous implications for the global economy.

COVID-19 Impact on Africa Elections

By Arnaud Oulepo /

The pandemic is forcing African states to choose between holding elections on time and postponing them for safety. The risks run both ways.

America’s Shift to Online

By Sydney Wise / April 11, 2020

COVID-19 has introduced the concept of working from home to many who have never experienced it. But, different industry needs, varying family and gender roles, and a need for interaction may explain why it wasn’t already the norm.

A Future Filled With Pathogens

By Dahr Jamail /

The combination of a worsening climate crisis and ongoing human encroachment on the wilds will bring more pandemics.

Striving for Water and Food Security

By Omer Karasapan / Winter 2020

The focus for MENA countries should not be to achieve self-sufficiency, but rather food security

No Land in Paraguay

By William Costa / March 10, 2020

The preservation of indigenous peoples’ territories in Paraguay has a vital role in maintaining spiritual, cultural, and communal wellbeing. Despite this important reality, many indigenous communities’ bonds with their land have been shattered.

Mobilizing Against Trump’s “Vision”

By Sean David Hobbs /

Former Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Alkidwa explains the ways Palestinians are contesting the Trump plan for peace and how the Trump deal caters only to extremists on the Israeli and American right

Hosni Mubarak: Passing of an Era, or Lingering Legacy?

By Tarek Osman / February 25, 2020

What Mubarak’s legacy reveals about changes in different generations’ relationship to state and society.

Amid Fuel Protests, Iran’s Hardliners See Historic Opportunity

By Sina Toossi / December 12, 2019

Citing external pressures and foreign intervention, Tehran has brutally cracked down on dissidents.

The Country to City Continuum

By Audrey Lodes /

Government leaders and public policy experts attended the Regional Workshop on Strengthening Migration Governance Across the Rural Urban Continuum.

The Cost of Clean Water

By Zander Pellegrino / Fall 2019

How one village was hit by the demands of sustainable development.

Getting Back on Keel

By Sean David Hobbs / Spring 2019

Egypt’s first Fulbright specialist from the United States since 2013 Thomas De Luca critiques the past and the future of national exceptionalism, political polarization, and erosion of democratic values both at home and abroad

The Risks of Hardened Borders in North Africa

By Matt Herbert and Max Gallien / November 9, 2018

Rather than making North Africa safer, securitizing borders has raised the risk of instability along the region’s frontiers, where communities depend on smuggling.

The Qatar Blockade’s Impact on Migrants

By Haniya Javed / November 6, 2018

The blockade against Qatar has had a disproportionate economic impact on foreign workers, though increased self-sustainability efforts may provide new employment opportunities.

Beating Hepatitis C

By Zander Pellegrino / Fall 2018

New detection system uses robotics to identify the disease, cutting down on time and human error

Russia, Turkey, and the Fate of Idlib

By Ömer Özkizilcik / September 24, 2018

In Idlib, Turkey could deter Russian airstrikes and ensure the region remains out of the Syrian regime’s control by going after extremist groups.

SDG 16 and the Lessons for Egypt

By Laila El Baradei / August 2, 2018

The lessons learnt for Egypt from the 2018 United Nations Public Service Awards which were held to recognize nations achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 16.

What Tech Can Do for Arab Women

By Ahmed El-Alfi and Iris Boutros / July 16, 2018

If the technology sector can ease constraints that have traditionally excluded Arab women from economic opportunities, then both tech and women will greatly benefit.

Consuming Snow in Desert Shopping Malls

By Mona Abaza / May 3, 2018

Mega-mall development in Cairo’s suburbs follows a neoliberal model of consumerism popular across the Middle East.

Breaking North Africa’s Border Security Conundrum

By Jacques Roussellier / April 20, 2018

Although Maghreb states have tended to pursue border security unilaterally, increased transnational coordination at the local level offers a more sustainable approach.

Questioning Iran’s Regional Ambitions

By Holly Dagres / January 29, 2018

Now that the Islamic State has all but been defeated, some Iranians are beginning to wonder what they will receive in return for supporting regional allies.

On the Politics behind Tunisia’s Protests

By Issandr El Amrani and Michael Ayari / January 17, 2018

Analysis on why the recent protests erupted in Tunisia.

2030 Agenda: Prerequisites for Success in Africa

By Laila El Baradei / December 15, 2017

If African countries are to achieve their Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, major changes are needed in the fields of funding, allocation of resources, and developing the necessary institutions.

The Real Debate That Islamism Should Spark

By Rami G. Khouri / July 20, 2017

Is Islamism a dangerous trend of the future in Muslim-majority societies, or a natural passing phase only?

Story of an Egyptian Man

By Farha Ghannam / Winter 2017

Especially in the West, Arab men are often stereotyped as violent fanatics or oppressors of women. The truth is that Arab men, too, experience daunting political, economic, and social challenges related to their gender roles.

Tunisia’s Unsteady Progress

By Francis Ghilès / November 24, 2016

Economic challenges threaten the country’s transition to democracy and constitutional government.

American Poverty

By Bernie Sanders / Winter 2016

The great middle class is in decline, despite major growth in the U.S. and global economy. One presidential candidate’s solution: democratic socialism.