Essays

Middle East WMD-Free Zone: Thinking the Possible

Fall 2019

A core group of civil society members together with international experts and diplomats is at the forefront of an initiative to create a zone free from Weapons of Mass Destruction

A Disaster of the Political Class

By David Wearing

Summer 2019

While Brexit is above all a calamity of the Conservative Party’s making, it is born of entrenched xenophobia and racism in British society.

When the Shooting Stops

By Suma Chakrabarti

Summer 2019

The president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development highlights the bank’s commitment to supporting post-conflict nations in the Middle East and beyond

Reinventing Peace in Syria

By Achim Wennmann

Summer 2019

For Syria, and the rest of the world, the era of liberal peacebuilding has passed. But there are other ways to make peace, which call for a return to basics and a new kind of “software”

In Syria, Reconstruction Brings Little Hope for Peace

By Jasmine El-Gamal

Summer 2019

While maintaining the status quo for the time being might seem the easiest option, it is also the worst possible one

Rebuilding Iraq: Prospects and Challenges

By Abbas Kadhim

Summer 2019

Reconstruction in Iraq cannot be achieved without universal reconciliation, economic and education reform, and equitable application of the rule of law

Keeping Afghanistan in Afghanistan

By Bruce Pannier

Summer 2019

As a possible peace and removal of American troops appears imminent, how do Afghanistan’s Turkic neighbors view the regional security situation?

Prioritizing Peace Ahead of Economic Growth

By Mariam Safi

Summer 2019

Afghanistan’s economic fate is intricately tied to its post-conflict peace plan, which is currently in the making

Cohesion through Decentralization

By Alexander Decina

Summer 2019

The rebuilding process in Libya will be complex and arduous but must be done with a focus on local actors and an acknowledgment of the realities on the ground

How Yemen Rises

By Abdullah Hamidaddin

Summer 2019

Reconstruction is never easy, and in Yemen the road will be longer than most. The first step is to pass on “best practice” in favor of a critical, reflexive approach

Rethinking Gaza’s Reconstruction

By Mohammed Samhouri

Summer 2019

With living conditions in the Palestinian enclave fast approaching breaking point, anything short of a comprehensive approach to peacebuilding and reconstruction will not work

End of War, but Not of Conflict

By Amr Adly, Ibrahim Awad, and Muhammad Alaraby

Summer 2019

State (re)building in war-torn countries can only happen in a conducive political process on all levels ranging from the local to the international, which is exactly what seems lacking in MENA

Forward… But Where to?

By Dario Cristiani

Summer 2019

The end of Bouteflika, the centrality of General Ahmed Gaïd Salah, and the parameters of change in Algeria

Thinking Arab Futures

By Paul Salem

Spring 2019

Drivers, scenarios, and strategic choices for an improved Arab World

A Regional Order Contested

By Karim Haggag

Spring 2019

Extreme instability has prompted a fundamental reconfiguration of the contemporary Middle East; as the old order crumbles, a new one has yet to emerge

The Return of Geopolitics

By Abdel Monem Said Aly

Spring 2019

In the post-Arab Spring Middle East, the forces of geopolitics and geo-economics are shaping the region and potentially point to a more cooperative future