Essays

Why has Iran chosen to clandestinely have closer ties with Russia in the Ukraine War?

The Saudi-U.S. Nexus: BFFs No More?

By Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy

Years of tension between Riyadh and Washington over key geopolitical issues have soured a once ironclad relationship.

The Nuclear Pyramid of the Islamic Republic

By Rahman Bouzari and Ali Fathollah-Nejad

Iran has squandered billions on a nuclear program that has impoverished its people and hastened ecological disaster.

Will Lebanon and Israel Finally End their Maritime Border Dispute?

By Mohamed O. Abd El-Aziz

Israel and Lebanon seem on the verge of a deal that is expected to settle their maritime border dispute, which could lead to securing their energy resources

A Palestinian Outlet to the World, A Path toward Peace? Considerations and Options for a Gaza Seaport

By Asaf Ashar and Joel Singer

Summer 2022

Between economic considerations, intra-Palestinian divisions, and Israeli security concerns, there are a number of challenges facing the building of a seaport in Gaza, or in its alternatives. Nevertheless, it may be an opportunity to establish a tri-state free trade zone, and, ultimately, peace.

Building a Seaport in Gaza: Prospects, Challenges, and Opportunities

By Omar Shaban

Summer 2022

A seaport in Gaza would not only be an important economic and developmental leap forward for Palestine, but also an expression of its unity and sovereignty. To achieve this, there are multiple options available, each with its own unique set of challenges and opportunitie.

Time to Stop Talking of the Shiite-Sunni Divide

By Abdullah Hamidaddin

Summer 2022

When Western media frames the Middle East in terms of sectarianism, not only does it do a grave disservice to its audience, but also to the people of this region, with far-reaching consequences

Why Climate Journalism Must be Mainstreamed in the Arab World

By Sarah El-Shaarawi

Summer 2022

While the issue of climate change journalism is particularly relevant to the Arab World today, as the upcoming COP27 and COP28 will be hosted in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates respectively, climate reporting in the region still lacks a critical lens that reflects the issue’s urgency

Social Change Will Be Tweeted—By a Select Few

By Nadine El Sayed

Summer 2022

While social media has had a drastic impact on social and political movements in the region, the dynamics of its algorithms and the financing models of the media still pose limitations on who is heard online

Red Lines in Global Media

By Khaled Ezzelarab

Summer 2022

Whether in liberal democracies or across the Arab World, journalists today are struggling to navigate a difficult route amid government restrictions, ambiguous red lines, and non-state actors affecting how the media is run

A Revolution and A War: How Iran Transformed Today’s Middle East

By Seyed Hossein Mousavian

How the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the eight-year Iran–Iraq War greatly and irreversibly influenced the geopolitics and regional dynamics of the Middle East

A Decade of Enlightenment

By Nabil Fahmy

Winter 2022

Editorial

Celebrating Ten Years of the Cairo Review

By Ahmad Dallal

Winter 2022

Editorial

The Changing Middle East Regional Order

By Paul Salem

Winter 2022

A history of the Arab state system starting from the second half of the twentieth century to the present

Managing Crises, the Least-Bad Option

By Joost Hiltermann

Winter 2022

Conflict management in the MENA region has little chance of succeeding as conflicts increasingly intersect and tensions driven by larger, regional triggers become even more unpredictable

Arab Nationalism, Regionalism, and Regional Integration

By Ibrahim Awad

Winter 2022

In the third decade of the 21st century, regionalism and regional integration in the Arab region stood in contrast with experiences in other regions of the world. Rather than facilitate integration, Arab nationalism seems to have in fact obstructed it

From Political Islam to the Politics of Islam

By Nathan Brown

Winter 2022

With electoral paths blocked or unpromising, the Islamist project is now being transformed from what it was at the beginning of the last decade

Shifting Patterns of Arab Politics

By Lisa Anderson

Winter 2022

Over the last seventy-five years, the endlessly shifting coalitions on the chessboard of Arab regional politics seem to have played by the same rules of the game. Yet, as private interests have become a major source of political power, there have been major changes in the powers and purposes of the players