Essays

The Saudi Gambit in Washington

When Consensus Is Reached

Spring 2023

The outcome of the UN climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh gives hope for climate justice, but leaves behind many challenges for the upcoming COP28 in Dubai

A Bank of Actions: Making Good on Losses and Damages

By Arunabha Ghosh

Spring 2023

In the seat of the COP27 Presidency, Egypt has the chance to reframe the Conference of the Parties as a forum for action based on accountability

COP27 and the Sustainable City: Global Climate Solution or Mirage?

By Patrick J. Bohlen

Spring 2023

The COP27 meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh highlighted the gap between climate policy goals and climate reality. In the MENA region and globally, cities are key to advancing climate goals

Good to the Last Drop

By Thomas L. Crisman, and Zachary S. Winters

Spring 2023

Why nature-based solutions and adaptive management may hold the key to water conservation in the MENA region

Lessons from COP27: Between Progress and Challenges

By Martha Delgado

Spring 2023

While COP27 made progress in the areas of mitigation, adaptation, financing, and incorporating a gender, youth, and human rights perspective, Mexico is putting forward various initiatives to tackle remaining challenges

COP27: Kick the Climate Can Down the Road Another Year

By Peter J. Jacques

Spring 2023

With one COP after another kicking the can down the road, the prospective loss and damage fund is threatened by the same diversionary tactics. To succeed in the climate battle, we need transformative institutions and courageous leadership

Fuelling Transition or Entropy?

By Sarah El-Shaarawi

Spring 2023

Reflections on the politics of climate change, fossil fuels, the destruction of trust, and the narratives we consume

Hearing the Global South in Climate Convos

By Zeinab Shuker

Spring 2023

If progress on climate change is to be made, voices from the most vulnerable Global South and African countries must be heard and included in conversations at climate conferences

Reflections on COP27: How Egypt and India Can Work Together

By Sanjay Verma

Spring 2023

In the face of the global climate crisis, India and Egypt must continue to lead the Global South in pursuing equitable climate action and building on the outcomes of the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties in Sharm El-Sheikh

The Strategic Calculus behind the Saudi-Iranian Agreement

By Abdolrasool Divsallar and Hesham Alghannam

Reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia creates opportunities for cooperation and poses security challenges stemming from opposing objectives, and foreign and domestic spoilers.

Iran-Saudi Arabia: A Regional Transformation?

By Ana Davis and Omar Auf

The expected resumption of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran has the potential to reshape the dynamics of the Middle East by bringing an end to proxy wars and creating opportunity for regional stability.

Social Media as a Propaganda Tool in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

By Najat Al-Saied

Sixty-one percent of Arab youth use social media as a news source. But what happens when some of these platforms are used to spread misinformation and propaganda, especially in times of war?

Another Step Toward Peace: The Lebanon-Israel Maritime Agreement

By Constantinos Yiallourides

A new deal for Israel and Lebanon promotes security and prosperity and sets a precedent for diplomacy in the Eastern Mediterranean

Fear and Power: Christian Nationalism in America

By Leslie Cohen

What draws people to the movement, its threat to democracy, and what the far right gains in its association with faith.

What Losing the Iran Deal Could Mean for the Region

By Seyed Hossein Mousavian

Fall 2022/Winter 2023

If President Joe Biden is seeking to restore sustainable peace and security in the region, he has to start with reviving the JCPOA

Navigating R2P Between Norm and Practice

By Omar Auf

Fall 2022/Winter 2023

The idea that states are responsible for the protection of their own people is a powerful normative and transformative one, but is far from complete or conclusive

Democratizing International Relations

By Antonio Patriota

Fall 2022/Winter 2023

Former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali deserves to be remembered for his defense of the application of democratic principles to the international order. Today, the multipolarity of the contemporary world can help further Botrous-Ghali’s vision