Essays

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

AlMostaqbal: Envisioning a Better Arab Future

Winter 2022

An excerpt from the American University in Cairo’s blue-ribbon report, “AlMostaqbal: Envisioning a Better Arab Future”.

The End of the Road

By Khaled Elgindy

Winter 2022

Why has the two-state solution fallen apart and are there alternative approaches for lasting peace between Israel and Palestine?

Is It Time to Bury the Two-State Solution?

By Hesham Youssef

Winter 2022

While many may be dismissive of the two-state solution, there are no viable alternatives for peace between Israel and Palestine

Framing the Partition Plan for Palestine

By Lorenzo Kamel

Winter 2022

Many different opinions abound concerning Resolution 181, but one fact cannot be denied or overlooked: it was not a solution born out of the “free and sovereign” world states of the time

Prepping for COP27

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

Winter 2022

Egypt is a microcosm for the impacts of climate change being felt across the MENA region, with water loss at the very top. It should likewise be high on the agenda when Cairo hosts this year’s UN climate summit

Competing Economic Visions in the Gulf

By Robert Mogielnicki

Winter 2022

Economic visions offer regional governments roadmaps for development, but they can also serve as a tool for measurement and—ultimately—accountability

Young People Are Leading Climate Activism in the Middle East

By Neeshad Shafi

Fall 2021

Across the Arab World and the Middle East, young people are mobilizing to raise climate change awareness.

Climate Change and the Global South: The Case of Africa

By Agnes Babugura

Fall 2021

Should climate change continue unaddressed, it is estimated that of the additional 30–170 million people who are likely to suffer from malnutrition or under-nutrition globally in the coming years, three-quarters will be in Africa.

The U.N. Climate Summit and Its Aftermath

By Nabil Fahmy

Fall 2021

Developing countries see the call for equal actions with their richer counterparts as serving the interests of the latter.

Saving a Water-Stressed Middle East

By Neda Zawahri

Fall 2021

Inefficient water management exacerbates water insecurity in the MENA region, already the area most vulnerable to the catastrophic impact of the climate crisis. Building adaptive capacity is critical to ensure national and individual water security.

Who Feels Climate Anxiety?

By Sarah Jaquette Ray

Fall 2021

In the simplest terms, the answer is: it depends on who perceives it as a threat, and what “anxiety” means to them.

Locked-in Emissions: The Climate Change Arms Trade

By Wendela de Vries

Fall 2021

With militaries’ locked-in fossil fuel systems and looming climate chaos, the arms industry continues to take advantage of nefarious profit opportunities.

A Climate Crisis in Africa: The Case of South Sudan

By Nhial Tiitmamer

Fall 2021

The African continent will be the most severely affected by climate change. Within Africa, the least developed and politically unstable nations like South Sudan are likely to be the hardest hit. What can be done, and who should be at the forefront of these changes?

The Slow Violence of Climate Change

By Garret Barnwell and Savo Heleta

Fall 2021

A warming planet places the heaviest burden on the countries and people least responsible for climate destruction. Survival necessitates justice, redress, and structural change.

African Podcasting: Challenges and Chances

By Kim Fox, and Josephine Karianjahi

Summer 2021

While podcasting in Africa faces many challenges, including prohibitive data consumption costs and the digital divide, it offers the amplification of regional perspectives and audience expansion in return.

Failed Coups But Successful Transition?: On Textualizing Sudan’s Latest Coup Plot

By Jonathan Powell and Salah Ben Hammou

On September 21, 2021, members of the Sudanese military attempted to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in a failed coup d’etat.

Syria: The Illusive Settlement Part 2

By Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy

Resolving the Syrian conflict offers an opportunity to bring stability to the Middle East, but only if compromises can be made, starting with UN resolution 2254.

Covid-19’s Not Through With Us Yet

By Dahr Jamail

Fall 2021

As vaccines offer hope for a world after Covid, experts warn that in many ways, the fight is only beginning.

Syria: The Illusive Settlement

By Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy

The best way to describe the current Syrian quandary is to borrow from Winston Churchill’s assessment of what he considered the complex nature of the former Soviet Union: popular grievances wrapped in regional rivalries inside big power competition.