Tahrir Forum

Many Early Warning Signs Signaled Current Arab Disarray

August 3, 2016

Ten significant developments across the Arab world since the mid-1970s—early warning signs that raise the question of whether today we acknowledge and act on early warning signs, or just repeat the mistakes of the past.

Why the Strong Words from the United States on Israel?

By Rami G. Khouri

August 1, 2016

The Obama administration would do the entire world a service if it replaced its failed legacy in Arab-Israeli peace-making with a precise, global consensus that might form the foundation for more successful future efforts.

Iran’s Iraqi Market

By Tamer Badawi

July 28, 2016

The rise of the Islamic State has created both challenges and opportunities for Iranian trade networks in Iraq.

Iran’s Evolutionary Road to Reform

By Ellie Geranmayeh

July 28, 2016

Reformists leaders have disappointed hopes for change before. Yet Hassan Rouhani benefits from a unique opportunity.

Arab Summits Remind Us of Our Frivolous Governance Systems

By Rami G. Khouri

July 27, 2016

The dismal state of collective and individual Arab leadership is far more troubling today than it has been in recent decades, due to the deteriorating conditions across our region.

Syria Becomes Ever More Complicated

By Rami G. Khouri

July 24, 2016

Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, and Iran effectively have to be seen as a single geo-strategic arena in which hundreds of local and national actors engage one another—and many have links to other regional players and global powers.

Egypt’s Ad Hoc Economy

By Mohamed Elmeshad

July 21, 2016

Grand projects, though moving quickly, are doing nothing to address the underlying structural problems plaguing Egypt’s economy.

Banning Opposition Groups Is a Failed Arab Legacy

By Rami G. Khouri

July 20, 2016

It is perplexing to see Arab governments today continue to dissolve and ban certain political groups (mostly Sunni or Shiite Islamists) in trying to resolve serious, homegrown political struggles.

Making Sense of Turkey’s Failed Coup

By Quinn Mecham

July 19, 2016

However you look at the violence in Turkey, the fallout is to President Erdogan’s advantage.

The Fantasy of Disengagement

By Thanassis Cambanis

July 19, 2016

President Barack Obama needs to square up with the realities of the Middle East.

When Is the Moment to Ask for More Effective Anti-Terror Policy?

By Rami G. Khouri

July 17, 2016

With every new attack, it becomes more and more clear that the world is dealing—or not dealing, actually—with three dimensions of this now routine phenomenon of mass killings of innocent civilians.

Egypt’s Bold but Marginal, Mysterious Diplomacy

By Rami G. Khouri

July 14, 2016

Egypt in its current condition cannot have any capacity to trigger serious regional diplomatic initiatives.

Syria’s Weaponized Humanitarian Space

By Benedetta Berti

July 14, 2016

Warring parties in Syria have weaponized aid by granting or withholding humanitarian access, complicating the work of aid organizations.

New Uncertainty for Lebanese Banks

By Gaja Pellegrini-Bettoli

July 14, 2016

A new U.S. law targeting Hezbollah’s finances is creating more uncertainty in Lebanon’s banking sector and could have wider economic consequences.

Trump: Using Ahmadinejad’s Playbook

By Reza Marashi

July 12, 2016

Iranian and American politics might have more in common than you think.

Listen Carefully… “Burn It Down, Man”

By Rami G. Khouri

July 9, 2016

It is critical to accurately understand exactly why people resist in the ways they do, what drives their despair and demand for change, and what we must do to bring about appropriate radical change.

Tony Blair’s Iraq Legacy

By James Denselow

July 7, 2016

The Chilcot Inquiry’s findings have shed new and unflattering light on the UK’s involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

We Should Complete the Circle of Elie Wiesel’s Life

By Rami G. Khouri

July 6, 2016

We can honor Wiesel’s remarkable life by promoting justice and challenging oppression everywhere they occur—even under our own feet—which he was unable to do.

Egypt’s Loyal Opposition

By Christopher J. Cox

July 2, 2016

The only formal political opposition groups left in Egypt are continuing to play the regime’s game and, predictably, losing.

The Troubling Dimensions of Attacks in Jordan and Lebanon

By Rami G. Khouri

June 29, 2016

Attacks by Islamic State terrorists in Jordan and Lebanon in the past week reflect a troubling new angle to that group’s strategy as its heartland in northern Syria and Iraq increasingly shrinks in the face of coordinated military attacks against it.

Tahrir Forum

A Blog on Middle East Transformation