Tahrir Forum

Security Still Trumps Democracy in U.S.-Arab Alliances

By Nabeel Khoury

May 26, 2016

Relations between the U.S. and its traditional Gulf allies remain firm, despite new tensions.

Will We See Two Islamic Emirates in Syria Soon?

By Rami G. Khouri

May 21, 2016

Al-Qaeda’s operational shift towards Syria underlines the dangers created by crumbling states in the Levant.

Is This the Way out of Our Awful Situation?

By Rami G. Khouri

May 15, 2016

Support grows for the political movement Beirut Madinati and its vision of responsible government.

The Panama Papers Arrive in Tunis

By Sarah Mersch

May 12, 2016

Corruption has continued to fester in post-uprising Tunisia, but new leaks from the Panama Papers may spur real reform.

Yes, Let Us Honestly Assess Sykes-Picot’s Ugly Century

By Rami G. Khouri

May 11, 2016

Untangling the complicated legacies of colonialism and failed Arab regimes overshadowing today’s conflicts in the Middle East.

Al-Qaeda Aims in Idlib Offer an Important Test

By Rami G. Khouri

May 10, 2016

A new experiment in Jihadist government points towards a resurgent organization.

Sectarianism and the New Shiism

By Rola El-Husseini

May 8, 2016

The roots of religious hatred between Sunni and Shia are political and, surprisingly, recent.

The Battle over Arab Public Space and Ideas

By Rami G. Khouri

May 7, 2016

One of the most significant battles taking place these days in the Arab region is about how wide or narrow is the public space available for citizens to express themselves and offer views that differ from or challenge the state.

The Music Says So: The Battle for Citizen Rights Will Be Won

By Rami G. Khouri

May 2, 2016

The government of Jordan last week had banned a public performance by the Lebanese band Mashrou’ Leila, but this week reversed the decision and allowed the band to perform.

A Day of Arab Despair and Radical Change

By Rami G. Khouri

April 28, 2016

Four very different events on the same day all confirm once again the hard consequences of the unsustainable policies that all Arab governments, without exception, pursued since the 1970s.

Ten Observations on the Wars in Syria

By Rami G. Khouri

April 23, 2016

The scale, intensity, and persistence of the last five years of nonstop and often barbaric violence reflect the fact that Syria today, as in the past four millennia at least, continues to be a central pivot in the geopolitics of the Middle East and its neighbors.

Endgame Strategies in Syria

By Nabeel Khoury

April 21, 2016

The Syrian conflict has been alternately exploited and ignored long enough. The world can no longer afford to look the other way.

Tunisia’s New Republicanism

By Charles Tripp

April 17, 2016

Sada interviews Charles Tripp on his latest study, which focuses on politics in the aftermath of Tunisia’s revolutionary moment and the battle for public space.

Art and Liberty in Egypt, Today and Yesterday

By Ahmed Naji

April 12, 2016

Continued neglect for the heritage of the Egyptian Surrealist movement, despite a resurgence in interest abroad, raises questions about the politics of culture in Egypt.

Persistent Roots of Arab Weakness and Relinquished Sovereignty

By Rami G. Khouri

April 10, 2016

The exercise of power and public authority in the Arab World has always been defined by small groups of men—usually anchored in military establishments—who seized and sat in the seats of power.

The BDS Debate Goes Mainstream

By Rami G. Khouri

April 10, 2016

Critics of Israel’s most egregious and often illegal policies—occupation, colonization, mass incarceration, assassinations, and direct and indirect siege of Palestinian civilian communities—now also call for measures to deter or punish it.

Historic Shifts in World’s View of Israel-Palestine

By Rami G. Khouri

April 6, 2016

Palestinian rights are popping up in more venues around the world, with a regular public focus on countering and even sanctioning Zionist actions such as expropriating and colonizing occupied Arab lands.

Russia, Palmyra, and the Syrian Kaleidoscope

By Rami G. Khouri

April 4, 2016

Long-term stability in Syria requires a process of national self-determination that allows citizens to freely express how they wish to configure their sovereignty and be governed.

The Threat and Opportunity of Kurds in Syria

By Rami G. Khouri

April 2, 2016

This is the moment to shed the ghosts of 1916 by affirming citizen rights in Arab lands, not to perpetuate them by bowing to the dictates of failed authoritarian powers.