2020: The Year We Stayed Away

December 2020

Social distancing, wearing masks, scavenging for toilet paper while spraying disinfectant everywhere: what kind of year was this? A tragic one for many, but we end with a hope for vaccine somewhat realized.

Will the U.S. Evolve its Foreign Policy from Past Mistakes?

/ Fall 2020

Former U.S. Ambassador and American University in Cairo President Francis Ricciardone evaluates how the United States has dealt with global crises in the 21st century.

Addressing the Global Health Crisis of Stunting in Times of COVID-19

Stunting can be prevented by using technology to improve agriculture and strong governmental support.

Society 5.0 and the Future Economies

By Hesham Dinana / Spring 2020

We’re better-connected today than ever before—but has modern innovation created a new society altogether?

Urban-Rural Disconnect: COVID-19 and Sustainability

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

The Urban-Rural Disconnect and how COVID-19 is influencing the Nexus of water, energy and food.

Reinventing Governance for a Fragile and Complex New World

By Ashraf Swelam /

The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare the weaknesses of the international system; to fix the present and prepare for the future, we must pivot to a resilience paradigm.

Sustainable Solutions for an Economic Crisis

By Amina Abdel-Halim /

As the world grapples to mitigate a looming economic crisis, a roadmap already exists: the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

A Surplus of Deficits

By Amr Adly / Spring 2020

From a political economy perspective, there are four key forces working against the peace and prosperity of Middle Eastern and North African states. To defeat them, robust institutions are essential.

Can Arab Cities Be Eco-Sustainable?

By David Sims / Spring 2020

Separating fiction from reality, and corporate interests from true innovation in the new “eco-cities” of the Middle East.

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in COVID-19

By Thomas L. Crisman and Zachary S. Winters /

The nexus between water, energy, and food today is fragile—made all the more so by climate change, catastrophic weather events, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Water Rivalry on the Nile

By Hani Sewilam / April 14, 2020

In an effort to overcome competition over water resources, Nile Basin countries can collaborate in harvesting more rainfall and increase Nile flow to maximize benefit sharing to reach a win-win solution.

A Future Filled With Pathogens

By Dahr Jamail /

The combination of a worsening climate crisis and ongoing human encroachment on the wilds will bring more pandemics.

A Message From The Editors

By The Editors /

Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Learning from Mistakes in Pandemic Response

By Sydney Wise / March 20, 2020

As long as humans have interacted with one another, we have assumed the risk of communicating disease; the question is, have we learned from past experiences enough to minimize future risk?

Edge of Survival

By Peter J. Jacques / Winter 2020

The interaction of food, energy, and water in North Africa is complex and building into a cascade of trouble. It is time to listen to the rural communities facing it on the frontline

Averting a Total Collapse

By Thomas L. Crisman / Winter 2020

How is the water-energy-food nexus impacting ecological, social, and political systems in the Middle East and North Africa?

Our Future as Climate Refugees

By Amanda Tapp / Winter 2020

Journalist Dahr Jamail discusses the impact of climate change on the Middle East and calls for immediate collaborative action

The Most Severe Threat Facing MENA

By Nabil Fahmy / Winter 2020

Water scarcity is one of the most pressing issues facing the international community today and has gained widespread attention recently due to the rise in global temperatures and the increase in water consumption in a number of countries, especially those in the Middle East. Despite these concerns, many nations remain unprepared to confront water scarcity and continue to fail to make the issue a political priority.
The shortage of water in the Middle East has worsened in the modern era due to high population growth rates, » Read more about: The Most Severe Threat Facing MENA »

Facing the Nuclear Storm

By Ali Ahmad and Benedetta Bonometti / Fall 2019

Countries across the Middle East are building or have already started operating their nuclear power plants. To assess how “resilient” their nuclear energy systems are, one must look at a number of important risks and factors

The Cost of Clean Water

By Zander Pellegrino / Fall 2019

How one village was hit by the demands of sustainable development.

Reconstruction as a political-economy issue: The case of Syria

By Samir Aita / September 18, 2019

There can be no meaningful separation between state-building, peace-building, and revival at the end of a conflict, especially as post-conflict state institutions are the only apparatus which can be somewhat directly or indirectly accountable toward their populations for the management of the country.

The Desert, a Resource Curse

By Leslie Cohen / Spring 2019

Could land be Egypt’s Dutch Disease?

Saudi Arabia’s Moment in the Sun

By Juergen Braunstein and Oliver McPherson-Smith / May 19, 2019

Although cooperation with China can help Saudi Arabia boost production of solar power, global trade dynamics may complicate the kingdom’s renewable energy goals.

Lebanon’s Black Sheep

By Leslie Cohen / Fall 2018

Independent parliamentarian Paula Yacoubian discusses the battles worth fighting in Lebanese politics

Jordan at the Crossroads

By Alaa Elhadidi / July 7, 2018

Jordan’s economic, demographic and geographic characteristics have left the country vulnerable to mass protests and external pressure that can only be overcome by a comprehensive reform program.

Climate Change Conundrum

By Neil Bhatiya / Summer 2017

Can cities succeed when nations fail in the fight against global warming?

The Battle for Antarctica

By Sarah El-Shaarawi / Spring 2017

Failure to stem climate change could have dramatic consequences for the continent

The Unnatural World

By Neil Bhatiya / Spring 2017

Will mankind have the ability to prevail in the struggle for a sustainable planet?

Dangerous Years

By Neil Bhatiya / Winter 2017

What will it take to spark a great environmental awakening and avert catastrophic climate change?

After the Paris Agreement

By Hoda Baraka and Payal Parekh / Fall 2016

The international deal to combat global warming comes into force in 2016. For climate activists, it’s the beginning of a new stage in the struggle to hold nations accountable for their greenhouse emissions.

The End of Stationarity

By Neil Bhatiya / Fall 2016

Winners and losers in the time of climate change

Our Common Home

By Pope Francis / Summer 2016

In an extract from the papal encyclical Laudato Si’, the bishop of Rome makes an impassioned plea to save the planet from ecological destruction: “We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world.”

Will Lebanon Face its Immense Climate Change Dangers?

By Rami G. Khouri / March 21, 2016

An eye-opening report on climate change effects in Lebanon reveals the need for government to commit to save tens of thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars over the coming decades, and prevent a further fracturing of society along wealth/poverty lines.

The Obesity Crisis

By James Manyika and Richard Dobbs / Summer 2015

If trends persist, nearly half of the world’s adult population will be overweight or obese by 2030. A comprehensive intervention strategy is required to fight a scourge as damaging to the global economy as war.

The Globalization of Clean Energy Technology

By Neil Bhatiya / Winter 2015

Probing the global implications of China’s clean energy technologies.

Environment