History – The Cairo Review of Global Affairs

Nakba 2.0 – with Sharif ElMusa

By Nadeen Shaker /

For almost all Palestinians, the current war on Gaza strongly evokes the Nakba, when Palestinians were forced to flee their homeland in 1948 following the creation of the state of Israel. As 1.9 million people are currently displaced in Gaza, many believe they are reliving the Nakba in its worst forms. In today’s episode, we hear from Sharif ElMusa, professor emeritus at the American University in Cairo, Palestinian poet, and Nakba survivor.

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

A History of Whistleblowers and Document Leaks

By Jamie Ruchser / Summer 2022

The dissemination of classified and sometimes sensitive information to the public often sparks debate about freedom of information—for example, what information should be shared and what should be withheld? The rapid rise of the internet in the early twenty-first century has provided the public with access to documents leaked through whistleblowing. This timeline aims to identify key whistleblowers and document leaks in recent history.

Time to Stop Talking of the Shiite-Sunni Divide

By Abdullah Hamidaddin / Summer 2022

When Western media frames the Middle East in terms of sectarianism, not only does it do a grave disservice to its audience, but also to the people of this region, with far-reaching consequences

A Revolution and A War: How Iran Transformed Today’s Middle East

By Seyed Hossein Mousavian /

How the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the eight-year Iran–Iraq War greatly and irreversibly influenced the geopolitics and regional dynamics of the Middle East

Celebrating Ten Years of the Cairo Review

By Ahmad Dallal / Winter 2022

Editorial

A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

By Muhamed H. Almaliky / Winter 2022

Did Saudi Arabia miss a huge opportunity at an early engagement with Iraq?

Remembering Jehan Sadat

By Ariana Bennett /

Driven by the hope of peace and equality, Jehan Sadat was a role model for women, not only in Egypt, but across the world.

Egypt’s Wildest Women

By Pascale Ghazaleh /

A study of Egypt’s art, culture, and politics of the 20th century is incomplete without a look at the leading ladies of the interwar period.

The Long Road to African Tourism Recovery

By Helmo Preuss / Summer 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the tourism industry in 2020, but this year a slow vaccine rollout and new variants means it will take a while to recover to pre-pandemic levels.

The Rise of the United Arab Emirates

By Abdulkhaleq Abdulla / Spring 2021

By harnessing national confidence, proactively dealing with regional security concerns and exercising geopolitical cooperation, the UAE is positioning itself as a regional powerhouse.

Transforming Domestic Extremism in the United States

By Chris Bosley / April 28, 2021

In the aftermath of the Capitol insurrection, efforts to counter domestic extremism should address the social and structural dynamics that contribute to violence.

Can the Arab Region meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030?

By Mourad Wahba / Winter 2021

There are multiple challenges which need to be confronted in both data collection and public policy so that the SDGs can be attained.

Why the Phrase “Arab Spring” Should be Retired

By Sean David Hobbs / Winter 2021

It’s time to stop using a Western-based concept ten years on from the events that began the Arab Uprisings.

America Leads by Living up to Its Ideals

By Sean David Hobbs / Fall 2020

On the eve of a pivotal U.S. election, American University in Cairo President Francis J. Ricciardone Jr. is optimistic about America’s unwavering belief in openness and diversity.

Resisting the Tide of Bigotry

By Jonathan Weisman / Fall 2020

American Jews are left divided and looking for new directions as Donald Trump embraces the white supremacism of the alt-right and the Zionism of Benjamin Netanyahu

Annexation Makes No Policy Sense

By Daniel C. Kurtzer / June 15, 2020

The fors and againsts of the West Bank’s annexation.

COVID-19: Lessons from the Black Death

By Peter L. Larson / May 29, 2020

In order to map our future, we may look to the past on how health threats changed societies … or did they?

Women and Education in the Arab World

By Sean David Hobbs /

Malak Zaalouk, education expert, discusses the position of women and access to education in the Arab World with the Cairo Review’s Senior Editor Sean David Hobbs in a special podcast recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic lock-down.

Let Conflicts Be Bygones

By Nadeen Shaker /

A sobering look at how COVID-19 will affect Libya, Syria, and Yemen, where war and conflict have not only decimated most of these countries’ precious resources but are further destroying what remains of them.

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.

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?

Connecting to the U.S. Electorate

By Sydney Wise / March 9, 2020

Diana Carlin, leader in the field of U.S. political communication, speaks with the Cairo Review’s Assistant Editor Sydney Wise.

Brexit Reveals a Damaged Democracy

By Russell Merryman / February 10, 2020

The drunken celebrations in Parliament Square as the UK broke from the European Union provide an apt metaphor for the whole affair.

The Middle East Reacts to Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’

By Sydney Wise / January 30, 2020

Hours after U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace, the reactions of key regional figures ranged from hopeful to enraged.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament in the Middle East

By Amanda Tapp / Fall 2019

Where 70 years of nuclear history have led the region…

Has America’s Influence Ebbed?

By Andrew S. Natsios / Fall 2019

How Donald Trump trashed the post-Cold War international order

Keeping Afghanistan in Afghanistan

By Bruce Pannier / Summer 2019

As a possible peace and removal of American troops appears imminent, how do Afghanistan’s Turkic neighbors view the regional security situation?

Opportunity of the Century?

By Nabil Fahmy / Summer 2019

Jared Kushner’s economic stimulus initiative to solve the Palestinian issue was introduced in the 80s and ended in failure.

Civil Marriage in Limbo

By Sarah El-Richani / June 23, 2019

In Lebanon, the recurring debate around civil marriage highlights the sectarian-patriarchal grip on personal status affairs and the state itself.

The Desert, a Resource Curse

By Leslie Cohen / Spring 2019

Could land be Egypt’s Dutch Disease?

Palestine Prevented

By Shourideh C. Molavi / Spring 2019

Historians should not look for the roots of Israeli state policies and Palestinian oppression in the events of 1967, but in colonial practices leading up to 1948

The Oslo Accords: A Closer Look

By Nasser Alkidwa / Winter 2019

Former Palestinian foreign minister Nasser Alkidwa takes a closer look at the strengths and weaknesses of the Oslo Accords, the lessons learned, and the way forward

Preserving Kurdish Autonomy

By Pinar Tank / February 15, 2019

Divisions among the states vested in Syria are opening possibilities for Syria’s Kurds to secure greater protection for their autonomy.

What Future for the EU’s Southern Neighbourhood Policy?

By James Moran / November 14, 2018

The upcoming EU-Arab summit could help in crafting a new regional relationship.

An Overdue Reckoning

By David Wearing / Fall 2018

British foreign policy in the Middle East has shifted decisively from a long period of consensus to one of sharp contestation between an empire-2.0 right and a transformative left

Moscow’s Middle Eastern Messianism

By Elizabeth Bishop / Fall 2018

Russian actions in the Middle East from Lenin to Putin.

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.

What’s Next for Gaza

By Geoffrey Aronson / June 22, 2018

The crisis in Gaza and possible Israeli policies which could create real change on the ground.

Daughter of the Nile

By Nadeen Shaker / Spring 2018

A profile of Egyptian feminist and founder of Bint Al-Nil journal Doria Shafik.

Iranian Women, Work, and the Gender Regime

By Valentine M. Moghadam / Spring 2018

Iranian women advance their political agency even as their government imposes a neo-patriarchal economic and political system in the Islamic Republic.

A Wiser U.S. Policy for Iran?

By Thomas Buonomo / January 19, 2018

As U.S.-Iranian tensions rise, the Trump administration should adopt a political-military strategy that will counter the causes and effects of Iranian aggression.

Remembering Nubia

By Nadeen Shaker / Fall 2017

Anthropologist Fadwa El Guindi remembers her start at AUC, and how she discovered Nubia.

A Century’s Legacy of Conflict

By Abdel Monem Said Aly / Fall 2017

Understanding the lessons of a conflict deeply steeped in history is essential to resolving it. The strength of facts on the ground, the futility of “might makes right,” and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict’s persistent role in the region’s instability are all part of a legacy that must be acknowledged to achieve peace.