Rebuilding from Rubble: The Future of Gaza

By Abigail Flynn / Spring/Summer 2025

Amid the dust and rubble, the new ceasefire offers relief to a war-ravaged Gaza; hope remains for a bright future in the Strip as questions surface of the role civil servants formerly employed by Hamas will play in governance

Integrating Intersectionality into Humanitarian Aid

By Ghaidaa Motahar /

A gender lens is not enough to ensure every woman receives the support she needs; considering factors like class and ethnicity are key to designing effective programs

Ending the War In Gaza: What Must Be Done Now

By Gershon Baskin / Fall 2025

Israel’s military juggernaut will not be stopped in Gaza without significant international pressure and a range of conditional sanctions

Recognizing a Palestine State: What’s New—and What’s Not

By Bidisha Biswas / Fall 2025

Australia is the latest G8 nation to pledge recognition of an independent Palestine, but long before Western capitals took action, recognition of the Palestinian state echoed across India, Indonesia, South Africa, and much of Latin America in a shared sentiment of justice rooted in anti-colonial solidarity

Fairness and Philosophy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

By Abigail Flynn / Spring/Summer 2025

The Cairo Review speaks with philosopher Aaron Wolf about complexities of algorithmic fairness

Hybrid Writing: Authority, Ethics, Agency

By Thomas Skouteris / Spring/Summer 2025

Though generative artificial intelligence has facilitated the emulation of form, it cannot take responsibility for what is written. Agency remains at the heart of writing once all else can be automated

The Future of Democracy in the Age of Deepfakes

By Hany Farid / Spring/Summer 2025

AI-generated content has already begun to work against us, rather than for us. To ensure this technology brings benefits rather than harms, we must institute immediate changes

Iran’s Civil Society May Be its Best Hope

By Kourosh Ziabari /

Iran is engaging in talks with the United States as it feels the weight of economic, diplomatic, and domestic crises. The outcome is not clear and democracy isn’t within reach, but its civil society, representing the nation’s best hope for positive change, hasn’t yet lost its resilience

The U.S. Presbyterian Mission in Iran— with Matthew Shannon: CR Amplified ep. 3

Many see the United States and Iran as sworn enemies, but few are aware about the deep history of the relationship between the two countries. A focal point of this shared history can be seen through Christian missionaries present in Tehran during the first half of the 20th century.

Who are Palestine’s Overlooked Refugees? Investigating Stateless Palestinians in Jordan

By Francesca Maria Lorenzini /

Stateless Palestinian refugees originally from Gaza who now live in Jordan face a precarious legal and economic situation as they lack adequate support systems. Scant attention is paid to their struggles

Trump 2.0: Where Rhetoric Meets Reality

By Diana Bartelli Carlin / Winter 2025

The new president has made big promises, but can he keep them?

Donald Trump and the Art of Bending Reality

By Gabriele Cosentino / Winter 2025

The gravity-defying political comeback of Donald Trump is the pinnacle of the chaotic career of an extreme risk taker with little concern for established norms. But his willingness to upend rules and bend reality to suit his vision might push U.S. and global politics to the breaking point

Relocating Palestinians to “Clean Out” Gaza: Trump’s Proposal Echoes Forced Population Transfer

By Ola G. El-Taliawi / January 30, 2025

Moving the Palestinians in Gaza to neighboring Arab countries will not solve the underlying problems caused by the Israeli occupation

Duel with Israel is Turbocharging Iranian Nationalism

By Kourosh Ziabari /

There’s only one ingredient in the Iranian people’s worldview that has not been outperformed by a disastrous mélange of crackdowns on civil liberties, economic maladies, corruption, and the specter of an all-out confrontation with Israel: nationalism

Israel, Hamas, and the Burdens of History

By Michael J. Reimer / Fall 2024

The violence of the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent retaliatory war on Gaza have reignited historical collective traumas and existential fears among Jewish-Israelis, the Jewish Diaspora, and Palestinians

Toward Anti-racism Education in the African Context

By George Sefa Dei and Niketa Afia Peters / Fall 2024

What would African educational systems look like without colonial influence? Answering such questions may guide educators in the various communities of the African continent to imagine something re-centered around indigenous experiences. Anti-racism is an important part of that answer

Bridging the Knowledge Gap Between Scientific Research and the Masses

By Nadine El Sayed /

Amid ongoing climate change and the aftermath of a pandemic that revealed a significant lack of public awareness, scientists and journalists alike have recognized an urgent need to fill in the information gaps between the lab and the people. This challenge is particularly acute in the Arab world, where language barriers continue to hinder effective communication of scientific research, and the spread of misinformation remains rampant.

“We Lost Our Dignity in this War” – with Nour Swirki

By Nadeen Shaker /

Some analysts have called Gaza a “news grave” because of the killing of journalists and their families, and the destruction of media outlets and communication infrastructure. For journalists on the ground in Gaza, the barriers are insurmountable, especially when they are fighting to survive themselves. On today’s episode, we hear from Nour Swirki, one of the few last standing journalists in Gaza about her own story of displacement, and about how she is able to continue doing her job during what she calls “a war against anything Palestinian…against our existence.”

Ringside Seat to Real-Time Radicalization

By Lawrence Pintak / November 8, 2023

Research on radicalization finds that exposure to violence leads to further violence. Israel’s military campaign has made Gaza a “living Hell.”

The Sisterhood of Journalists

By Leslie Cohen / Summer 2022

Zahra Hankir talks about what it means to be a journalist covering the Middle East, and what she has learned from her fellow colleagues.

From Borno to Aswan: Where Development, Climate and Conflict are Interlinked

By Omar Auf / August 23, 2022

The Aswan Forum, hosted on June 21-22 in Cairo, discussed topics related to African peace and development, including climate change, confronting terrorism, regional security, youth and women empowerment, and more.

Working Towards Sustainable Peace and Development Through Cooperation: An Interview with Ahmed Abdel-Latif

By Omar Auf /

The Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding is a unique Egyptian organization with a mandate for peace through capacity building, convening and research. Director-General Ahmed Abdel-Latif leads the center through its many activities, including serving as the Aswan Forum’s Secretariat.

Celebrating Ten Years of the Cairo Review

By Ahmad Dallal / Winter 2022

Editorial

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.

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.

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.

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.

A Pandemic of Vaccine and Technology Hoarding: Unmasking Global Inequality and Hypocrisy

By Lauren Paremoer / Summer 2021

Intellectual property waivers are key to dismantling global vaccine apartheid and providing equitable vaccination to Africa and other continents.

The Most Recent Israeli Crime

By Nasser Alkidwa / May 27, 2021

In attacking Gaza, the Israeli military and government seeks to keep Palestine divided and Palestinians in Gaza politically and economically crippled. The goal of all Palestinians must now be to resist Israel’s settler colonialism.

Doughnut Economics: Living in a Sustainable World

By Dania El Akkawi /

How humanity can transform from traditional growth-first economic policies to a 21st century vision centered around sustainable development.

Enough with Words

By Nabil Fahmy / May 17, 2021

It is time that Arab states lead the world community in standing up against Israeli practices which jeopardize the national and human rights of the Palestinian people.

State, Media, and Political Messaging in Contemporary Turkey

By Özge Özdüzen / Spring 2021

The AKP’s political messaging tactics have undergone significant change over time, but remain an important strategic tool for the party.

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.

The End of Corporate Janissaries in the Gulf

By Omar Al-Ubaydli / Spring 2021

Gulf family companies and businesses must learn to wean off the Kafala system that has created short-sighted dependency on elite migrant workers, much like the flawed Janissary model of governance.

The Long Road to Economic Transformation in the Gulf

By Nader Kabbani / Spring 2021

To successfully reinvent their economies, Gulf states must move past the deadweight of legacy policies and their adverse consequences.

Summers of Strife: From Libya to Ethiopia

By Nabil Fahmy / Spring 2021

Ethiopia’s obstinance puts the region at a sensitive crossroads again

The Normalization of Antidemocratic Extremism in the United States

By Risa Kitagawa / May 4, 2021

To dissect the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol requires an understanding of the language of American political violence.

Women and Children First

By Elena Habersky / Spring 2021

Women and children migrant voices, especially after the pandemic, must be amplified in discussions around the Global Compact, which aims to bring world governments in line with good and safe migration governance.

The Future of Work: Between Technology and Inequality

By Dania El Akkawi / Winter 2021

While the future is foggy in light of the pandemic, the importance of technology is real and certain, and the creation of new jobs will pave the way for new global work arrangements.

The Arab World Between Regime Change and Political Reform

By Mustapha Kamel Al-Sayyid / Winter 2021

The American tendency to overthrow existing governments in sovereign states has been fuel and fodder for conspiracy theories of the last decade.

Non-Western Theater Elevates Local Culture

By Ibrahim Elzayat and Omar Auf /

Theater Professor Jillian Campana discusses the richness of local theater traditions and the ways in which they can engage Western-dominated theater.

Theater Spotlights Social Trauma and Sexual Harassment

By Ibrahim Elzayat and Omar Auf / Winter 2021

How theater can be used to generate community dialogue and set the stage for social change.

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.

What to Expect from Biden in the Middle East

By William B. Quandt / February 24, 2021

A Biden administration is likely to rewrite a lot of Trump’s Middle East policies, but the Israel-Palestine issue may not be a priority.

Theater for All

By Dina Amin / Winter 2021

How culturally inclusive theater that bears on both Western and Eastern experiences can produce citizens of the world and more global understanding.

Africa and the United States: Reengaging with Africa’s Prosperity in Mind

By Carl Manlan / Winter 2021

With China as a dominant foreign power in Africa, the only option left for United States to engage with the continent is to follow its priorities: namely, prioritizing African youth.

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.

2020: The Year We Stayed Away

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.

Empowering Women with Disabilities for Better Employment Opportunities

By Amina Abdel-Halim / December 16, 2020

The United Nations is working hand in hand with local organizations to provide greater economic prosperity to Egyptian women living with disabilities.