Politics
Untold Futures
The American University in Cairo launched a massive research initiative that would ask Arab scholars and thinkers over the next three years to find answers to a crucial question: what does the future hold for the Middle East?
Civil Marriage in Limbo
In Lebanon, the recurring debate around civil marriage highlights the sectarian-patriarchal grip on personal status affairs and the state itself.
The Juggernaut’s Achilles Heel
The US may have recognized Israel’s 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights, but the Golan Druze, like East Jerusalem Palestinians, continue to reject Israeli citizenship and civic participation. If Israel is now empowered to annex parts of the West Bank, will Palestinians there break the pattern and embrace citizenship if offered?
Here We Go Again
In a right-wing power-play Avigdor Lieberman has forced Israelis back to the polls, but the former defense minister may not be in as strong a position as he reckons.
Arab Spring Revisited
From Algeria to Sudan, the time for good governance is now
Getting Back on Keel
Egypt’s first Fulbright specialist from the United States since 2013 Thomas De Luca critiques the past and the future of national exceptionalism, political polarization, and erosion of democratic values both at home and abroad
Thinking Arab Futures
Drivers, scenarios, and strategic choices for an improved Arab World
A Regional Order Contested
Extreme instability has prompted a fundamental reconfiguration of the contemporary Middle East; as the old order crumbles, a new one has yet to emerge
Erdoğan’s Failure on the Nile
How Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan went from being a regional Islamist leader in the Arab Spring to being the Middle East’s odd man out
Turkey’s Pan-Islamist Foreign Policy
Understanding Turkey’s diplomatic moves post-2011 by looking back to the Ottoman conception of ittihad-i Islam
A Win-Win for Iran and the Region
Iran’s role in the “end-state diplomatic model” of conflict resolution and crisis management in the Middle East
Swamped in a Triple Crisis
Following the 2017–18 uprising, Iran is sick, stuck in three endemic crises with a foreign policy unlikely to alleviate what ails it
Rule of the Rigid Compromiser
President Xi Jinping’s populist leadership of China, six years on, has been a lesson in the art of mixing strict policies with flexibility—alongside the ultimate goal of growing his own power and that of China
Can Israel Survive Netanyahu?
Following Benjamin Netanyahu’s reelection Israel is a land of contradictions, democratic and wealthy yet with dangerous demographic divisions
Kurdistan: A State or a State of Mind?
Can the Kurds, the largest ethnicity in the Middle East without their own nation, overcome their internal disunity and find ways to exist as an independent state or as autonomous regions?
Saudi Arabia’s Moment in the Sun
Although cooperation with China can help Saudi Arabia boost production of solar power, global trade dynamics may complicate the kingdom’s renewable energy goals.
What China Wants in Outer Space
On the final frontier, Beijing is bringing its A game. Can other Asian powers such as India compete?
Netanyahu’s Masterful Gaslighting
The recent Israeli election showed Bibi to be the king of Israel and a master of the status quo.
A Different Kind of Rationality
Iran continues its military presence in Syria even after the fight is won—a move which is underpinned by the Islamic Republic’s core deterrence and defense foreign policy against possible Israeli or US military action.
Syria and Regional Food Security
Syria and its neighbors all have a vested interest in resuming agricultural trade to increase food security across the region.
Russia’s Eye on Syrian Reconstruction
Russia is primed to benefit economically from an influx of foreign investment in Syria, but an emerging rivalry with China and Iran for contracts could erode its long-term leverage.
The Dream of a City
Will Neom, the Saudi leadership’s new “city of the future,” become a reality?
When the Shake-up Comes
Activist and former advisor to the PLO negotiating team Diana Buttu discusses what she calls the death of Oslo and her hopes for a radical new future
Lose Your Privileges or Gain a Homeland?
Hassan Asfour, senior Oslo-era negotiator for the Palestine Liberation Organization, discusses why the Oslo Accords were doomed and the next step: declaring an independent Palestinian nation
Keeping the Hope of Peace Alive
The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini asserts that the Oslo and Camp David Accords must be complemented by the realization of a two-state solution for the Palestinian–Israeli conflict in order to secure a lasting peace for the Middle East.
No-Peace Solution
Peace did not prevail because certain ambiguous provisions contained in the Camp David Accords enabled Israel to deliberately evade its obligations and frustrate the entire peace process
The Players of Camp David
An insider Israeli view on the personalities and ideas that drove the history-making Camp David Accords
Reflections on Camp David at 40
How the Camp David Accords became a limited Egyptian–Israeli peace effort that ultimately transformed Arab–Israeli relations across the Middle East
Half Right and Still Waiting
Parsing the successes of the Israeli–Egyptian peace treaty against the failure of Camp David’s other framework agreement sheds light on the pillars of a successful security relationship, and the unique sticking points of the Palestinian–Israeli conflict
The Peacemakers’ War
After forty years, the Camp David summit continues to be the seminal shaper of the modern Middle East. However, it was an effort fraught with challenges for the peacemakers that could have resulted in its collapse
Lessons from the Thirteen Days in September
On the atmosphere, negotiating style, and mistakes made at Camp David
Asymmetry, the Spoiler
For twenty-five years since the Oslo Agreement, Palestinian–Israeli negotiations have been characterized by a starkly uneven power dynamic. To reach a final solution, today’s negotiators must commit to leveling the playing field
Oslo and Camp David: One and the Same?
What we have learned from the Oslo Accords needs to influence a future agreement so that a lasting Camp David-like peace can be reached between Israelis and Palestinians
Developing the Concept of Palestinian Autonomy
How the Camp David Accords, as well as a little-known series of negotiations called the “Autonomy Talks,” came to serve as the basis for Palestinian self-rule during the Oslo negotiations
Mirroring the Other
Fauda, Netflix’s hit TV series on Israeli undercover operatives in Palestine, presents Palestinian and Israeli characters that have nuanced emotions and desires; yet the show still otherizes Arabs and justifies Israel’s actions in the West Bank and Gaza.
The EU-Arab Summit: A Chance to Reset Relations with the Arab World?
With EU and Arab League leaders set to convene a landmark summit for the first time in Sharm El-Sheikh this February, the stakes are high to agree on key issues, including migration, counter-terrorism and steps to end the war in Yemen.
Preserving Kurdish Autonomy
Divisions among the states vested in Syria are opening possibilities for Syria’s Kurds to secure greater protection for their autonomy.
Reforming UN Peacekeeping
How Cairo views efforts at reforming United Nations’ peacekeeping, especially in the Middle East and Africa.
Faith That Peace Will One Day Come
Former United States president and architect of the Camp David Accords Jimmy Carter discusses the 1978 conference that changed the Middle East and the prospects for peace today.
Pompeo’s “Real New Beginning”?
In a speech which may have policy implications for the Trump Administration’s Middle East policy, the United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lays out plans for the region at the American University in Cairo.
Turkey’s Gradual Efforts to Professionalize Syrian Allies
Instead of putting its full strength behind unifying Syrian rebel groups, Ankara is slowly supporting that process without disturbing the status quo.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE look to Africa
By mediating conflicts and combining their assets in the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are slowly cementing an arc of political influence across the region.
Russia’s Mediating Role in Southern Yemen
Seeking to expand its influence in the Red Sea, Russia is hoping that mediating internal disputes in Yemen will help make the region more secure.
A New Beginning for Yemen?
The strategic role of the United States—and others—in finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Yemen.
What Future for the EU’s Southern Neighbourhood Policy?
The upcoming EU-Arab summit could help in crafting a new regional relationship.
A Dangerous Coin Toss
For long-time scholar of American foreign policy, William Quandt, it’s still too hard to say what Trump wants in the Middle East
A Divided America
Why American Islamophobia seems to be declining in the age of Trump
Perceptions from Abroad
How to fight foreign perceptions that the Arab World is violent and in complete turmoil
Lebanon’s Black Sheep
Independent parliamentarian Paula Yacoubian discusses the battles worth fighting in Lebanese politics
The Inflection Point
Reduced American focus on the Middle East going forward is just one of many changes with which Arab leaders will have to grapple in the coming years, and it is disorienting