Managing Crises, the Least-Bad Option

By Joost Hiltermann / Winter 2022

Conflict management in the MENA region has little chance of succeeding as conflicts increasingly intersect and tensions driven by larger, regional triggers become even more unpredictable

A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

By Muhamed H. Almaliky / Winter 2022

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

Locked-in Emissions: The Climate Change Arms Trade

By Wendela de Vries / Fall 2021

With militaries’ locked-in fossil fuel systems and looming climate chaos, the arms industry continues to take advantage of nefarious profit opportunities.

Millions of People Continue to be Forcibly Displaced in Africa

By Maysa Ayoub / Summer 2021

Even though forced displacement is a global crisis, it is no more obvious than in Africa.

This Watershed Moment for the Land(s) between the River and the Sea

By Richard Silverstein / June 21, 2021

The recent war between Israel and Hamas has transformed the moral calculus of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Yemen’s Peace Process: A Path to Conflict?

By Abdullah Hamidaddin / Spring 2021

The possibilities and risks of Yemen embracing peace and stability after a long period of internal civil war remain bleak.

Shifting the Conversation on Palestine

By Nour Odeh / May 28, 2021

Arab states and the world community must counter Israel’s impunity as well as put an end to the profitable occupation enterprise… otherwise it’s another futile ceasefire.

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.

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.

Maintaining the U.S.-Saudi Relationship

By Hussein Ibish / Spring 2021

The once booming strategic alliance between Riyadh and Washington has weathered a number of regional storms but is beginning to show wear and tear.

Summers of Strife: From Libya to Ethiopia

By Nabil Fahmy / Spring 2021

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

Shaping Africa’s New Normal

By Amina Abdel-Halim / April 28, 2021

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, African nations are working through the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development to set the continent back on track with its developmental Agenda 2063.

Biden Bolstering Diplomacy

By Sydney Wise / Winter 2021

PART II: Director of the Boston Consortium for Arab Region Studies, Denis Sullivan, discusses U.S. President Joe Biden’s foreign policy plans in the Middle East.

Biden Negotiating the Balance of Power

By Sydney Wise / Winter 2021

Director of the Boston Consortium for Arab Region Studies, Denis Sullivan, discusses U.S. President Joe Biden’s foreign policy plans in the Middle East.

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.

The Iran Nuclear Deal: A Springboard for a New Middle East Security Architecture

By Nabil Fahmy / February 25, 2021

The Iran nuclear deal could be the first building block in a new Middle East security architecture.

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.

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.

In the Zone: The Long and Winding Road to Middle East Disarmament

By Karim Haggag / Winter 2021

As the international community grapples with the immediate challenge of Iran’s nuclear program, those in Washington and other capitals should consult Seyed Hossein Mousavian and Emad Kiyaei’s book and perhaps devise a more considered approach to rid the Middle East of the threat of mass destruction that continues to hang over the region.

Learning from a Diplomatic Trailblazer to Tackle Global Inequalities

By Sean David Hobbs /

Guest speaker at the 16th Nadia Younes Memorial Lecture, Dutch Minister Sigrid Kaag, presented ideas for geopolitical challenges in the Middle East and North Africa during and after the coronavirus pandemic.

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

By Sean David Hobbs / 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.

Short perspectives on the United States’ foreign policy in the Middle East after the November 2020 presidential election

By Nabil Fahmy / Fall 2020

How will a Trump or Biden presidency shape the future of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East?

Embracing Change: U.S. Foreign Policy Shifts

By Sean David Hobbs / Fall 2020

Former U.S. diplomat and American University in Cairo President Francis Ricciardone discusses whether a Biden win will see a return to a rules based international order.

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

Why Palestinians consider the UAE-Israel Deal a strategic betrayal

By Nour Odeh /

Palestinian anger rises towards the UAE-Israel deal, which is not only a breach of international law, but also perceived as a betrayal of long-standing Arab solidarity with Palestine.

Syria’s Prospects for Reconstruction Are Bleak

By Alexander Decina and Katherine Nazemi /

Hindered by an array of domestic and international obstacles and competing regime priorities, the Syrian government’s efforts to attract regional capital for investment and reconstruction will be insufficient.

Annexation Makes No Policy Sense

By Daniel C. Kurtzer / June 15, 2020

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

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.

COVID-19 Impact on Africa Elections

By Arnaud Oulepo /

The pandemic is forcing African states to choose between holding elections on time and postponing them for safety. The risks run both ways.

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.

Egypt’s Diplomacy: An Insider’s Critique

By Paul Salem / Spring 2020

Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy’s newest book seeks to inform future generations about the challenges of statecraft he and his compatriots faced over the past fifty years.

Strategic Actors in Libya

By Sydney Wise /

Political Scientist Lisa Anderson explores how the local players in the Libyan conflict affect the decision-making of states, both in North Africa and beyond.

A Message From The Editors

By The Editors /

Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Mobilizing Against Trump’s “Vision”

By Sean David Hobbs /

Former Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Alkidwa explains the ways Palestinians are contesting the Trump plan for peace and how the Trump deal caters only to extremists on the Israeli and American right

Meme-ifying “World War III”

By Audrey Lodes and Sydney Wise / February 26, 2020

How the Soleimani assassination has called into question what “war” means today and how the world should respond

Hosni Mubarak: Passing of an Era, or Lingering Legacy?

By Tarek Osman / February 25, 2020

What Mubarak’s legacy reveals about changes in different generations’ relationship to state and society.

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.

The Country to City Continuum

By Audrey Lodes /

Government leaders and public policy experts attended the Regional Workshop on Strengthening Migration Governance Across the Rural Urban Continuum.

The Neo-Ballistic Middle East

By Karim El-Baz / Fall 2019

Over the past forty years, Iran has written the book on Lebanization and using non-state actors in interstate warfare

Heat is on for Brazil’s Bolsonaro

By Patricia Barbeyron / October 15, 2019

Bolsonaro has shifted focus from an economic reforms agenda, which the country sorely needs amid recession fears, to a cultural one, which pleases his supporters.

Libya’s Dangerous Political Stalemate

By Riccardo Redaelli / October 8, 2019

Until now, most of the external actors involved in Libya relied on a Cold-War “zero sum game theory”, based on the dichotomic vision amicus/hostis (friend/enemy) of classical realpolitik. It is time this changes.

The End for Netanyahu?

By Dan Perry / September 19, 2019

After a murky election Netanyahu might be out and Gantz might be in, but it is Lieberman who is set to be kingmaker.

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.

Kushner’s New Plan for Palestine

By Robert Mason / September 18, 2019

The “Deal of the Century” is quickly shaping up to be the “Deception of the Century” and here’s why.

Reinventing Peace in Syria

By Achim Wennmann / Summer 2019

For Syria, and the rest of the world, the era of liberal peacebuilding has passed. But there are other ways to make peace, which call for a return to basics and a new kind of “software”

In Syria, Reconstruction Brings Little Hope for Peace

By Jasmine El-Gamal / Summer 2019

While maintaining the status quo for the time being might seem the easiest option, it is also the worst possible one

Cohesion through Decentralization

By Alexander Decina / Summer 2019

The rebuilding process in Libya will be complex and arduous but must be done with a focus on local actors and an acknowledgment of the realities on the ground

How Yemen Rises

By Abdullah Hamidaddin / Summer 2019

Reconstruction is never easy, and in Yemen the road will be longer than most. The first step is to pass on “best practice” in favor of a critical, reflexive approach

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.

An Iran Strategy Worth Fighting For

By Robert Mason / July 24, 2019

U.S. and Saudi confrontations with Iran are causing proxy-warfare in weak or failing Arab states and escalating tensions in the Gulf, but there might still be a chance for diplomatic progress with the right combination of measures targeting Gulf-specific, regional, and international issues.