Hamas, ISIL, and Israel: An Exercise in Comparison

By Ayman Zaineldine / Winter 2024

One of Israel’s main responses to the October 7 attacks was to declare that “Hamas is ISIL,” and that the world should thus unite in support for Israel to eliminate it. But others are not sure, and ask whether Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, and its practices as an occupying power, is even more worthy of global sanction

A Palestinian Gandhi or an Israeli de Gaulle? Why the Context of Violence Matters

By Sharif Elmusa / Winter 2024

Questioning why there hasn’t been a Palestinian Gandhi or Mandela ignores the history and context in which Palestinian resistance occurs, especially the abiding violence visited on the Palestinians since 1917

The EU’s Response to the Gaza War Is a Tale of Contradiction and Division

By Martin Konečný / Winter 2024

In the face of worst-ever Israeli–Palestinian violence, Europe’s selective moralism has also led to strategic blindness

From Gaza to Regional War? – with Abdalhadi Alijla

By Nadeen Shaker /

What is the next step in the Gaza War now that an Israeli drone has killed a Hamas leader in Beirut? A spillover in Lebanon? The entire region? Europe? The United States has a role to play in preventing the war from escalating, but what if it does not intervene? Today’s episode is with Abdalhadi Alijla, Palestinian political scientist and rebel governance expert, who tells us more about the worst-case scenarios of the war on Gaza, and how the war’s objectives are slightly shifting.

Delivering the Palestinians to Israel: The Lasting Effects of the 1973 War on the Palestinian Question

By Khaled Elgindy / Fall 2023

In the years following the creation of Israel, the United States became the game master of the Arab-Israeli peace process. For Palestinians, this meant that they would not have a seat at the table for decades to come

Analysis: Can BRICS+ Provide a Counterweight to the West?

By Helmo Preuss /

With the admission of six new countries, BRICS increases its economic power and global clout, possibly establishing its place as a challenger to the G7.

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

The Slow Violence of Climate Change

By Garret Barnwell and Savo Heleta / Fall 2021

A warming planet places the heaviest burden on the countries and people least responsible for climate destruction. Survival necessitates justice, redress, and structural change.

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 UAE Art Scene: Challenges and Opportunities

By Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi / Spring 2021

Sustainability and longevity of a thriving cultural sector in the Gulf must be treated as a priority, which is why long-term planning is essential in order to ensure the ability of the art field to meet with both current and future challenges.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

The World Is Watching the United States

By Diana Bartelli Carlin / Fall 2020

The United States is facing a perfect storm that puts it in the headlights of its counterparts’ world views.

Gas Finds for the People?

By Jason Beckett / Summer 2020

Public international law—tied as it is to existent western-centric neo-colonial structures—will likely block the natural gas finds in the Eastern Mediterranean from benefiting regional states.

Life Under Lockdown on a Small Island: a Personal Perspective

By Tim Cullen /

One small state’s ability to weather the coronavirus storm by remaining transparent and drawing upon the population’s sense of community.

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.

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?

Deconstructing Fukuyama

By Ibrahim Awad / Spring 2020

Taking apart the arguments of division that underscore the populist movements emerging in today’s liberal democracies

How Will the Coronavirus Crisis Affect Africa’s Developmental Focus?

By Magda Shahin /

Mitigating the effects of the coronavirus in Africa and implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area go hand-in-hand.

Seeing COVID-19 as an Opportunity

By Ted Reynolds /

Extremist groups will attempt to take advantage of the turmoil created by COVID-19—and it’s not the first time.

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.

Neither East Nor West

By Nanjala Nyabola /

As the Covid-19 response of powerful states like the U.S. and China falters, it is also failing regions on the margins of great power politics, like Africa. It is time weaker states take a long look at their dependence on the world’s juggernauts for their own security.

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