News on politics, security and defence in the Middle East and North Africa
Who Says Popular Quest for Change in the Middle East Has Been Quelled? A series of recent mass protests in several Arab countries have called into question suggestions that civil…
In March 2011 a few teenagers in a southern Syrian city – fired up no doubt by the revolutionary fervour sweeping the Middle East at the time – daubed some…
Hamas’s fortunes have taken a turn for the worse. The de facto government of the Gaza strip suddenly finds itself in difficulties on four fronts: deteriorating external relations, including financial…
Here are few stories of some Syrians who do little things to live on. These stories are nothing but heartbreaking. I spent my whole life in these neighbourhoods. And now…
Using religious frameworks in political contestation and mobilisation processes has become more eminent in recent decades spiralling an intricate debate on the conceptualisation and implementation of such references in the…
This summer, as the British parliament take its annual break from business, civil servants are hard at work preparing an unprecedented assault on Islamist extremism. The UK’s Counter-Extremism Strategy, to…
The Saudi military intervention in Yemen against Houthi rebels has repercussions in the kingdom amid cracks appearing in the ruling families in Riyadh and United Arab Emirates. SAUDI ARABIA’S four-month…
For nearly fifty years the accepted mantra has been that only direct face-to-face negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians can yield a mutually acceptable settlement. That formula has been tested…
Working on the topic of Arab intellectuals represents a considerable challenge because the level of uncertainty is great and the dangers are greater. Doing a study about Arab intellectuals resembles…
“What if” is a fascinating game. It forces you to use your imagination, think round a subject, probe possibilities, consider options. On July 11, 2000. Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Barak,…