Following the Arab League emergency meeting in early March, momentum around Gaza’s reconstruction has grown amid regional urgency and renewed international focus. At the heart of this effort lies a pivotal question: Will reconstruction serve as a tool for Palestinian sovereignty or be co-opted into another externally imposed process and prolonged military occupation? This Policy Brief argues […]
On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump upended years of climate finance commitments to Africa. The US President issued an executive order withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement and rescinding the US International Climate Finance Plan. This did not come as a surprise as it is the second time President Trump has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement. […]
Since the second half of the 20th century, the Arab region has witnessed pivotal and transformative political events that have shaped its modern history. Arab(ic) autobiographical literature has flourished in these contexts. A plethora of these texts have been written by women. This Essay aims to present a brief history of Arab women writing about their experiences of war and political upheavals in autobiographical texts.
The transatlantic partnership, historically a shared pillar of security and economic prosperity for the United States (US) and Europe, now faces unprecedented challenges as US President Donald Trump’s second term ushers in a new era of confrontation. At the Munich Security Conference in February 2025, Vice President JD Vance sharply criticized European leadership, revealing the widening rift between the […]
After the fall of the traffic-light coalition in November 2024 and Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s failure to win a vote-of-confidence the following month, Germany’s government has a fresh opportunity to re-constitute itself in the upcoming snap elections on February 23, 2025. Scholz’s cabinet was deeply fragmented by internal disagreements, particularly over budget proposals. Havoc erupted after a […]
When the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen took office in 2019, she vowed to make the European Union (EU) a leading actor in confronting global challenges. Now in its second iteration, von der Leyen’s “geopolitical Commission” faces even more pressing worries in an increasingly geopolitical world: the return of Great Power politics has left […]
President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming second administration has sparked controversy, largely due to his Cabinet appointments. His selections have raised concerns about qualifications and suitability for key positions. For instance, Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth as the United States (US) Defense Secretary has drawn criticism due to his lack of sufficient and relevant experience for the role, […]
Despite the tumult and drama surrounding Trump’s first administration, the incoming 47th President-elect of the United States was pivotal in advancing US-Gulf dialogue during his term. The promotion of wider Khaleeji political, economic, and defense interests in Washington was more palpable under his watch, a shift welcomed by Gulf capitals as they emerged out of the Obama years. […]
Interlinking the historic ties between Africa and Palestine from the 1950s to the present day, Senior Fellow Dahlia El Zein provides a chronological overview of African solidarity towards the Palestinian question, and how it has evolved over the decades. From Libya to Nairobi, Africans have demonstrated that their historic solidarity with Palestine should not be forgotten.
Historically, the heterogeneous nature of the Middle East represented an opportunity for foreign and colonial actors to justify their political and military interventions in the region, manipulating sectarian identities for realpolitik gains. This Essay aims to examine anti-sectarian discourse in Ottoman Syria, which included modern day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine, during the late 19th century. It will do so through a careful mapping of Butrus al-Bustani’s works.
“Dramas of transition” were modern experiments that showcased how Gulf intellectuals and artists at the time dealt and engaged with the early emergence of modernity in their countries. The works are best understood as tragi-comic tales of mock heroic characters, and since the actors and screenwriters were either born or came of age in the era depicted in the dramas, the acting becomes in and of itself an act of remembering.
While some common understandings suggest that Arab intra-regional transport
prospered before falling into obsolescence, it is more accurate to say that its state
fluctuates in line with changing circumstances in an ever-dynamic regional landscape. This Essay examines these interconnected and overlapping processes to study cross-border transport modes in a more critical light. In doing so, it attempts to show that Arab mobility is intimately and intricately enmeshed within broader political and historical dynamics.
