US strike against Syria: a Just War or just a war?
The Trump administration itself has crossed a line that Obama did not cross: directly attacking Syria. The consequences for US foreign policy are potentially catastrophic. Español
Middle East & North Africa
Africa
Egypt’s activists should be celebrated, not criminalised
As justice remains elusive, celebration of Egyptian civil society can build a strong counter-narrative to criminalisation.
Conflict & security
Iraqi Kurdistan: from democratic consensus to de facto autocracy
Due to the war with ISIL and international support, the Kurdistan region is currently run by an autocratic administration under the influence of neighboring countries.
Conflict & security
The making of the modern Kurdish Middle East
Rather than a unified Kurdistan across borders, a single ethnic group with multiple sovereign territories is more likely to be the political foundation of the modern Kurdish Middle East.
Copts of Egypt: from survivors of sectarian violence to targets of terrorism
Recent bombings mark a new era in the religious targeting of Copts – one which is qualitatively different from previous patterns of sectarian violence.
Conflict & security
Muddling through in Mosul
The west has treated ISIS as enemy number one while local actors see it as a sideshow in a political arena stretching from the Mediterranean to Iran. What does the defeat of ISIS in Mosul mean for Iraq?
Middle East & North Africa
Trump: justified yet unpredictable
The airstrikes were justified. But Trump’s policymaking is dangerously unpredictable.
Africa
Political Islam in Morocco: a royal affair
The recent events in Morocco prove that Islam, even political, remains the affair of the monarchy which has secured foreign support through an ambitious African and religious diplomacy.
Uncomfortable assumptions about security: the UK vote on support for Saudi Arabia
Pervasive and problematic assumptions about the UK’s security lie at the heart of parliament’s recent decision to continue to support Saudi Arabia, despite accusations of war crimes in Yemen.
Africa
The changing security dynamic in the Red Sea
The expected transfer of the Tiran and Sanafir islands is revealing a number of regional dynamics between Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Middle East & North Africa
A new chapter for feminism in Jordan
More and more Jordanian women are refusing to accept the sexist status quo and choosing to change it.
Conflict & security
Regime wages war of documents on Syrians
One of the oldest manifestations of the Syrian government’s corruption has always been the blockage and manipulation of official documents.