Last Thursday, the International Monetary Fund released a statement describing Lebanon’s situation as “very dangerous,” due to the government’s failure to implement reforms. For ordinary Lebanese, that means navigating a landscape that combines the volitivity of a crashing stock market with the horrors of a dystopian movie.
Middle East & North Africa Archive
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Earlier this month, Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency reached an agreement to reestablish certain transparency measures at select nuclear sites. Amid growing concern over Iran’s expanding nuclear activities, the deal is a positive step that bodes well for international efforts to contain Iran’s nuclear program.
As the shock, horror and devastation of the earthquakes that hit Turkey in February slowly begin to fade, political candidates have begun jostling for position ahead of crucial elections scheduled for May 14. The vote represents the Turkish opposition’s best chance to unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after 20 years in power.
The so-called judicial reform launched by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has roiled Israeli society, setting off massive protests across the country. Israelis are now realizing what a “fully right wing” government entails, and the question of what, exactly, being a Jewish state means is looming large.
This month marks 12 years since Syria’s civil war began. The past year has been marked by a string of political wins for the Syrian regime but has brought greater misery for Syrians. Despite the regime’s triumphant rhetoric, Syrian society is overwhelmingly focused on survival alone, with no hope for economic recovery or reconstruction.
It has been 20 years since the U.S. led an illegal invasion of Iraq to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein. The invasion unleashed a series of catastrophes for Iraq, the wider Middle East and the world. These catastrophic outcomes remain with us today, and it is worth reflecting on the most enduring ones and their effects.
What do we mean when we talk about the Iraq War? In the flurry of appraisals marking the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the question seems particularly relevant. Most of the bitter debates that preceded, accompanied and outlived the war now seem settled. But in many ways, that apparent resolution is illusory.
The 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq is sparking much introspection. Some now see it as a grave error, others still think it was the right decision and others still who never supported the war now feel vindicated. With the benefit of 20 years of hindsight, three lessons from the invasion stand out.
The news that Saudi Arabia and Iran reestablished diplomatic relations in a deal mediated by China startled observers around the world. Beyond the question of whether it will hold, the agreement raises another important question: Does it signify a shift by Saudi Arabia away from its alignment with the U.S. to one with China?
The flow of people across the Mediterranean has been fueled by the social turmoil experienced by societies on both sides of the sea in the past decade. It’s clear that these societies are inextricably linked when it comes to politics and economic development, and nowhere is this more apparent than Italy, Libya and Tunisia.
Rather than signaling a definitive resolution of their broader conflict, Saudi Arabia and Iran’s agreement to reestablish diplomatic ties can be read as Riyadh’s response to what it sees as lukewarm support by the U.S. on countering Tehran. It is also a pragmatic move by China to safeguard its interests in the Middle East.
When Nayib Bukele was elected president of El Salvador four years ago, many observers hoped it might signal the start of a new era for the country, one characterized by accountability for the military and the defense of human rights. It’s hard to imagine how those hopes could have been more bitterly disappointed.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have joined large-scale, unprecedented protests against the government’s attempts to pass legislation that would undermine judicial independence and weaken vital checks and balances. The historic nature of the ongoing protests, and what they portend for the future of the Jewish state, is inescapable.
Washington’s seemingly unconditional support for Israel stretches back across presidential administrations, and one could be forgiven for thinking that the bond between the U.S. and Israel is “unbreakable.” But it does have limits. What would it take, then, for Israel to bring the era of unquestioned U.S. support to an end?
Turkey’s general elections, scheduled for May 14, were expected to be fateful events for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AKP party. But despite speculation that the earthquakes that devastated southern Turkey on Feb. 6 would dent Erdogan’s chances in the polls, recent developments appear to be going in his favor.
In January, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists set their “Doomsday Clock” to 90 seconds before midnight, in an assessment of how close the world is to “global catastrophe”—the prospect of nuclear war. Three recent events over the past few weeks have reinforced the idea that the world is entering a dangerous era of nuclear risk.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and a delegation of government officials recently met with their Moroccan counterparts for the first time in eight years, in an effort to mend relations amid tensions over territorial issues and migration. But the timing of the summit was awkward, due to concerns over Morocco’s human rights record.