Essays

Across the Arab World and the Middle East, young people are mobilizing to raise climate change awareness.

Climate Change and the Global South: The Case of Africa

Fall 2021

Should climate change continue unaddressed, it is estimated that of the additional 30–170 million people who are likely to suffer from malnutrition or under-nutrition globally in the coming years, three-quarters will be in Africa.

The U.N. Climate Summit and Its Aftermath

By Nabil Fahmy

Fall 2021

Developing countries see the call for equal actions with their richer counterparts as serving the interests of the latter.

Saving a Water-Stressed Middle East

By Neda Zawahri

Fall 2021

Inefficient water management exacerbates water insecurity in the MENA region, already the area most vulnerable to the catastrophic impact of the climate crisis. Building adaptive capacity is critical to ensure national and individual water security.

Who Feels Climate Anxiety?

By Sarah Jaquette Ray

Fall 2021

In the simplest terms, the answer is: it depends on who perceives it as a threat, and what “anxiety” means to them.

Locked-in Emissions: The Climate Change Arms Trade

By Wendela de Vries

Fall 2021

With militaries’ locked-in fossil fuel systems and looming climate chaos, the arms industry continues to take advantage of nefarious profit opportunities.

A Climate Crisis in Africa: The Case of South Sudan

By Nhial Tiitmamer

Fall 2021

The African continent will be the most severely affected by climate change. Within Africa, the least developed and politically unstable nations like South Sudan are likely to be the hardest hit. What can be done, and who should be at the forefront of these changes?

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.

African Podcasting: Challenges and Chances

By Kim Fox and Josephine Karianjahi

Summer 2021

While podcasting in Africa faces many challenges, including prohibitive data consumption costs and the digital divide, it offers the amplification of regional perspectives and audience expansion in return.

Failed Coups But Successful Transition?: On Textualizing Sudan’s Latest Coup Plot

By Jonathan Powell and Salah Ben Hammou

On September 21, 2021, members of the Sudanese military attempted to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in a failed coup d’etat.

Syria: The Illusive Settlement Part 2

By Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy

Resolving the Syrian conflict offers an opportunity to bring stability to the Middle East, but only if compromises can be made, starting with UN resolution 2254.

Covid-19’s Not Through With Us Yet

By Dahr Jamail

Fall 2021

As vaccines offer hope for a world after Covid, experts warn that in many ways, the fight is only beginning.

Syria: The Illusive Settlement

By Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy

The best way to describe the current Syrian quandary is to borrow from Winston Churchill’s assessment of what he considered the complex nature of the former Soviet Union: popular grievances wrapped in regional rivalries inside big power competition.

The Renaissance Dam after the Security Council

By Nabil Fahmy

Summer 2021

Egypt and Sudan continue to insist on a tripartite agreement to manage Ethiopia’s contentious plan to execute its Renaissance dam on the Nile.

More than a Monolith

By Ariana Bennett

Summer 2021

Home to 54 unique countries, ancient civilizations and cultures, Africa is much more than meets the world’s eye.

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.

Africa is Climbing the Prosperity Ladder but Some Rungs are Broken

By Musaazi Namiti

Summer 2021

Africa is a continent with six of the world’s ten fastest-growing economies, but can it overcome its major challenges?

The Long Road to African Tourism Recovery

By Helmo Preuss

Summer 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the tourism industry in 2020, but this year a slow vaccine rollout and new variants means it will take a while to recover to pre-pandemic levels.