Red Lines in Global Media

By Khaled Ezzelarab / Summer 2022

Whether in liberal democracies or across the Arab World, journalists today are struggling to navigate a difficult route amid government restrictions, ambiguous red lines, and non-state actors affecting how the media is run

Managing Crises, the Least-Bad Option

By Joost Hiltermann / Winter 2022

Conflict management in the MENA region has little chance of succeeding as conflicts increasingly intersect and tensions driven by larger, regional triggers become even more unpredictable

Why the Phrase “Arab Spring” Should be Retired

By Sean David Hobbs / Winter 2021

It’s time to stop using a Western-based concept ten years on from the events that began the Arab Uprisings.

COVID-19 Heightens Stakes for Migrants in the Mediterranean

By Omar Auf /

COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-migration trends in the Mediterranean region, leaving migrants and refugees in increasingly vulnerable positions.

Challenges to Migration Governance in the Arab Region

By Amina Abdel-Halim / June 3, 2020

Since its endorsement in 2018, a wealth of challenges have delayed the full implementation of the Global Compact for Migration in the Arab region.

Edge of Survival

By Peter J. Jacques / Winter 2020

The interaction of food, energy, and water in North Africa is complex and building into a cascade of trouble. It is time to listen to the rural communities facing it on the frontline

Untold Futures

By Amina Fahmy and Madeleine Hall /

The American University in Cairo launched a massive research initiative that would ask Arab scholars and thinkers over the next three years to find answers to a crucial question: what does the future hold for the Middle East?

A Regional Order Contested

By Karim Haggag / Spring 2019

Extreme instability has prompted a fundamental reconfiguration of the contemporary Middle East; as the old order crumbles, a new one has yet to emerge

The Risks of Hardened Borders in North Africa

By Matt Herbert and Max Gallien / November 9, 2018

Rather than making North Africa safer, securitizing borders has raised the risk of instability along the region’s frontiers, where communities depend on smuggling.

The Long Struggle for Women’s Rights

By Odharnait Ansbro / Spring 2018

Following the Arab Spring, the fight for women’s sexual and social rights will be won in the Middle East and North Africa through progressive evolution, not revolution.

Empowering Women to Ride?

By Nadeen Shaker / April 21, 2018

New developments and challenges for women riders and drivers in the Ride-hailing industry.

Breaking North Africa’s Border Security Conundrum

By Jacques Roussellier / April 20, 2018

Although Maghreb states have tended to pursue border security unilaterally, increased transnational coordination at the local level offers a more sustainable approach.