Enabling Evolution: The Role of Knowledge Production in the Development of African Unity

Knowledge is power; by harnessing knowledge production, the Organization of African Unity and its successor, the African Union, have set the continent on a new path

Pursuing Unity: Pan-Africanism in Practice

By Stephen Okhonmina / Fall 2024

History has proven that a completely politically unified Africa may be impossible to achieve; instead, integration should be pursued with a more limited goal of facilitating faster economic, social, and political progress

Human Rights and Constitutionalism in Africa: Progress has been Achieved, but More is Needed

By Ottilia Anna Maunganidze / Fall 2024

The institutional human rights and constitutionalist framework in Africa has been constantly evolving through the Organization of African Unity’s history and transformation into the African Union. In the face of contemporary challenges in the form of coups, unconstitutional changes in government, and more, African policymakers must focus on grounding their policy within the normative framework of the Union

In Targeting UNRWA, Israel Aims to Destroy the Right of Return

By Daoud Kuttab / Spring 2024

Hoping to capitalize on world sympathy after October 7, Israel tried to use its allies to defund and dismantle the UN relief agency.

Showing Palestine Refugees that Americans Care

By Omar Auf / Spring 2024

The Cairo Review asks the UNRWA USA National Committee questions about its purpose, processes, and operations amid the existential crisis UNRWA is facing.

Another Step Toward Peace: The Lebanon-Israel Maritime Agreement

By Constantinos Yiallourides /

A new deal for Israel and Lebanon promotes security and prosperity and sets a precedent for diplomacy in the Eastern Mediterranean

Fortune and Hazard for Algeria

By Zine Labidine Ghebouli / Fall 2022/Winter 2023

War in Ukraine has brought new cash flow to Algiers, but the state must walk an ever-narrowing path to maintain its non-alignment

The Nuclear Pyramid of the Islamic Republic

By Ali Fathollah-Nejad and Rahman Bouzari /

Iran has squandered billions on a nuclear program that has impoverished its people and hastened ecological disaster.

A Palestinian Outlet to the World, A Path toward Peace? Considerations and Options for a Gaza Seaport

By Asaf Ashar and Joel Singer / Summer 2022

Between economic considerations, intra-Palestinian divisions, and Israeli security concerns, there are a number of challenges facing the building of a seaport in Gaza, or in its alternatives. Nevertheless, it may be an opportunity to establish a tri-state free trade zone, and, ultimately, peace.

Building a Seaport in Gaza: Prospects, Challenges, and Opportunities

By Omar Shaban / Summer 2022

A seaport in Gaza would not only be an important economic and developmental leap forward for Palestine, but also an expression of its unity and sovereignty. To achieve this, there are multiple options available, each with its own unique set of challenges and opportunitie.

From Borno to Aswan: Where Development, Climate and Conflict are Interlinked

By Omar Auf / August 23, 2022

The Aswan Forum, hosted on June 21-22 in Cairo, discussed topics related to African peace and development, including climate change, confronting terrorism, regional security, youth and women empowerment, and more.

Working Towards Sustainable Peace and Development Through Cooperation: An Interview with Ahmed Abdel-Latif

By Omar Auf /

The Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding is a unique Egyptian organization with a mandate for peace through capacity building, convening and research. Director-General Ahmed Abdel-Latif leads the center through its many activities, including serving as the Aswan Forum’s Secretariat.

A Decade of Enlightenment

By Nabil Fahmy / Winter 2022

Editorial

Arab Nationalism, Regionalism, and Regional Integration

By Ibrahim Awad / Winter 2022

In the third decade of the 21st century, regionalism and regional integration in the Arab region stood in contrast with experiences in other regions of the world. Rather than facilitate integration, Arab nationalism seems to have in fact obstructed it

AlMostaqbal: Envisioning a Better Arab Future

/ Winter 2022

An excerpt from the American University in Cairo’s blue-ribbon report, “AlMostaqbal: Envisioning a Better Arab Future”.

Prepping for COP27

By David Dumke and Thomas L. Crisman and Zachary S. Winters / Winter 2022

Egypt is a microcosm for the impacts of climate change being felt across the MENA region, with water loss at the very top. It should likewise be high on the agenda when Cairo hosts this year’s UN climate summit

Competing Economic Visions in the Gulf

By Robert Mogielnicki / Winter 2022

Economic visions offer regional governments roadmaps for development, but they can also serve as a tool for measurement and—ultimately—accountability

Young People Are Leading Climate Activism in the Middle East

By Neeshad Shafi / Fall 2021

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

Not All Data Is Created Equal

By Ariana Bennett /

Data drives policy, and policy drives change. The impact of this policy, however, hinges on the quality of the data.

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?

Egypt Navigates its Investment Future

By Ariana Bennett /

Foreign investment helps attract wealth to underdeveloped nations, but the arbitration rules are often agreed within a global paradigm steeped in colonialist history.

The Climate Crisis Needs a Global Green New Deal

By Ariana Bennett / Fall 2021

A Global Green New Deal would equitably prevent dangerous levels of warming, but it must be implemented soon.

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.

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.

Regulating Change in Historic Cairo

By Amina Abdel-Halim / June 3, 2021

Renovation and conservation projects in Historic Cairo fall within a complex legal framework, which sometimes does more to hinder development than to promote it.

Doughnut Economics: Living in a Sustainable World

By Dania El Akkawi /

How humanity can transform from traditional growth-first economic policies to a 21st century vision centered around sustainable development.

The Rise of the United Arab Emirates

By Abdulkhaleq Abdulla / Spring 2021

By harnessing national confidence, proactively dealing with regional security concerns and exercising geopolitical cooperation, the UAE is positioning itself as a regional powerhouse.

The Long Road to Economic Transformation in the Gulf

By Nader Kabbani / Spring 2021

To successfully reinvent their economies, Gulf states must move past the deadweight of legacy policies and their adverse consequences.

Shaping Africa’s New Normal

By Amina Abdel-Halim / April 28, 2021

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, African nations are working through the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development to set the continent back on track with its developmental Agenda 2063.

The Future of Work: Between Technology and Inequality

By Dania El Akkawi / Winter 2021

While the future is foggy in light of the pandemic, the importance of technology is real and certain, and the creation of new jobs will pave the way for new global work arrangements.

Funding Feminism: Grantmaking for Women’s Rights

By Sydney Wise / Winter 2021

Anne Firth Murray, founding president of the Global Fund for Women, chronologizes a lifetime of harms faced by women and posits community as a remedy.

Can the Arab Region meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030?

By Mourad Wahba / Winter 2021

There are multiple challenges which need to be confronted in both data collection and public policy so that the SDGs can be attained.

Africa and the United States: Reengaging with Africa’s Prosperity in Mind

By Carl Manlan / Winter 2021

With China as a dominant foreign power in Africa, the only option left for United States to engage with the continent is to follow its priorities: namely, prioritizing African youth.

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.

An Expert’s Guide to Decentralization

By Omar Auf /

African countries can leverage decentralization to strengthen government structures, but that is no easy task, according to Paul Smoke, as it is highly sensitive to the local context and requires a deep understanding of the intergovernmental dynamics and challenges involved.