In Memory of Dr. Nabil Elaraby

It is with great sadness and deep admiration that we mourn the passing of Dr. Nabil Elaraby, one of Egypt’s leading diplomats, legal practitioners, and a tireless global advocate for international law, human rights, and the cause of peace.

The World Fears Wider War After Hamas Leader’s Assassination

The international community races to reduce tension after a series of targeted killings carried out by Israel

Egypt’s Balancing Act

By Karim Haggag /

Jon Alterman: Karim Haggag, welcome to Babel.
Karim Haggag: Thank you Jon, thank you for having me. It’s great to be with you.
Jon Alterman: Egypt has had a security focus on the Israeli border since the creation of Israel in 1948. Help us understand the context. How does the current Egyptian concern over Gaza rank among the various crises that Egypt has felt on its border with Israel over the last 75 years?
Karim Haggag: This is a fundamentally different challenge than the large-scale armed conflicts that Egypt fought with Israel over the years, » Read more about: Egypt’s Balancing Act »

Time to Renew an Old Promise? A Brief History of Global South Solidarity with Palestine

By Bidisha Biswas / Spring 2024

Anti-colonial and post-colonial politics have shaped global understandings of the Israel-Palestine conflict for decades, beyond the narrow vision of many Western countries

In Darkness All is Black: Exploring the Realities of Violence by the Israeli State and Hamas

By Erwin van Veen /

The events of 7 October and beyond raise a major ethical question: by what standard is the violence that Hamas uses against Israel different from the violence that the Israeli state uses against Hamas?

A Revived Arab Peace Initiative from Saudi Arabia Could Save the Middle East

By Aziz Alghashian / Winter 2024

Understanding Saudi pragmatism toward Israel, and its historical balancing act, is crucial for reviving the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and countering the Abraham Accords’ erasure of Palestinian rights

Peace Needs a New Balfour Declaration—A “Biden Declaration”

By Abderahman Salaheldin and Michael Harari /

U.S. President Joe Biden should issue a declaration spelling out a one-year plan that would end with launching negotiations for the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian State.

Miscalculations and Legacies: A Look Back at the 1973 War Half a Century On

By David Makovsky / Fall 2023

Historians continue to debate “what if” scenarios about the pivotal conflict which reshaped the Middle East

The 1973 October War and the Soviet Union

By Vasily Kuznetsov and Vitaly Naumkin / Fall 2023

The Soviets tried to work out viable policies to deal with the fallout of the October War and Egypt’s pivot to the West

Shifting Tides: Egypt’s Unexpected Path After the 1973 War

By Ali E. Hillal Dessouki / Fall 2023

What prompted Egypt to move from a socialist state to a capitalist one, from Israel’s adversary to its reluctant diplomatic partner, from being a country with a strong national identity to a deeply divided one? The answer is war

United States Diplomacy and the 1973 War

By Daniel C. Kurtzer / Fall 2023

Before the October 1973 War, U.S. administrations showed little interest in trying to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. The war was pivotal in launching U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East and kick-starting serious steps toward Egyptian-Israeli peacemaking

We Downplayed the Signs of Peace, Then Downplayed the Signs of War

By Yossi Alpher / Fall 2023

The October War came as a shock to the Israeli leadership and security community. Their failure to take Sadat’s peace approaches and the imminent threat of war seriously led to changes to both the regional and domestic Israeli political landscapes

Delivering the Palestinians to Israel: The Lasting Effects of the 1973 War on the Palestinian Question

By Khaled Elgindy / Fall 2023

In the years following the creation of Israel, the United States became the game master of the Arab-Israeli peace process. For Palestinians, this meant that they would not have a seat at the table for decades to come

The 1973 War and its Aftermath: The View from Damascus

By Murhaf Jouejati / Fall 2023

Syrian gains in the conflict were elusive as a unilateral strategic move from the Egyptians put them in jeopardy

What if the October War Had Happened Differently?

By William B. Quandt / Fall 2023

Four “what if’s” that could have changed the course of history

1973—A Global Paradigm Shift

By Nabil Fahmy / Fall 2023

The outcomes of wars are evaluated based on how close any of the warring parties come to reaching their objectives. In the case of Egypt in the October War, it is undeniable that the country fulfilled its objectives

October 1973: Memoires of a Soldier and Scholar

By Abdel Monem Said Aly / Fall 2023

Reflections on how I experienced the war, first as a student-activist, then as a soldier, and later as a political scientist

Analysis: Can BRICS+ Provide a Counterweight to the West?

By Helmo Preuss /

With the admission of six new countries, BRICS increases its economic power and global clout, possibly establishing its place as a challenger to the G7.

From Cold War to Regional Reconciliation: The New Pragmatism in the Middle East

By Albadr Alshateri /

The new pragmatism in the Middle East is leading to a regional reconciliation process that, though some critics doubt it, is showing signs that it can sustain itself in the near future.

The Saudi Gambit in Washington

By Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy /

Saudi Arabia is in a position to become a major international player but to sustain such a role it needs to consolidate its leadership in the Middle East.
The Arab Summit, which concluded in Jeddah last weekend, may well have just confirmed the Kingdom’s leadership of the Arab World. But now Riyadh needs to transform that into a regional leadership role.
Such a regional undertaking requires—in addition to taking the lead on the political settlement of the various crises that have plagued the region—the sagacious management of its relationships with both the United States and Israel. » Read more about: The Saudi Gambit in Washington »

The Strategic Calculus behind the Saudi-Iranian Agreement

By Abdolrasool Divsallar and Hesham Alghannam /

Reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia creates opportunities for cooperation and poses security challenges stemming from opposing objectives, and foreign and domestic spoilers.

Iran-Saudi Arabia: A Regional Transformation?

By Ana Davis and Omar Auf /

The expected resumption of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran has the potential to reshape the dynamics of the Middle East by bringing an end to proxy wars and creating opportunity for regional stability.

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

What Losing the Iran Deal Could Mean for the Region

By Seyed Hossein Mousavian / Fall 2022/Winter 2023

If President Joe Biden is seeking to restore sustainable peace and security in the region, he has to start with reviving the JCPOA

Navigating R2P Between Norm and Practice

By Omar Auf / Fall 2022/Winter 2023

The idea that states are responsible for the protection of their own people is a powerful normative and transformative one, but is far from complete or conclusive

Democratizing International Relations

By Antonio Patriota / Fall 2022/Winter 2023

Former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali deserves to be remembered for his defense of the application of democratic principles to the international order. Today, the multipolarity of the contemporary world can help further Botrous-Ghali’s vision

Russia, Ukraine, and U.S. Policy in the Middle East

By Daniel C. Kurtzer / Fall 2022/Winter 2023

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has influenced U.S. policy in the Middle East, the future of which depends on the outcome of the war, as well as Washington’s commitment to the region

The Ukraine War: The View from Iran

By Hamidreza Azizi / Fall 2022/Winter 2023

Why has Iran chosen to clandestinely have closer ties with Russia in the Ukraine War?

An Insider’s Attempt at Syrian–Israeli Peace

By Farah Bassyouni and Nadeen Shaker /

Frederic Hof discusses a lesser-known track in the Arab-Israeli peace process: a Syrian-Israeli mediation that came closer to a deal than expected

A Revolution and A War: How Iran Transformed Today’s Middle East

By Seyed Hossein Mousavian /

How the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the eight-year Iran–Iraq War greatly and irreversibly influenced the geopolitics and regional dynamics of the Middle East

A Decade of Enlightenment

By Nabil Fahmy / Winter 2022

Editorial

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

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

Shifting Patterns of Arab Politics

By Lisa Anderson / Winter 2022

Over the last seventy-five years, the endlessly shifting coalitions on the chessboard of Arab regional politics seem to have played by the same rules of the game. Yet, as private interests have become a major source of political power, there have been major changes in the powers and purposes of the players