Libya
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Book review: ″The New Waw: Saharan Oasis″ by Ibrahim al-Koni
Cultivating the strange
Recognised with the 2015 National Translation Award last autumn, Ibrahim al-Koni′s novel ″The New Waw: Saharan Oasis″ may seem an odd choice. After all his latest work manages to flout Western literary conventions and confound reader expectations. And yet, argues Marcia Lynx Qualey, that is precisely its appeal
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Five years of Arab Spring
The butterfly effect
It was the flap of a butterfly wing that was to trigger a storm in Europe. Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation in 2010 sent a clear signal: things were about to change. Despite many setbacks, the impact of this message is still being felt. By Karim El-Gawhary
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Peace treaty signed by warring factions in Libya
The steep road to national unity
Although the event was not the main focus of international attention, the agreement signed by Libya′s rival factions in the Moroccan coastal city of Skhirat this week is perhaps more important for Europe than the European summit meeting that took place the same day. By Karim El-Gawhary
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Violence against women
Young Arab men fight for women′s rights
Fifteen years after Security Council Resolution 1325 called on all parties to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, such violence remains widespread throughout the Arab world. The good news is that ever more young Arab men are joining women′s rights organisations. By Katja Dombrowski
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Interview with the Islam expert Olivier Roy
European Islam: destined to be ignored
The links between Europe and the Maghreb are stronger than many would like to believe. Politicians on both sides of the Mediterranean, in particular, are ignoring the emergence of a specifically European brand of Islam, says the French political scientist and Islamic studies expert Olivier Roy. The interview was conducted by Federica Zoja
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Refugees in Libya
An unlikely safe haven
Migrants and refugees from Africa and beyond find shelter in a former major smuggling route to Italy. Zuwara, once a muster point for those seeking to jump on a raft to Europe, is now proving a haven for those fleeing conflict and instability in other countries. By Karlos Zurutuza
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The West and the Islamic world
The despotic temptation
Unable to contain the violence, suffering, and chaos engulfing the Middle East and North Africa, Western leaders are falling back into the Cold War trap. All they want is for someone – and now virtually anyone – to enforce order. By Ana Palacio
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Post-Arabellion reform deadlock
The logic of power
The Arab world is locked into a huge cycle of violence. At the same time, reformers are isolated - both within the regimes and outside them. Those who advocate violence, on the other hand, sense momentum and are growing in number. And they are convinced that the future will be a violent one. An essay by the Kuwaiti political scientist Shafeeq Ghabra
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Volker Perthes: "The end of the Middle East, as we know it"
The end of Sykes-Picot?
Almost a century ago, France and Britain carved up large swathes of the Middle East between them. Now the order imposed by the Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916 appears to be disintegrating. In his new essay, Volker Perthes outlines the reasons for this development and suggests potential scenarios for the region. A review by Anne Allmeling
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The global risks of an imploding Middle East
A region in flames
Among today′s geopolitical risks, none is greater than the long arc of instability stretching from the Maghreb to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. With the Arab Spring an increasingly distant memory, the instability along this arc is deepening. An analysis by Nouriel Roubini
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Political rule before and after the ″Arabellion″
Internal colonialism and counter-revolution
When an elite ruling class controls state institutions and resources and uses them for its own benefit, this can be called ″internal colonialism″. Such systems exist in their worst form in the Arab world. The Syrian author Louay Safi believes, however, that all signs indicate that the Arab peoples will rid themselves of this colonialism and that the repressive military regimes will be smothered by their own crimes and corruption
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Interview with journalist Chris Woods on drone warfare
"It's not risk-free war, it's displaced war"
For more than a decade now, the US has been using drones in warfare. During this time, thousands of people, especially civilians, have been killed by the unmanned machines. In this interview, Chris Woods, one of the leading investigative journalists on drone warfare, explains to Emran Feroz why use of drones is on the rise and what the consequences are