Politics

Hoshyar Zebari met his European colleagues for talks (photo: AP)

Iraq

Forging Links with Europe

Instead of making his first trip to Iraq's former occupying power, the US, the country's interim foreign minister is meeting his EU colleagues on Monday in Brussels. In doing so, he demonstrates the country's independence. By Bernd RiegertMore

The fence has been compared to the Berlin wall, photo: AP

Justice

Israeli Fence Illegal, Court Rules

The International Court of Justice in the Hague ruled that the construction of a wall diving Israel and Palestinian territories violates international law. The UN had requested the non-binding ruling.More

US soldiers - they shouldn't have come without UN mandate, but now that they are there, simply pulling out would create disaster, says Hans Dembrowski (photo: AP)

Iraq

Mission Paradox

The occupation troops in Iraq have lost all credibility – but their withdrawal would further increase the chaos created already. Therefore the USA and its allies have to comply with an internationally legitimate policy. By Hans DembowskiMore

Ex general and presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at a political rally in May 2004 (photo: AP)

Elections in Indonesia

The Popularity of the Ex-General

In Indonesia's presidential election, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a retired general and former security minister in president Megawati's government, seems to be outpolling any of the four other presidential candidates. Marianne Kearney reportsMore

Demonstration for greater freedom of the press in Malaysia (photo: AP)

Malaysia

Criticism Not Welcome Here

In Malaysia there are free elections, but no free press. Only on the Internet is it possible to find something other than "royal reporting." The independent website Malaysiakini promises "only the news that matters." By Clemens VogelMore

Indonesian militants protest against the government: Repressive laws could drive radicals deeper underground. (photo: YaleGlobal Online)

Southeast Asia

Fine Line Between State Security and Human Rights

Since the "war on terror", the human rights situation in Southeast Asia has taken a turn for the worse. In the name of fighting Islamic terrorist groups, says Zachary Abuza, governments are using state power to repress political opposition.More

Logo 'European and Mediterranean countries partnership association'

Euro-Mediterranean Partnership

Europe's Trump Card

Europe must not leave all the playing cards in America's hands regarding their "Greater Middle East" project. Especially since Europe itself has some trump cards, like the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. By Sarah WolffMore

Saddam's chief lawyer denies the accusations against his client (photo: AP)

Opinion

Death Penalty for Saddam Hussein?

On the eve of Saddam Hussein's transfer to the Iraqi authorities, Iyad Allawi, head of the interim government, said the former dictator would receive a fair trial. But the Iraqi government plans to reintroduce the death penalty. By Peter PhilippMore

Now that the Iraqis are in charge, German firms may have a chance. (photo: BilderBox)

Iraq

German Companies Pin Hopes on Sovereignty

German firms - excluded so far from U.S.-awarded contracts as punishment for Berlin's anti-war stance - are hopeful that the handover of power to the Iraqi interim government will result in lucrative business deals. By Andreas BeckerMore

documents to Iraqi Chief Justice Midhat Al-Mahmodi, left, officially transfering national sovereignty to Iraq at a ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday June 28, 2004, as Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, center, looks on (photo: AP)

Iraq

Sovereignty is Neither the Beginning Nor the End

Hopeful plans of free, democratic elections in 2005 accompanied the handover of sovereignty from the U.S. to the Iraqi interim government Monday. But a democratic Iraq is still very far away, according to Peter Philipp.More

photo: AP

Opinion

Turkey Takes Another Stride Towards the EU

The Council of Europe has given Turkey a positive report card regarding its democratic reforms. But Ankara can't afford to rest on its laurels. By Baha GüngörMore

Michael Chandler (photo: terrorisme.net)

International Terrorism

"Cut off al Qaeda from Its Financial Sources"

The Al Qaeda network still has no major problems securing new funds for its activities. Michael Chandler, the former head of a United Nations al Qaeda monitoring panel, says the organisation must be cut off from its financial sources. Hardy Graupner reportsMore

Abdelwahed Belkeziz (photo: OIC)

Organization of the Islamic Conference

Secretary General Sharply Criticizes Islamic World

With 57 Muslim states attending, this year's OIC meeting was the largest gathering of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Abdelwahed Belkeziz, outgoing Secretary General, said Islamic countries must take on responsibility for their failure to introduce democratic reforms. By Dorian JonesMore

Satellite picture of the nuclear reactor at Bushehr, Iran (photo: AP)

Iran/EU

Trying to Exert Pressure on a Divided Government

While the European Union and Iran held talks over human rights in Teheran, the IAEA started a meeting in Vienna on 15 June, at which Iran's suspected nuclear weapons programme is one of the main issues. Michael Lawton reportsMore

After more than two decades of war, Afghans struggle to rebuild their country. (photo: AP)

Afghanistan

"The War Lords Must Be Marginalised"

The new constitution expressly defines Afghanistan as a Muslim country. After years of civil war and fundamentalist tyranny, law and democracy are now meant to pave the way for a better future. Interview with Afghanistan expert Jochen HipplerMore

photo: AP

Opinion

Europe Cannot Afford to Reject Turkey!

One issue in the European election campaign will be Turkey's interest in joining the EU. In spite of conservative fears, Europe cannot afford to reject Turkey. A commentary by Baha GüngörMore

Sudanese refugees wait to get medical attention while a sand storm rages in the area, photo: AP

Sudan

A Political and Humanitarian Tragedy

The Khartoum government is being accused of conducting a policy of ethnic cleansing against the black, non-Arab people of Darfur and of targeting civilians in its response to the rebellion by local militias. Reinhard Baumgarten reports from SudanMore

Germany

Schröder Warns Against Dependency on Oil

German Chancellor Schröder said economic dependency on oil was playing into the hands of terrorists and urged moving to renewable energy. Separately, OPEC agreed to raise oil production to ease prices.More

Malaysian Muslim students protest in Kuala Lumpur against the Gulf war, photo: AP

Southeast Asia

Moderate Muslims and the Iraq War

Moderate Muslim cultures of Southeast Asia are reacting to the US-led "War on Terror" and the military invasion of Iraq. For 250 Million Malay-speaking Muslims, this has meant readjusting their view of the World – and a change of domestic power balances.More

Afghan women and children wait at the entrance of a health clinic run by a Non Governmental Organization in Kabul (photo: AP)

Afghanistan

Developing a Top-down Democracy

With international support, the government in Kabul has launched a programme to set up democratic structures at the local level. A major challenge will be to overcome the country's tradition of separating men and women. By Hannelore BörgelMore

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Most Recent Photo Essay

Crumbling colonial splendour in Karachi

More than 70 years after Pakistan's foundation, architectural jewels dating from the British colonial era are being torn down – especially in the economic metropolis of Karachi, many buildings are threatened by the demolition ball. Impressions by Syed Raza Hassan and Akhtar Soomro

Al-Shabaka: Focussing on 25 years of Oslo

Presided over by U.S. President Bill Clinton, Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat shake hands following the signing of the Oslo I Accord in Washington D.C. in 1993 (photo: picture-alliance/CPA Media)

A quarter of a century since the signing of the Oslo Accords, an independent and sovereign Palestinian state has become little more than a myth as Israel continues to expand its settler colonial project and military occupation.More

For Palestinians, America was never an honest broker

Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump chat as White House senior advisor Jared Kushner is seen in between them, during their meeting at the King David hotel in Jerusalem on 22 May 2017 (source: Reuters/Courtesy of Government Press Office/Kobi Gideon)

The Trump administration’s policies don’t represent a radical shift. The White House has simply abandoned the facade of neutrality and rubber-stamped the Israeli government’s agenda, says Dalia HatuqaMore

David A. Andelman: The U.S. needs a plan for Syria

Displaced Syrian children push a boy with disability on makeshift wheelchair at a refugee camp in the northern Idlib province on 29 August 2018 (photo: Getty Images/AFP/A. Watad)

The war in Syria seems to be entering its final days, with Assad’s forces closing in on one of the country’s last opposition-led provinces. Yet the USA, focused on trade wars across three continents and political wars at home, still doesn’t seem to have figured out what role it should be playing in the conflict or its aftermath.More

Satellite imagery and the Palestine-Israel exception

Satellite image of Israel and the West Bank (source: Google Earth)

Whereas large parts of the Middle East and North Africa are covered by very high-resolution imagery, the Kyl-Bingaman amendment – bipartisan legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in 1997 – limits the quality of aerial photography of Palestine-Israel available to the public through platforms such as Google Earth and Bing Maps.More

Human Rights Watch report points the finger at Egypt

In a recent report, Human Rights Watch criticises the Egyptian authorities for having failed to investigate or prosecute a single member of the security forces five years after their systematic and widespread killing of largely peaceful protesters on Rabaa Square in Cairo.More

China's crackdown on Uighurs

Muslim men of the Uighur ethnic group leaving the Id Kah Mosque after Friday prayers in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China (photo: EPA/HOW HWEE YOUNG)

Although China has detained hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and is cracking down on religious practice, Muslim leaders and communities around the world remain silent. Why?...More

Remembering Egyptian economist and thinker Samir Amin

Egyptian economist and thinker Samir Amin (photo: Ibn Rushd Fund)

World acclaimed Egyptian economist and thinker, Samir Amin, died in Paris on 12 August 2018 aged 86. Author of many books including The Liberal Virus (2003) and Capitalism in the Age of Globalisation (1997), Amin began his career in Cairo at the Institute for Economic Management from 1957 to 1960.More

The slow death of journalism in Egypt

An Egyptian newstand (photo: Getty Images/AFP/K. Desouki)

Last week the Egyptian parliament approved three new draft laws regulating the functions of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SMRC), the National Media Authority, and the National Press Authority (NPA). This bill will regulate social media presence in ways that it never has before. Any account with over 5,000 followers could be treated as a media outlet.More

Preventing a spillover of the Iran-Israel conflict in Syria

A man reads a newspaper article about Trump in Tehran (photo: Getty Images/A. Kenare)

Israel’s containment policy vis-à-vis Iran in Syria has entered a new phase of direct confrontation aimed at achieving a decisive outcome on the ground. Gil Murciano of The German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) offers an analysisMore

Iran’s priorities in a turbulent Middle East

Iranʹs leadership elite: Ayatollah Khamenei (l.) and President Rouhani (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Divergent views of Iran’s ambitions are driving proxy wars from Syria to Yemen. To stop disastrous direct confrontation, it is crucial to close the perception gap and that Iran and its adversaries take mutual steps toward de-escalating tensions.More

Iraq's summer of discontent

In early July, people in Iraq's southern port city of Basra began protesting against power cuts, corruption, poor public services and high unemployment. Protests soon spread north to Nasiriyah and the capital, Baghdad. Several have been killed and hundreds injured. An end to the unrest does not seem to be in sight. On 29 July, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi responded by sacking his minister of electricity.

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The wrong story: Palestine, Israel and the media

Author Greg Shupak (source: Twitter)

Greg Shupak's new book is a highly relevant and necessary account of how the media is feeding us the wrong story on Israel and Palestine, writes Sophia Akram.More

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Examining civil society legitimacy

Infographic showing the globally shrinking space for civil society (source: Deutsche Welle)

Civil society is under stress globally as dozens of governments across multiple regions reduce space for independent civil society organisations, restrict or prohibit international support for civic groups and propagate government-controlled NGOs. Leading scholars and activists report on efforts around the world to improve and defend civil society’s legitimacy.More

"Disturbing the peace": Voices from the Israeli-Palestine conflict

Mixing poetic footage with first-hand accounts, Stephen Apkon's documentary, "Disturbing the Peace", attempts to unpick hatred through dialogue, telling stories from both sides of the divide and finding cause for optimism amid the longstanding anger and despair.More

Barack Obama: "Walking away from the JCPOA turns our back on America’s closest allies"

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a statement on Iran at the White House in Washington, 17 January 2016. (photo: Reuters/Y. Gripas)

There are few issues more important to the security of the United States than the potential spread of nuclear weapons, or the potential for even more destructive war in the Middle East. That’s why the United States negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the first place.More

openDemocracy: Free thinking for the world

openDemocracy logo (source: openDemocracy)

openDemocracy is an independent global media platform covering world affairs, ideas and culture which seeks to challenge power and encourage democratic debate across the world.More

Why it matters what we do: Post-Arab Spring perceptions of the EU

Protesting against the Sisi regime in Cairo (photo: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Nabil)

In the Middle East and North Africa, EU foreign policy has tended to prioritise regime stability over democratisation. Scholars have warned that the open display of double standards in dealing with authoritarian regimes could negatively impact the EUʹs credibility among domestic publics, with serious implications for its political influence and identity as a foreign policy actor.More