Visiting the country of her parents, murdered by the Iranian regime in 1998, German-Iranian artist Parastou Forouhar finds a changed society: hopeful, strong and courageous, despite all the repressionMore
All eyes in Turkey are on a court hearing scheduled for January 30 into a child abuse case that allegedly occurred with the knowledge of one of Istanbul's most powerful Islamic sects. The little girl was failed by the state not once, but several times. Ayse Karabat reportsMore
Food prices doubled, salaries halved, banks restricting withdrawals: Egyptians now have the same problems as the Lebanese. But if things get worse here, the fallout will be far more damaging. By Cathrin SchaerMore
Any reconciliation between Turkey and Syria’s Assad regime would have disastrous consequences for many Syrians, explains Syria expert Kristin HelbergMore
Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Saudi Arabia in December 2022 may have rattled Washington, but it simply highlighted the Arabs’ desire to diversify their foreign relations in the face of a changing world. Analysis by Abdullah BaaboodMore
There are signs of an imminent normalisation of relations between Turkey and Syria. This would allow Erdogan to score political points domestically before the upcoming elections in Turkey. It would also be opportune for Putin. By Ronald MeinardusMore
Lebanon was long viewed as the Switzerland of the Middle East. Until relatively recently, billions were deposited in its banks. Gulf states were among the foremost investors in Beirut. But this all came to an end in 2019. Now the troubled nation is gripped by the worst economic crisis in its history. Birgit Svensson reports from Beirut and TripoliMore
Forty-three years after Khomeini's revolution, the regime is facing its greatest internal challenge yet. State Islam in Iran is being rocked from beneath.More
As Syrian camps housing families of Islamic State fighters get more dangerous, there are calls to bring children out, even if the mothers don't want to go. The idea of separating families is a controversial one. By Cathrin SchaerMore
Turkey will mark the centenary of the proclamation of the Turkish republic in October. But 2023 will be an important year in another respect too: Turks will go to the polls in June to elect their next president – an election that could usher in a new era in its history. By Burak ÜnverenMore
Where are the measures to deal with the looming challenges facing the Arab world? In this commentary, Marwan Muasher warns that the region is in grave danger of falling behind when it comes to human developmentMore
Dubai-based DP World is expanding its operations in Somaliland as part of a plan to turn the breakaway region into a major trade hub. Though Somaliland has relinquished commercial power, it may gain political weight. By Jonas GerdingMore
The government in the Netherlands, one of the last European nations to abolish slavery, has made an historic apology. But some feel that there is still a long way to go. By Ella JoynerMore
Palestinian Christians are an integral part of the Palestinian national movement. This is the conclusion reached by the Chilean-born Palestinian political scientist Xavier Abu Eid. Interview conducted by Andrea KrogmannMore
According to a recent survey, half of all Iranians say that they have left Islam as a religion, while two-thirds believe Islamic law should be excluded from their legal system. In the following essay, Ahmet T. Kuru explores the implicationsMore
Recent efforts to rehabilitate Assad are setting a damaging precedent for accountability, just as the international community is expressing the need to hold Russia to account for similar human rights violations in Ukraine. By Burcu OzcelikMore
For years, Qatar has pursued a "soft" foreign policy that helped make international friends and influence the powerful. It includes spending billions on everything from fashion, art and sport, to charities and industry. By Cathrin SchaerMore
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Europe has been trying to find alternatives to Russian gas, inevitably zeroing in on the Arab Gulf states. In his commentary, Yemeni politician Muammar al-Iryani proposes a simple way for the West to secure international shipping routesMore
The ultraconservative Ismail Aga community has close links to Turkey's ruling AKP. Some are now questioning the community's influence after news reports of the forced marriage of a six-year-old girl within the group. By Burak ÜnverenMore
Tunisians go to the polls to elect a new parliament on Saturday, 17 December. The election is likely to result in a dummy parliament, sealing its undemocratic credentials. This is the latest episode in a turbulent chapter for the north African country where the Arab Spring began. Can the autocratic drift be reversed? By Amine GhaliMore
Since seizing power in mid-2021, the Taliban have continued to restrict the rights of Afghan women and girls. At the end of 2022, they banned women from attending higher education. By Nele Jensch
Qatar World Cup and Western double standards
Ayman Mohyeldin from MSNBC asks: Is this truly about human rights, or is it that Western pundits can’t stomach the idea that an Arab Middle East country is hosting the World Cup?More
Iran protests: Graffiti from Tehran to Mexico City
Graffiti and protests in support of the women of Iran who have risen up against their oppressors are indicative of the solidarity felt by many around the globe.More
Carl Rommel's "Egypt’s Football Revolution"
Carl Rommel examines the politics of football as a space for ordinary Egyptians and state forces to negotiate masculine Egyptian chauvinism, demanding or preventing reform.More
Pakistan Taliban racketeering hits borderlands
A lawmaker in Pakistan's rugged northwest was sipping tea with voters when his phone chirped to life – the Taliban were calling with a demand for 'donations'. "We hope you won't disappoint" read the chilling text from a shady go-between of the Pakistan chapter of the Islamists, known as Tehreek–e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)More
GIGA: Iran’s uprisings: A feminist foreign policy approach
The current uprisings in Iran following the death in police custody of Mahsa Jhina Amini, a young Kurdish woman, carry strong implications for states that have adopted a “feminist foreign policy” (FFP).More
"I’m very worried": Mother of hunger striker Alaa Abdel Fattah wants action
Detained Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah’s decision to escalate a hunger strike in prison to a refusal to drink water has raised the stakes and shone a spotlight on human rights violations as Egypt hosts the COP27 climate summitMore
COP27 app gives Egypt’s Sisi access to every move attendees make
NGOs and cybersecurity experts warn that a COP27 app to "help" participants at the climate change summit easily and effectively allows President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s regime to surveil attendees, including top diplomats and Egyptian activistsMore
GIGA: How autocracies justify repression
Taking the Maghreb as her example, Maria Josua's paper is the first to systematically investigate how officials in autocracies justify, conceal, or deny different forms of repression employed by different state institutions.More
One year on, Taliban torn over reforms
One year on from the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, some cracks are opening within their ranks over the crucial question of just how much reform their leaders can tolerate.More
MbS: despot in the desert
A volatile millennial wields absolute power in Saudi Arabia. What will he do next?More
Iran’s increasingly decentralised axis of resistance
The Islamic Republic's “axis of resistance” is currently shifting from a hierarchical, Iran-centric network to a decentralised horizontal structure, facilitating greater autonomy for its members. More autonomy gives Iran the plausible deniability to distance itself from its partners’ provocations, while still seeking their support when needed.More
Egypt calls for 'reality check' in UN climate talks
Egypt hopes to jump-start the action needed to face a warming world when it takes the presidency of major UN climate talks in November, but warns that countries need a "reality check" as progress stallsMore
Yemen: the landmines sowing tragedy and chaos
Mourad al-Marouai was just nine when a landmine killed him on a beach in war-torn Yemen, a tragedy that will haunt his family forever. After a swim, the little boy "suddenly disappeared" when he and his two brothers were beach-combing for garbage to sellMore
How will Imran Khan’s removal affect Pakistan's fragile democracy?
Now, out of power, Imran Khan actually has a better chance of striking a blow for democracy and civilian supremacy – if he chooses to do so, writes Ahsan I ButtMore
Ukraine conflict: Turkey's delicate balancing act
Turkey has played a major role in the search for an end to the Ukraine war as the host for this week’s talks between Moscow and Kyiv – the product of an ambivalent stance experts say is largely rooted in the troubled Turkish economy’s deep links to both countries.More
Middle East on the brink again: The risks of unstable authoritarian order
A little more than a decade after the Arab Spring swept away many autocratic regimes in the Middle East and plunged others into chaos, a new authoritarian order is settling over the region.More
Egypt's grand wheat plan splits the industry
Farmers who don’t deliver wheat quota threatened with jail as price spike jeopardises Egypt's 270 million daily loavesMore
India's diplomatic dance over Ukraine
India’s failure to condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine at all costs reflects its longstanding relations with Moscow. But as the war enters a more brutal phase, it’s a price that might be too high to payMore
Russia accuses Bangladesh media of "bias"
In an open letter, the Russian embassy in Dhaka has accused newspapers and broadcasters of "undermining" relations between Russia and BangladeshMore
The anti-Semitism animating Putin’s claim to "de-nazify" Ukraine
The Russian leader’s pretext for invasion recasts Ukraine’s Jewish president as a Nazi and Russian Christians as true victims of the HolocaustMore
How to stop Darfur’s descent into darkness
Despite the recent media focus on developments in Sudan following the military coup in October, there has been much less reporting of the situation in Sudan’s peripheries, outside of the capital and its surroundings. A staggering rise in violence illustrates the fragility of the transition underway in the country.More
Santa closed: in Beirut, crisis snuffs out Christmas spirit
Beirut in December was once a shopping extravaganza, where day-long traffic jams clogged streets decked out with flashing Christmas lights and building-sized billboards advertising champagne and jewelleryMore
Deadly intrigue: The destruction of The White Helmets
James Le Mesurier founded the organisation that raised money for the White Helmets in the Syrian war. An intrigue drove the emergency foundation to ruin – and Le Mesurier to his death.More
SWP: Turkey’s Constitutional Court and the proposed ban on the pro-Kurdish HDP
An example of the entanglement of politics and the judiciary, and a bad omen for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish conflictMore
Promoting human rights in the Middle East and North Africa
With authoritarianism once more gaining ground in the Middle East and North Africa, the European Council on Foreign Relations explores how European diplomats can be more effective in promoting human rights and democratic values in the regionMore
Opinion: Why sliding back into autocracy won’t solve Tunisia’s problems
Apologists for Saied’s moves are wrong to believe that a return to strongman rule could ever be the answer to Tunisia’s problems. What Tunisia needs is to erect the real pillars required to strengthen its hard-won democracy — most urgently, the creation of a constitutional court and the implementation of transitional justice.More
What's next after resignation of Sudan's PM?
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's resignation has plunged the country's already fragile democratic transition into further turmoil. Citing his own failure to build a political consensus following an October military coup that rattled the transition, Hamdok called for talks to agree on a roadmapMore
How Israel uses facial recognition to monitor West Bank Palestinians
Former Israeli soldiers and the NGO Breaking the Silence say the Israeli military has created a vast database of photos and information about Palestinians living in the West Bank, the Washington Post reported on Monday.More
No sign of life for 20 years – PEN demands release of Eritrean journalists
PEN Centre Germany is appealing to the world community and especially the European Union to stop ignoring the situation of freedom of the press and freedom of expression in Eritrea.More
Foreign Affairs: Is the two-state solution still viable?
Foreign Affairs asks those with specialist expertise relevant to the question at hand, as well as leading generalists in the field, for their take on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the viability of the two-state solution.More
Iran 1400 Brief: Beyond the Headlines
"Iran 1400 Brief: Beyond the Headlines" is a weekly newsletter from the German Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom that tackles a variety of international, local, societal, political, and economic topics relating to Iran.More
Covering Edward Said – 40 years of Islam, media and the West
Author and columnist Nesrine Malik explores the legacy of Edward Said's "Covering Islam", published forty years ago – and his views on the relationship between Islam and the media.More
Islamic institutions in Arab states: Mapping the dynamics of control, co-option and contention
The complex relations between the state and Islamic institutions in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco shed light on evolving governance and have important implications for Western policies of countering violent extremism and conflict resolution.More
KAS: "The Modern Arab State: A Decade of Uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa"
Ten years after the Arab uprisings, democracy and its institutions in the region remain fragile and often cosmetic, and yet civil societies are aspiring and a new social contract is emerging with an increasingly empowered citizenry.More
Syria's long road to justice and the man hoping to walk it there
Anwar al-Bunni has helped make a landmark trial possible, but his sights are set on a bigger target – the Syrian regime.More
India's RSS: The longest running fascist movement in the world
In this moment of unrest, and brutal violence by the state and state-backed groups, Indian publication "The Wire" asked Benjamin Zachariah, expert on the history of the Right and of Indian manifestations of fascism: is this, or is this not fascism?More
