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Jean-Pierre Cassarino holds a professorship at the Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies (RSCAS/European University Institute, Florence) where he directs the Return migration and Development Platform (http://rsc.eui.eu/RDP/). He is also research associate at the Tunis-based Institut de Recherche sur le Maghreb Contemporain (IRMC). Since the mid-1990s, he has published extensively on international migration, particularly on return migration and has carried out numerous field surveys investigating returnees’ manifold patterns of reintegration. Selected publications include: (ed.) Unbalanced Reciprocities: Cooperation on Readmission in the Euro-Mediterranean Area, The Middle East Institute Press, Washington, 2010; (ed.) “Conditions of Modern Return Migrants”, International Journal on Multicultural Societies, Vol. 10, Issue 2, UNESCO, Paris, 2008; (ed.) Return Migrants to the Maghreb Countries: Reintegration and development challenges, RSCAS, European University Institute, Florence, 2008; Tunisian New Entrepreneurs and their Past Experiences of Migration in Europe: Networks, Resource Mobilisation, and Hidden Disaffection. Ashgate Publishers, Aldershot, 2000. Email: [email protected]
We are entering the era of water scarcity throughout the world. Water scarcity is different from mined resources that become scarce when the lode runs out. Water is almost always renewable. The scarcity applies to expansion. For thousands of years, supply has been expanded through engineering. Nowhere is that more obvious than in Egypt, where water demand has been met by increasing supply. Expansion accelerated during the 19th and 20th centuries, but has now ground to a halt as there is no more water to collect, store, and distribute.
If the current crisis in Egypt is to be resolved peacefully, the Egyptian military will play a central role. Few, if any outside the Egyptian armed forces, however, truly understand the Egyptian military. The following is an attempt to begin the process of better understanding this crucial institution.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Amb. Alan Goulty and Amb. Edward Walker for an examination of the unrest roiling Tunisia and Egypt and its implications for the region at large. Between them, Goulty and Walker have more than 60 years of experience serving in the Arab world. They will draw upon their unique experience and understanding of the region to examine the evolving crises in Tunisia and Egypt, the impact of the street protests on regional governments and the role that Western governments can play during this period of transition.
Israel's Flawed Electoral System: Obstacle to Peace and Democracy
Israeli politics is notable for its wide array of parties and unstable coalition governments. The main institutional cause of this chronic instability is the system of nationwide proportional representation, which gives disproportionate influence to minor parties. This instability limits the ability of Israeli governments to pursue coherent long-term strategies and leads to policies that address the concerns of minority groups at the expense of the national interest.
This Commentary first appeared in the American Interest's Middle East Blog on January 31, 2011.
The end is now at hand for the government of Hosni Mubarak, ruler of Egypt for the last thirty years. Two outstanding questions face us now: What will the army do? And how should the United States react?
Afghanistan: Looking Ahead to the Next Fighting Season
The Middle East Institute is pleased to invite you to a lecture and discussion with Andrew Exum, Fellow at the Center for A New American Security, assessing the possibility of a new Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and its ramifications for U.S. strategy there. The past six months have seen some remarkable successes in southern Afghanistan. But if hard-won security gains collapse in the face of a renewed Taliban offensive in 2011, the NATO strategy to secure Afghanistan will be in grave danger.
Afghanistan: Looking Ahead to the Next Fighting Season
The Middle East Institute presents a lecture and discussion with Andrew Exum, Fellow at the Center for A New American Security, assessing the possibility of a new Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and its ramifications for U.S. strategy there. The past six months have seen some remarkable successes in southern Afghanistan. But if hard-won security gains collapse in the face of a renewed Taliban offensive in 2011, the NATO strategy to secure Afghanistan will be in grave danger.
America's "War on Terror" after Iraq and Afghanistan
The Middle East Institute is pleased to invite you to a lecture and discussion with Mark N. Katz examining the impact of the current and future US withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan on Islamic radicals. Katz argues that the US withdrawals from both countries will lead radicals to conclude they have defeated the US in the "War on Terror" and that US regional strength is on the decline. This, he argues, will spur Islamic radicals to seek further gains elsewhere.
America's War on Terror After Iraq and Afghanistan
The Middle East Institute hosts a lecture and discussion with Mark N. Katz, examining the impact of the current and future US withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan on Islamic radicals. Katz argues that the US withdrawals from both countries will lead radicals to conclude they have defeated the US in the "War on Terror" and that US regional strength is on the decline. This, he argues, will spur Islamic radicals to seek further gains elsewhere.
