Attiya Ahmad

Algeria is poised for a presidential election on Sept. 7 that, while seemingly predetermined, reveals the complexities of a political landscape profoundly shaped by popular disillusionment following the failure of the 2019 Hirak protest movement. Five years on, incumbent Abdelmadjid Tebboune is promising a second term based on the “continuation of the social state,” but his attempt to renew a social contract based on populist promises of a neoliberal economic renewal is colliding with the lack of institutional reforms necessary to achieve them.

A reflection on the state of conflict and political change in the Levant by Middle East Institute’s Vice President for International Engagement.

After the Cold War, the Romanian government chose to slim down its sizeable defense industry, but it essentially maintained its state-backed structure, personnel, and management, thus producing a thoroughly inefficient system. Today, Romania retains a proclivity to purchase Western, and particularly American, defense equipment; but it has often neglected any thorough assessments of life cycle costs or real force design considerations.

It is ironic that Pakistan and Israel are both countries created in the name of religion, at around the same time, and yet they have no formal relations. While Pakistan’s animosity toward Israel is rooted in the displacement of Palestinians, it has also served as a means of burnishing the country’s credentials within the community of Muslim nations and pushing back against India, which maintains increasingly close ties with Israel.

Expert regional analysis by MEI scholars and contributors.

For nearly two decades, Palestinian leadership has been fractured. Along with a basic division between Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, numerous other groups have competed for influence. In late July, leaders of all 14 Palestinian political factions, including Fatah and Hamas, met in Beijing to issue a call for national unity.

The ongoing effort by various factions in Libya to gain control of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) poses a clear and present danger for the entire country, threatening its safety and security as well as its economy.

It is critical to understand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s plans for the presidency of Masoud Pezeshkian at this moment in time. Changing course is a necessity for a regime beset by a long list of ailments, many of which are rooted in Tehran’s foreign policy choices. For Khamenei, Pezeshkian will not be as much of an instigator of change as he will be an implementor of policy shifts that the leader deems necessary.

As China makes substantial strides in quantum R&D, the global community must urgently address vulnerabilities in our digital networks. The Middle East, like many other regions, stands at a critical juncture in this technological race, where quantum innovation brings both opportunities and risks.

Read MEI’s weekly briefing featuring expert analysis of key regional developments for the week ahead.

On Aug. 25, Hezbollah retaliated for Israel’s assassination of senior commander Fuad Shukr on July 30, launching 340 rockets and tens of drones from southern Lebanon and the eastern Beka’a region. Hezbollah’s retaliation started shortly after Israel undertook what it called a “preemptive strike,” in which 100 fighter jets targeted Hezbollah military sites, including rocket launching platforms, to thwart a larger attack that, according to Israeli officials, involved up to 6,000 rockets.

The Middle East teeters on the precipice of a substantial escalation, threatening to more fully draw in Lebanon, Iran, and perhaps other countries. What happens in the coming days, along with the decisions made by adversaries and allies alike, will determine if that happens.

Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack touched off a destructive war with Israel and a limited but fierce regional conflagration between Israel and the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance,” with Lebanese Hezbollah at the forefront. The ongoing conflict has been multi-fronted, multi-faceted, dynamic, and already highly consequential. While a clear bottom line remains elusive, exploring the war’s primary origins and evolution offers useful indicators.