Fatima Sadiqi

While Syria diplomacy may have appeared poised for a period of renewed investment in early 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting collapse in U.S. and European diplomatic relations with Moscow mean Syria diplomacy is now all but dead. An unprecedented humanitarian crisis now appears to be imminent. To adapt to this new environment, the international community must consider a comprehensive change in approach, prioritizing the freezing of conflict lines and a more strategic use of aid, stabilization, and targeted rebuilding in areas free of Assad regime rule.

As Russia’s two-week-old war against Ukraine has brought Lebanon’s wheat imports from the besieged Black Sea nation to a complete standstill, the government in Beirut is racing against the clock to avert a catastrophic food crisis.

As Russia pushes on with its relentless invasion of Ukraine, Damascus has done more than toe the proverbial Kremlin line — it has shown complete solidarity with its superpower patron.

While Europe might be ready for more Algerian gas as it looks to diversify its suppliers, Algeria’s current production capacity limits its ability to substantially increase export volumes to Europe. As of now, any meaningful increases in Algerian production will require years of exploration and development and more crucially, further energy industry reforms to attract new investment.

غيّر سعد الله ونوس المسرح السوري تغييرا جذريا بأعماله الوجودية وغالبا السياسية منها. كما حفز ايضا، في مجلة الحياة المسرحية، نقاشات غنية عن التعريف على مواضيع تشمل الفن، السياسة، ومستقبل المسرح العربي. اعرف المزيد عن أعماله المعروضة في المعرض الإفتراضي لمكتبة عمان بمعهد الشرق الأوسط

Sa’dallah Wannous revolutionized the Syrian stage with his existential, and often political, work. In the journal al-Ḥayāh al-Masraḥīyah he fostered discussions on art, politics and the future of Arab theater. Learn more about the Oman Library’s Digital Exhibition on his work.

Iranian women both within the country and in the diaspora are working together to usher in real social and political change in Iran. Women-led grassroots organizations are leading an effort to promote democracy and human rights through a collaborative, non-ideological approach.

The Middle East is experiencing a seismic shift in its geopolitics: the dawn of the era of drones. From Syria to Libya and from Yemen to Iraq, UAVs have altered the dynamics on the battlefield. Agile and affordable, drones aren’t just a menace to remote conflict zones, but also to states far removed from theaters of war.

Attempts at deterrence by sanctions have failed. The question now is: Does the West expect sanctions to change Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions? We think not — and the world should have given up years ago on expecting them to dissuade him.

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

The rapid evolution of the war in Ukraine and its horrendous humanitarian consequences caught many of us by surprise. The effects of the crisis will materially — although heterogeneously — impact MENA economies, and, sadly, can have a compounding negative effect on food security and welfare across the region.

One of the most ambitious elements of China’s Digital Silk Road is the Pakistan & East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) fiber-optic cable. China has long expressed its ambition to connect the greater Middle East, Africa, and Europe with Chinese fiber optics in order to expand its presence in the region, and Beijing now boasts strategic infrastructure assets in geopolitical hotspots, such as the Pakistani port of Gwadar.

Randa Slim and Amb. Edward Gabriel discuss the daunting trifecta of economic, financial, and political crises Lebanon currently faces and what they anticipate for the country’s future.