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Shahmahmood Miakhel is the Country Director in Afghanistan for the US Institute of Peace (USIP). Prior to that he was a Governance Advisor for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), and, from 2003–2005, a Deputy Minister of the Interior in the Government of Afghanistan. In 1994–1995 he worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in South and Southeast Afghanistan helping to establish District Rehabilitation Shuras (DRS). He also worked as a reporter for the Pashto service of the Voice of America from 1985–1990.
For Mali and the Sahel, New Tensions and an Old — and Worsening — Security Problem
Events in the Sahel, and Mali especially, are taking an uncertain and worrying turn. Mali witnessed two coups d’état in less than a year, while the West African Sahel went through its most violent year yet and there are no signs that the violence is slowing down. In the midst of this unprecedented instability, recent developments involving Mali’s transitional government and the international community, France in particular, provide no assurances that things are likely to improve anytime soon.
Marvin Weinbaum and Javid Ahmad discuss conditions in Afghanistan since falling back under Taliban rule, including worsening economic and humanitarian crises, the security situation, the role of international and regional actors, and where things might be headed moving forward.
Despite great diplomatic efforts, progress on reaching a comprehensive agreement between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has remained elusive. While these states have long resorted to legal and political means to protect their share of the Nile, the battle over the dam is increasingly playing out in the global theater of public opinion: social media.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: Slower may be better
In September, China and Pakistan convened the tenth session of their joint coordination committee that oversees the CPEC — the largest of the BRI corridors. The long-anticipated meeting ultimately yielded no major breakthroughs. The momentum of CPEC appears to be losing steam once again, but for Pakistan, slower may actually be better.
The IRGC and the Persian Gulf Region in a Period of Contested Deterrence
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints, vital to the global supply of both oil and liquefied natural gas. The issue of freedom of navigation in the strait has long been a source of tension, but until recently any attempt by Iran to physically close it looked highly implausible, unless it resulted from either a major embargo or total blockade of Iranian ports by the West, or a large-scale military confrontation. However, the events of the past three years showed Iran can still ensure a major disruption of the flow of energy without a formal blockade and without an increased risk of military confrontation with the West. Iran has a variety of means at its disposal, especially through its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval forces, and the Iranians make no secret of their desire to be recognized as the dominant military power in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
Artists Helen Zughaib and John Halaka join MEI’s Lyne Sneige in conversation on the MEI Art Gallery’s current exhibition, “Converging Lines: Tracing the Artistic Lineage of the Arab Diaspora in the U.S.” They discuss the exhibition’s themes of exile, memory formation, changing identities, and the state of in-betweenness that often accompanies migration.
من 31 أكتوبر/تشرين الأول إلى 12 نوفمبر/تشرين الثاني، يجتمع عشرات الآلاف من قادة العالم والمفاوضين والعلماء ورجال الأعمال والنشطاء والمراقبين في غلاسكو باسكتلندا لحضور مؤتمر الأمم المتحدة السادس والعشرين لتغير المناخ. تُعرف هذه الهيئة المميزة أيضًا باسم مؤتمر الأطراف (COP)، وهي تجتمع سنويًا لاتخاذ قرارات بشأن تنفيذ اتفاقية الأمم المتحدة الإطارية بشأن تغير المناخ (UNFCCC).
The thorny question of readmission in France-Maghreb migration talks
Readmission of irregular migrants has been a critical element in migration cooperation between France and Maghreb countries. In an attempt to increase its leverage, France recently decided to toughen its stance on migrant return by linking it more tightly to the country’s visa policy.
Notes on the Artistic Lineage of the Arab Diaspora in the U.S.
Converging Lines: Tracing the Artistic Lineage of the Arab Diaspora in the U.S. seeks to situate Arab and Arab American artists within the larger history of American art while emphasizing the rich history of cultural production that has come from the larger Arab American community.
