With curated multimedia series focused on hard hitting issues such climate change as well as current events, MENASource seeks to explore all facets of life in the region as affected by political, security, economic, and cultural issues.

Of particular focus and interest are the minorities, women, and the youth populations across the region and how they are affected by the changing environments.

The views expressed in MENASource are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

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900th Day in Prison for Founders of NGO for Street Children

MENASource
Jun 16, 2025

Twenty questions (and expert answers) on the Israel-Iran war

The escalation between Israel and Iran has raised many important questions about a region already facing crises on multiple fronts.

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900th Day in Prison for Founders of NGO for Street Children

MENASource
Jun 17, 2025

Why Hezbollah is unlikely to engage in the Israel-Iran war—for now

By
David Daoud

As wave after wave of Israeli jets continue to strike Iran, Tehran’s proxy on Israel’s northern border remains quiet.

Iran
Israel

900th Day in Prison for Founders of NGO for Street Children

MENASource
Jun 10, 2025

Why DDR programs are the missing link to Syrian stability

By
Muhsen al-Mustafa

With the end of Western sanctions, Syria faces a rare opportunity to address the imbalances of the post-conflict period.

Middle East
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

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Content

MENASource

Oct 17, 2016

900th Day in Prison for Founders of NGO for Street Children

By Khaled Dawoud

900 days since her arrest, Aya Hijazi remains in prison. While Egypt and the United States exchanged critical statements over the case of the dual Egyptian-American national in September, she, her husband, Mohamed Hassanein, and six other detainees, remain among those who have exceeded the limit of Egypt’s two-year pretrial detention period. 

North Africa

MENASource

Oct 17, 2016

GERD: Politics and the Art of Possibility

By Mohamed Mahmoud

Egyptian officials, faced with the reality of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam are meeting the potential risks with mixed views on how to respond. Some believe that Egypt should be firm about the dam, which according to experts, represents a danger to the country’s water security. Others believe that Egypt could work with the situation […]

Ethiopia North Africa

MENASource

Oct 12, 2016

Behind Erdogan’s Dismissive Statements to Iraq’s Prime Minister

By Aaron Stein

Turkey’s Iraq policy changed considerably in the past half-decade. Turkey has implicitly broken with its “one Iraq” policy and, since 2010, has taken steps to deepen alliances with political actors, committed to the further decentralization—and, in the longer term, break-up—of the Iraqi state. This policy is a sharp departure from Turkey’s history of advocacy for […]

Iraq Turkey

MENASource

Oct 6, 2016

Saving Libya to Defend NATO’s Southern Flank

By Karim Mezran

Roughly 20 years ago, Carlo Maria Santoro, a professor of international relations at Milan and one of Italy’s foremost experts on geopolitics, wrote a book titled, The Risk from the South. He warned of Libya’s centrality to the stability of North Africa and the countries of Southern Europe. He was, at the time, referring to […]

Libya NATO

MENASource

Oct 5, 2016

Morocco’s Upcoming Elections: Gradual Change or More of the Same?

By Sabina Henneberg

Parliamentary elections scheduled for October 7 mark the end of the five-year mandate of Morocco’s current government led by the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD). Approximately 30 political parties will compete for seats in the directly-elected House of Representatives. The secular Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) represents the PJD’s main rival. While important for […]

Morocco

MENASource

Oct 3, 2016

What Egypt’s Assassination Attempts Say about its Islamist Insurgency

By Mokhtar Awad

An attempted assassination at the end of September on Egypt’s assistant prosecutor general, Zakaria Abdul Aziz, highlights the capability and determination of militant Islamist actors in the Egyptian mainland to wage terror in the mainland.

North Africa

MENASource

Sep 30, 2016

Egypt’s Currency Catch 22

By H.A. Hellyer

The board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is due to meet sometime in the next two to three weeks, at which point it will formally sign off on the deal for Egypt. It’s a deal wrought with challenges, but is likely to go forward anyway. Cairo insists that the IMF deal ties in well […]

Economy & Business North Africa

MENASource

Sep 29, 2016

Kuwaiti-Iranian Relations: The Energy Angle

By Giorgio Cafiero and Cinzia Miotto

Although oil-rich, Kuwait has modest gas reserves. Consequently, the Arab Gulf state has been a net importer of the resource since 2008, and in 2009 Kuwait became the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member to import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). As a host of obstacles (contract structures, geological challenges, etc.) have hindered rapid expansion of […]

Iran The Gulf

MENASource

Sep 28, 2016

Shimon Peres: RIP

By Frederic C. Hof

Although age and infirmity had already curtailed the impact of Shimon Peres on Israel and its neighbors, his passing nevertheless measures high on the Richter scale of Israeli and regional affairs. For decades he represented his country and its citizens with great skill and impressive finesse. Yet the polish and sophistication he projected masked underlying toughness […]

Israel

MENASource

Sep 27, 2016

Yemen Heightens Tension in Saudi’s International Relations

By Tarek Radwan

The relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia has witnessed considerable strain over the past few years, but increasing reports documenting poor targeting practices and disproportionate collateral damage in the Saudi-led coalition’s conduct of the war in Yemen has sparked an unprecedented outcry in the US Congress.

Saudi Arabia Yemen
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