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MENASource

Apr 21, 2023

How WhatsApp upended Middle East diplomacy—and what the US can learn from it

By Joze Pelayo, Yulia Shalomov

In WhatsApp’s encrypted channels, diplomats feel freer to form and participate in groups where they privately share resources, coordinate meetings, strategize with colleagues, create informal alliances, lobby for their country’s positions, and coordinate policy decisions.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Apr 17, 2023

Safeguarding the past: The Arab world’s cure to Holocaust amnesia

By El Mehdi Boudra

On the eve of Yom Hashoah, it is no longer considered taboo in the MENA region to promote Holocaust education and genocide prevention. The region’s youth are more receptive to discussing the events of one of the darkest chapters of human history, despite the political, religious, and educational challenges shrouding this historic move that has been praised in some nations in the region and criticized in others.

Civil Society Education

MENASource

Apr 14, 2023

The rise of a Shia Vatican in Iraq

By Mehiyar Kathem

The anchoring of Shia religious institutions as a national actor in the cultural heritage field may altogether change Iraq’s cultural landscape.

Iraq Middle East

MENASource

Apr 13, 2023

Hezbollah and its allies are more emboldened than they’ve been in nearly two decades

By Nicholas Blanford

The bottom line of this latest flare-up of violence along the Lebanon-Israel border is that Hezbollah, in coordination with Hamas, launched the largest barrage of rockets into Israel in nearly seventeen years without facing any repercussions.

Israel Lebanon

MENASource

Apr 12, 2023

Egypt-Turkey normalization: Ankara’s perspective 

By Ali Bakir

While Turkey would prefer to speed up the normalization process, Cairo might prefer to wait until the next elections before expediting it.

Europe & Eurasia Libya

MENASource

Apr 11, 2023

Egypt-Turkey normalization: Cairo’s perspective 

By Shahira Amin

After a decade of ruptured ties and simmering tensions, Egypt and Turkey are inching towards a rapprochement—a move thought unimaginable by some observers a couple of years prior.

Africa Europe & Eurasia

MENASource

Apr 6, 2023

Arab states are normalizing with the Assad regime. This is the Middle East’s 1936 moment.

By Malik al-Abdeh and Lars Hauch

Now diplomatic relations are set to be restored between Syria and two behemoths of the Arab League: Egypt and Saudi Arabia, who are the holders of the all-important veto on Assad’s return to regional respectability.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Apr 5, 2023

China is getting comfortable with the Gulf Cooperation Council. The West must pragmatically adapt to its growing regional influence.

By Joseph Webster, Joze Pelayo

The US and its allies and partners must pragmatically adapt to China’s growing regional influence by providing credible alternatives to Beijing.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Mar 31, 2023

Can Italy play an effective role in helping stabilize the Mediterranean region?

By Karim Mezran, Alessia Melcangi

Thanks to its central geographical position in the Mediterranean Sea and the advanced technological skills of Italian energy companies, Italy is playing a key role in the region through their strong energy diplomacy.

Economy & Business Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Mar 30, 2023

I was part of the Israeli National Security Council. Climate change has been an important security challenge for years.

By Efrat Minivitzki Thein

Israel’s experience of addressing climate change as a national security challenge is also an approach that bears sharing with its regional partners.

Climate Change & Climate Action Energy & Environment