Afro-Middle East Centre

By Al Jazeera Centre for Studies On Friday, 26 June, Tunisia witnessed the deadliest armed attack in its history, leaving thirty-eight people, mostly British tourists, dead, and t...

20 July 2015

Remaining and expanding: Measuring the Islamic State group’s success in…

By Afro-Middle East Centre Since its declaration of a ‘caliphate’ on 29 June 2014, the Islamic State group (IS), the brutal successor to al-Qa'ida, has gone from stren...

17 July 2015

Regional consequences of the Iranian nuclear deal

on Iran

By Afro-Middle East Centre The agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme concluded this week seems to be an example of the benefits of concerted diplomacy. Once it is ratified b...

Egypt moves closer to the abyss
By Afro-Middle East Centre Egypt’s cabinet passed new draconian ‘anti-terrorism’ laws on Wednesday, in the wake…
The Islamic State in Libya: Slipping through the cracks of…
By Kamal Al-Kusayyar Libya is the Islamic State (IS) group’s third largest bastion after Syria and Iraq. The group’s …

Serious domestic and foreign policy changes expected in wake of…
By Afro-Middle East Centre The results of Turkey’s 7 June parliamentary election is expected to have lasting consequences f…
Mursi’s death sentence and the creation of a self-fulfilling prophecy
By Afro-Middle East Centre The recent sentencing to death of former Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi and 121 others illustrates t…

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20 July 2015

Remaining and expanding: Measuring the Islamic State group’s success in…

By Afro-Middle East Centre Since its declaration of a ‘caliphate’ on 29 June 2014, the Islamic State group (IS), the brutal successor to al-Qa'ida, has gone from stren...

16 October 2014

Houthi gains in Yemen: Regional and local dimensions

By Afro-Middle East Centre The striking advances of Houthis in Yemen, having already taken de facto control of the capital Sana'a last month, has implications for Yemen as well as...

08 September 2014

Anti-West is far too simplistic a view

By Omar Shaukat With the release of another video showing the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff, held hostage by the Islamic State (IS, also variously known as Isil...

21 August 2014

The Arab counterrevolution is in decline

By Basheer Nafi’ A truism that is valid for almost all revolutions – including the English, French, and the European revolutions of the mid-nineteenth century, the Ir...

10 August 2014

Women in Conflict

By Zeenat Adam ‘When women are violated like men who but for sex are like them – when women’s arms and legs bleed when severed, when women are shot in pits and g...

28 October 2013

Brothers in arms? Hamas-Hizbullah reconciliation

By Afro-Middle East Centre The severing of Hamas’s relationship with Syrian President Bashar al-Asad’s government, which saw its politburo relocate from Damascus to Do...

Bahrain’s National Dialogue faces a Stalemate
By Elham Fakhro Two years after the launch of Bahrain’s national dialogue, government and opposition representatives have f…
Opening Remarks by Deputy Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim at AMEC's international…
Opening Remarks by International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim at the International Conference of the …

China and the Middle East: Features of a new approach
By ‘Izzat Shahrour The use of China's veto over the Syrian crisis demonstrates that it no longer needs to sit on the fence …
US strategy in the Middle East: Will the South China…
By Fred H. Lawson United States strategic planners are carrying out a fundamental reconfiguration of America's military presence …

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07 December 2014

Netanyahu’s political musical chairs

By Afro-Middle East Centre The dismissal of two cabinet ministers, Yair Lapid and Tzipi Libni, by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and the subsequent dissolution of parl...

23 November 2014

Tensions in Jerusalem: Demanding political measures not moral outrage

By Afro-Middle East Centre Tuesday’s attack on a synagogue in West Jerusalem has not only elicited a strong wave of condemnation from western political leaders, but also har...

07 August 2014

Gaza’s challenges for journalism

By Jane Duncan In the past few weeks, the South African media have been dominated by the unfolding catastrophe in Gaza and South Africans have had to rely largely on foreign cover...

24 July 2014

Prospects for the end of Israel’s ‘Operation Protective Edge’

By Saleh Naami Israel’s current onslaught against Gaza is the third largest military confrontation between the Israel and Palestinian resistance movements in the enclave sin...

19 July 2014

From Maracanã to Gaza: ‘shooting’ and ‘firing’

By Larbi Sadiki The gilt-edged skills on display for nearly a month in Brazil are no ‘match’ for the blood-curdling war ‘games’ surgically executed by US-m...

19 July 2014

Operation Protective Edge: Israel’s July 2014 Assault on Gaza

By Arab Center for Research & Policy Studies The latest escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict came in the form of an all-out Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip. Exploit...

Escalation of Israeli onslaught on Gaza, and no ceasefire in…
A few days ago, many people around the world believed there was some hope for a halt to the loss of Palestinian lives in Gaza when…
PA-Israeli security coordination keeps Palestinian outrage in check
By Tariq Dana In his recent speech at the conference of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah, the Palestinian presid…

Real targets of Operation Brother’s Keeper are Hamas and unity…
By Afro-Middle East Centre On 12 June 2014, three teenage boys were reported missing from Gush Etzion, an Israeli settlement in t…
Israeli foreign minister Lieberman readies for an African safari
By Afro-Middle East Centre Indicating a shift in Israel’s foreign policy, foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, accompanied b…

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17 July 2015

Regional consequences of the Iranian nuclear deal

on Iran

By Afro-Middle East Centre The agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme concluded this week seems to be an example of the benefits of concerted diplomacy. Once it is ratified b...

31 March 2015

An agreement of Iran’s nuclear programme: convergence but not detente

on Iran

By Afro-Middle East Centre With the 31 March deadline for the conclusion of a framework agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme with the P5+1 looming, stakeholders have increa...

12 March 2014

Iranian-American rapprochement: Positions of main Iranian roleplayers

on Iran

By Farah Al Zaman Abu Shuair Summary This paper highlights the views of various roleplayers on the Iranian scene regarding Iranian-American convergence, the reasons for its rejec...

31 October 2013

The meaning of western-Iranian rapprochement

on Iran

By Al Jazeera Center for Studies From the end of September to the middle of October 2013, it seemed that Iran’s relations with the western world were witnessing monumental c...

06 October 2013

No longer a zero-sum game between Tehran and Washington

on Iran

By Fatimah Alsmadi Introduction Iran’s foreign policy rhetoric exemplifies the idea that international politics is no longer a zero-sum game, but a multidimensional arena i...

08 September 2013

Has Iran begun to back down on Syria?

on Iran

By Fatima Alsmadi Has Iran’s position on Syria begun to change? This is a crucial question, as Iran’s tone toward military action against Syria has altered from being ...

Iran’s looming election: Restoration or deterioration of regime legitimacy?
By Afro-Middle East Centre While delivering a speech to the Majlis (Iranian parliament) on 3 February 2013, outgoing president Ma…
Iran’s presidential election: Restoration or deterioration of regime legitimacy?
The impending Iranian presidential election scheduled for 14 June 2013 is widely acknowledged to be one of the most critical in th…

Risk assessment delays Israeli strike on Iran
By AlJazeera Centre for Studies Tensions surrounding the Iranian nuclear programme have risen again, but the main determina…
Iran and al-Qaeda: Can the charges be substantiated?
By Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett Last week, the Obama Administration formally charged the Islamic Republic of working …

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13 September 2014

Obama’s anti-IS strategy: Everything but what is required

on Iraq

By Afro-Middle East Centre In a much-anticipated speech on Wednesday, US president Barack Obama unveiled his strategy for confronting the Islamic State group (IS). He emphasised t...

26 June 2014

IRAQ: Isis has credibility crisis

on Iraq

By Omar Shaukat ISIS the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (Levant), has burst dramatically onto the Iraqi scene in recent weeks, as it has captured one town after another. It has...

19 June 2014

Rapid gains of ISIS in Iraq the result of a…

on Iraq

By Afro-Middle East Centre Almost three years after the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, the country is suffering the dramatic rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIS...

25 April 2014

Is Iraq facing a third Maliki term?

on Iraq

By Maryim Benraad Election challenges, political fragmentation During the past decade, three national elections in Iraq have aimed at building a democracy out of the ruins of the...

05 May 2013

Iraq’s slide to sectarianism: disenfranchisement and power politics

on Iraq

By Afro-Middle East Centre The clashes currently occurring in various areas in Iraq, which left over 180 people dead in the past week, threaten the stability and territorial integ...

08 April 2010

Reading into the 2010 Iraqi Election Results

on Iraq

By Basheer Moosa Nafi In the recent Iraqi elections, the Al-Iraqiya alliance secured a victory over the list of the State of Law coalition by only two seats. This is not a signifi...

Iraq’s Uncertain Future: Elections and Beyond
By International Crisis Group As a rule, Iraq's post-Saddam elections have tended to magnify pre-existing negative trends. The pa…

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07 August 2015

How BRICS bank can help in Syria's humanitarian crisis

on Syria

By Na'eem Jeenah Last week, Brics leaders formalised the establishment of the New Development Bank (NDB), which will use its $100 billion (R1.24 trillion) in initial capital to fu...

18 May 2015

Will the Syrian regime survive?

on Syria

By Afro-Middle East Centre Following recent rebel advances and regime defeats in Syria, speculation has been rife among commentators and some among the opposition about whether th...

10 April 2015

Dire situation in Yarmouk refugee camp, and possible future scenarios

on Syria

By Afro-Middle East Centre In early April 2015, sudden fighting broke out in the Yarmouk refugee camp between groups affiliated to the Islamic State group (IS) and Aknaf Bayt al-M...

01 November 2014

Battle for Kobane: Turkey, USA and the Kurdish future

on Syria

By Afro-Middle East Centre The battle for the Kurdish Syrian town of Kobane, resulting from a siege of the city by the Islamic State group (IS) since 2 July, has become the iconic...

15 August 2014

[SYMPOSIUM] Unravelling Syria's civil war; exploring future scenarios

on Syria

Afro-Middle East Centre invites you to a symposium with the theme: Unravelling Syria's civil war; exploring future scenarios. Speakers: Radwan Ziadeh David Lesch...

06 June 2014

No surprises in Syria’s presidential election in the midst of…

on Syria

By Afro-Middle East Centre Syria concluded its first multi-candidate presidential election in about fifty years on 3 June, with its result a foregone conclusion – the incumb...

With Syria burning, how strong is the regime?
By Afro-Middle East Centre The ongoing Syrian crisis has given rise to many questions about the stability and strength of the cur…
Round Two in Geneva, but no breakthrough in sight
By Afro Middle-East Centre Monday marked the beginning of the second round of the Geneva 2 discussions, sponsored by the USA and …

Chemical weapons agreement not as big a deal as it…
By Afro-Middle East Centre By agreeing to a Russian proposal to surrender its chemical weapons to the international community for…
United States plans to intervene in Syria - Part 1
BcZZkoPVygk While turmoil in Egypt and Syria persists we speak about the United States plan to intervene in Syria and discuss how …

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03 September 2010

Politics surrounding the tribunal for Lebanon

on Lebanon

By Lamis Andoni The 2005 assassination of Lebanon's Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was followed by the launching of an international investigation into the assassination, and t...

26 July 2010

The dangers of the UNIFIL crisis

on Lebanon

By Lamis Andoni Four years after the end of the Lebanon war, the role of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which had been entrusted with keeping the peace bet...

01 December 2008

Book Review: Mirror of the Arab World: Lebanon in Conflict…

on Lebanon

Reviewed by Na'eem Jeenah Sandra Mackey sets herself a few tasks for this book. Firstly, she expects to give the reader an overview of the contemporary situation in Lebanon and to...

04 July 2015

Egypt moves closer to the abyss

on Egypt

By Afro-Middle East Centre Egypt’s cabinet passed new draconian ‘anti-terrorism’ laws on Wednesday, in the wake of Monday’s assassination of the prosecutor...

25 May 2015

Mursi’s death sentence and the creation of a self-fulfilling prophecy

on Egypt

By Afro-Middle East Centre The recent sentencing to death of former Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi and 121 others illustrates the farcical and politicised nature of the Egyptian...

20 April 2015

Egypt’s leaderless revolution

on Egypt

By David Ottaway and Marina Ottaway The 25 January Egyptian uprising always had scant possibilities of success. The country’s secular and Islamist revolutionaries were ...

14 March 2015

Risks of Egypt’s Military Intervention in Libya

on Egypt

By Afro-Middle East Centre On 15 February 2015, an armed group calling itself the Tripoli Province of the Islamic State and claiming affiliation with the Islamic State group in Ir...

02 February 2015

Sisi’s Egypt: The illusion of stability and the perpetuation of…

on Egypt

By Al-Jazeera Centre for Studies Late on Sunday, 25 January 2015, hundreds of protests broke in various Egyptian cities and towns, followed by attacks on public administration bui...

07 November 2014

Crisis in northern Sinai worsens

on Egypt

By Afro-Middle East Centre On 24 October 2014, an armed attack on an Egyptian security detail in the Sheikh Zuweid area of Egypt’s North Sinai Governorate left more than thi...

Egypt’s presidential elections: When the result has already been decided
By Afro-Middle East Centre After months of waiting, Egypt’s Presidential Election Committee has finally declared the dates …
Egypt - cabinet resignations and increasing economic deterioration
By Afro-Middle East Centre Initially speculated to be a result of an impending presidential candidacy announcement by Field Marsh…

When the results mean little: Egypt’s constitutional referendum
By Afro Middle-Centre This week’s constitutional referendum in Egypt confirms the country’s move away from democratic…
An Analysis of Egypt's Draft Constitution
By Jano Charbel www.jadaliyya.com/pages/contributors/56898 Experts weight in on the possible impact on child labor and union…

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16 May 2014

Negotiations and military action to free Nigerian schoolgirls

on Morocco

By Afro-Middle East Centre The abduction of 276 schoolgirls from a high school in Chibok, northern Nigeria, and the Nigerian government’s responses, provides insight into th...

10 August 2011

Popular upsurge and political pacts in Morocco

on Morocco

By Anouar Boukhars The making of the 2011 constitution in Morocco has renewed debates and theoretical curiosity about the trajectory of elite accords and their impact on pushing c...

24 May 2011

Prospects for change in the Kingdom of Morocco

on Morocco

By Mohamed Darif As with other Arab countries, a wave of protests calling for change is sweeping across Morocco. These protests have largely been inspired by the Tunisian and Egyp...

28 July 2015

Tunisia’s security crisis and government’s inability to cope

By Al Jazeera Centre for Studies On Friday, 26 June, Tunisia witnessed the deadliest armed attack in its history, leaving thirty-eight people, mostly British tourists, dead, and t...

14 November 2014

Ennahda’s post-election future

By Afro-Middle East Centre During the four years following former president Ben Ali’s ouster in January 2011, Tunisians have experienced tumultuous changes: the economy has ...

17 October 2014

Analysing Tunisia’s first post-revolutionary legislative elections

By Abdul Latif al-Hanachi Introduction Tunisia’s political elite overcame various obstacles during the initial stages of democratic transition, and successfully revived sev...

21 February 2013

Ennahda clings on to power amid political crisis in Tunisia

By Afro-Middle East Centre The resignation of Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali on 19 February is just the latest development in a protracted political crisis in Tunisia. For m...

04 November 2011

Flowering of the Arab Spring: Understanding Tunisia’s elections results

By Esam Al-Amin In early 1994 a small Islamic think tank affiliated with the University of South Florida (USF) planned an academic forum to host Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of t...

27 September 2011

Tunisia: The battle for the Constituent Assembly

By AlJazeera Centre for Studies Whether foreseen or unexpected, the continuing developments in Tunisia's political arena do not cease to surprise observers. With the approaching e...

A test of trust between political forces in Tunisia
By AlJazeera Centre for Studies A recent document titled the ‘citizenship initiative’ has raised a great deal of cont…
The Tunisian intifada: What is the way forward?
By Lutfi Zaitoun It had never occurred to the young Muhammad Bouazizi, a native and resident of Sidi Bouzid, that his decision, m…

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22 June 2015

The Islamic State in Libya: Slipping through the cracks of…

on Libya

By Kamal Al-Kusayyar Libya is the Islamic State (IS) group’s third largest bastion after Syria and Iraq. The group’s actual head count in the country notwithstanding, ...

27 February 2015

Libya’s IS is overhyped and must be addressed politically

on Libya

By Afro-Middle East Centre The 15 February Islamic State group (IS) video showing the beheadings of twenty-one Egyptians raised concerns both about the possibility of the group&rs...;

25 June 2012

The rights of refugees: Continued humanitarian violations in Libya

on Libya

By Zeenat Sujee The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) uprisings have brought to the fore numerous human rights issues. Several studies1 have found that a number of countries are...

17 March 2011

Gaddafi's regime in relation to Libyan tribes

on Libya

By Mansouria Mokhefi For centuries, tribes have played a key role in terms of politics and social relations within Libya, and have ensured their perpetuation through the Bedouin c...

13 March 2011

Role of the Libyan army and the anti-Gaddafi revolt

on Libya

By Saïd Haddad In spite of the atmosphere of suspicion which has surrounded the Libyan armed forces since the Al-Fateh Revolution of October 1969, it has played and could pla...

28 April 2015

Nigeria’s elections and future challenges

on Sub-Saharan Africa

By Afro-Middle East Centre The election of General Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s president will see a renewed focus by the government on domestic challenges posed by endemic...

26 September 2013

Kenyan hostage crisis: The desperation of al-Shabab

on Sub-Saharan Africa

By Afro-Middle East Centre The hostage drama at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi over the past week has raised a number of questions about the Somali organisation al-Shabab. After the...

26 October 2012

The effects of the ‘War on Terror’ on states’ foreign…

on Sub-Saharan Africa

By Afro-Middle East Centre Recent statements that ‘there is no alternative….it’s going to take military force’, made by Jack Christofides, a senior offici...

31 March 2012

The feasibility of a continued United States presence in Afghanistan

By Alex Strick van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn Recent events in Afghanistan have fuelled speculation over the ability of international forces to continue their presence in the coun...

28 February 2012

Dangerous uncertainty in Pakistan

By Junaid S. Ahmed With relations between Pakistan's civilian government and military incredibly tense, speculation is rife in the Pakistani and international media of a looming m...

30 May 2011

Pakistan-US relations in the post-Osama era

By Junaid S. Ahmad The assassination of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan by US Special Forces was supposed to have been a landmark triumph that would bring peace and stability to the r...

13 December 2010

Kashmir and Obama's Indian appeasement

By Mohammad Abdullah Gul Obama's recent jive with school children in Delhi symbolises the nature of the new relationship that is emerging between India and the United States of Am...

13 September 2010

Pakistan’s floods: Pressing problems and potential risks

By Najam Abbas Pakistan's recent floods have left eight million people dependent on aid for their survival, and washed away huge swathes of the rich farmland on which the country...

06 September 2010

Wikileaks, Afghanistan, and Pakistan

By Mohammed Abdullah Gul On 25 July 2010, the New York Timescarried an explosive story by Mark Mazzetti, Jane Perlez, Eric Schmitt and Andrew W. Lehren about some 92,000 cla...

India walks a tightrope in its relations with Israel, Arab…
By Ramananda Sengupta 'We do have a defence relationship with India, which is no secret. On the other hand, what is a secret is w…
Afghanistan: terrain for India-Pakistan proxy war
By Ramananda Sengupta The savage attack on Kabul hotels housing Indian workers on 26th February 2010 - the fourth major attack on…

Obama's Strategy in Afghanistan: The Afghanisation of the War
By AlJazeera Centre for Studies Early in December 2009, and after lengthy consultations, United States president Barack Obama ann…
Evaluating a rocky India-China-Pakistan relationship
By Ramananda Sengupta "Nervous China may attack India in 2012." That was the title of a recent column by Bharat Verma, editor of …

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13 February 2015

Death of a Saudi king: Palace intrigue and policy implications

By Afro-Middle East Centre The death of Saudi King Abdullah on 23 January, and the ascension to the throne of his half-brother Salman have generated a flurry of discussions and sp...

27 March 2014

Saudi-Qatari tensions and implications for the Persian Gulf

By Afro-Middle East Centre Tensions are increasing between Qatar on the one hand, and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the other. In the latest dispute...

18 April 2012

Qatar piggy-backs on MENA uprisings towards regional ascendancy

By Afro-Middle East Centre The uprisings that spread across the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region from the beginning of 2011 not only caught global and regional powers unawar...

04 November 2011

Women's participation in the political life of Saudi Arabia: Here…

ByAbdulazizAl-Heis The decision to allow women to participate in the Shura Council and municipal councils of Saudi Arabia is an important step forward, especially given that Saudi...

11 October 2011

Bahrain: Democracy on the wrong side of global interests

By Afro-Middle East Centre Introduction Despite the chronic under-reporting on popular protests in Bahrain, the uprising in the small Gulf state that left over thirty dead and hu...

29 August 2011

Yemen on the brink: The implications of the uprising

By Afro-Middle East Centre The uprising in Yemen that started in January 2011 was largely inspired by the popular protests that swept the region - in particular the Egyptian and T...

Bahrain’s rocky road to reform
By International Crisis Group Unless all sides to the conflict agree to an inclusive dialogue in order to reach meaningful reform…
Bahrain’s bitter solutions: Pressures from within and challenges from abroad
By Lamees Dhaif At the beginning of July 2011, more than 300 representatives of Bahrain's political and civil society gathered in…

Bahrain’s 14 February Movement: General direction and future
By Abd al-Jalil al-Marhun The events in Bahrain, unfolding at an increasing pace, have in many respects forced themselves o…
Potential of Gulf states to influence US policy
By Kenneth Katzman Members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have been loyal and crucial allies of US policy in the Gulf regi…

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31 January 2012

The rise of 'Ikhwanophobia': Fear of the Muslim Brotherhood

By Dr. Mohsen Saleh Introduction Fear of the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwanal-Muslimoon), the leading Islamist movement, has gained unprecedented international prominence since the b...

23 February 2010

Dialogue with the Taliban: Negotiation or inducement?

By AlJazeera Centre for Studies The London Conference, held at the end of January 2010 in recognition of, and support for, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, was the sixth internati...

11 February 2010

Al-Qaeda Hot Spots

By AlJazeera Centre for Studies At the end of the phase known as the "Afghan Jihad", most Arabs and Muslims who participated in the Afghan war returned to their homelands. Some fo...

02 September 2009

Al-Qaeda, Jihad and the Democratization of Islamic Authority

by Faisal Devji On the fifth anniversary of 9/11 a jihadist website posted a long interview with Osama bin Laden's lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in which he described Muslim mil...

01 September 2009

Abstract : ‘Jihad’ as a form of struggle in the…