The Middle East faces a web of complex crises driven by historical legacies, regional power struggles, and ongoing geopolitical tensions. Among these crises, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stands out as a deeply entrenched issue, marked by competing national aspirations and territorial disputes. The region’s challenges are further compounded by a mix of deeply rooted conflicts, sectarian divides, and the influence of both regional and global actors. These crises have far-reaching implications, affecting global security, economic stability, and international diplomacy. Understanding the dynamics of these conflicts requires a comprehensive view of their historical contexts and current geopolitical shifts. In this interview, our columnist Helmut Sorge hosts Charles Kupchan, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Kupchan shares insights into the underlying factors shaping the Middle East's past and ongoing crises, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He explores the roles of major international players and discusses potential paths toward resolution, shedding light on the region’s complex landscape and its broader impact on global affairs.
RELATED CONTENT
-
AuthorsMarianna AlbuquerqueSeptember 23, 2026The author of this opinion, Marianna Albuquerque, is a 2022 alumna of the Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders Program.As world leaders gather in New York for the 81st United Nations General Assembly, climate change returns to the center of multilateral diplomacy under markedly different circumstances. The debate is no longer confined to whether the world must decarbonize, but increasingly centers on how the transition will happen, who will bear its costs, who will capture ... -
AuthorsSeptember 17, 2026Various competing cross-border payment networks have become vehicles for geopolitical competition. As tensions have risen, many countries want to secure access to cross-border payment systems by joining with like-minded countries to form interoperable networks, either via tokenization or Instant Payment Systems (IPSs). Three major projects are under development, serving the strategic interests of the US, China and the Rest of the World—corresponding to the three trading spheres taki ...
-
AuthorsSeptember 16, 2026Much of Western debate was revealingly silent on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, which took place on August 31 and September 1 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. That relative silence reflects how poorly the organization’s growing significance is still understood. The meeting has not gone unreported. Any gathering of Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, and Vladimir Putin inevitably attracts&nbs ... -
September 15, 2026The Africa Center, in partnership with the Policy Center for the New South, hosts a conversation on the current situation in the Sahel and opportunities for US reengagement. ...
-
AuthorsJoana Ama Osei-TutuSeptember 12, 2026The author of this opinion, Joana Ama Osei-Tutu, is a 2017 alumna of the Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders Program.South-South cooperation (SSC) is often presented as an alternative to the hierarchical relationships that have historically characterized international development. In principle, SSC means Global South countries learn from one another, share expertise and resources, and develop solutions grounded in their own experiences, rather than importing models designe ... -
By Alae Jellal & Marcus Vinicius de FreitasSeptember 11, 2026Marcus Vinicius de Freitas, Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, discusses in this podcast his policy brief "Africa, Latin America and Global Governance." He argues that ...
-
September 11, 2026This episode of Africafé features H.E. Abdisaid Moussa Ali, former Somali Foreign Minister, discussing Somalia's federal system tensions, the decline of Western support for peacekeeping missions, the Ethiopia-Somaliland MOU dispute over Red Sea access, and the growing role of Turkey and...
-
AuthorsSeptember 8, 2026La conférence de lancement du projet POMIRE Sud-Sud, tenue au Policy Center for the New South à Rabat les 11 et 12 février 2026, a constitué un moment fondateur. Pour la première fois, l'ensemble des acteurs institutionnels de cinq des six pays partenaires du projet — Côte d'Ivoire, Guinée, Mali, Maroc et Sénégal — se sont réunis pour poser les piliers d’une vision commune et identifier les priorités qui guideront les phases opérationnelles du projet. Quatre focus groupes thématique ...
-
AuthorsSeptember 4, 2026This Paper was originally published on cgdev.org. Escalatory attacks on multilateral rules and institutions in this era of raw power politics have plunged international politics into uncharted territory. Traditional alliances have been fractured and new partnerships between unlikely bedfellows are emerging. No longer in transition, the post-World War II world order is in rupture. This paper examines international cooperation under these conditions and argues that a new "flexi-l ... -
AuthorsAugust 25, 2026The next Secretary-General should begin with an act of institutional rebellion: refuse to become the Secretary-General ofeverything. Over three decades the office's political and administrative reach has spread across sustainable development, climate, health, migration, digital governance, financing, gender, food systems, and a still-growing list of global priorities. These issues are not unimportant; the trouble is that institutional ambition has simply outrun institutional capabil ...

