MENA

The renewed instability in the Middle East has exposed Africa's continued vulnerability to external energy shocks. Shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, the maritime chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies transit, have once again demonstrated that African fuel security remains highly dependent on geopolitical developments beyond the continent. While many African economies have traditionally relied on refined petroleum imports from Gulf ...

The Resolution adopted by an overwhelming majority of elected European officials in Strasbourg on June 10, 2021, on "the violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the exploitation of minors by the authorities in the migration crisis in Ceuta" (2021/2747/RSP), could not fail to leave its mark.Decoding the ResolutionThe Resolution shocked Moroccans to such an extent that it was quickly set aside at the time, as if there were a wish to forget it as fast as possible. ...

Cuando estalla una crisis, esta da lugar a la activación de reflejos para su gestión y la limitación de sus efectos. Comienzan, entonces, los análisis y las suposiciones sobre las disfunciones, los incumplimientos y las fallas que la ocasionaron. En algunos casos, la teoría de la conspiración se inmiscuye y las hipótesis buscan a los autores que provocaron la crisis, sus designios y sus objetivos. Sin embargo, la teoría de la gestión de crisis nos enseña que una crisis surge según ...

When a crisis erupts, it sets crisis-management reflexes in motion and prompts efforts to contain its effects. Analysts then begin looking for the malfunctions, oversights, and failures that caused it. In some cases, conspiracy theories creep in, and speculation turns to who engineered the crisis, and to what end. Crisis-management theory teaches us, however, that a crisis unfolds under conditions that favor its emergence. Crises take shape in an environment where latent vulnerabil ...

Lorsqu’une crise éclate, elle donne lieu à l’actionnement des réflexes pour sa gestion et la limitation de ses effets. Commencent, alors, les analyses et les suppositions sur les dysfonctionnements, les manquements et les défaillances ayant entrainé ladite crise. Dans certains cas, la théorie du complot s’ingère et les hypothèses cherchent les auteurs ayant provoqué la crise, leurs desseins et leurs buts.Cependant, la théorie de gestion des crises nous apprend qu’une crise inte ...

The Mecca Agreement: A First Step Towards a New Regional Security Architecture? On 7 August, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan signed the Mecca Agreement, a trilateral defense pact aimed at strengthening collective security and defense cooperation between the three countries. At its core lies a collective defense commitment under which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all three. While many details concerning its practical implementation remain unclear, the agreeme ...

THE END OF AN ERAThe US-Israeli war on Iran, a 'little excursion' envisaged to be over within a matter of weeks, has entered its fourth month. Shock waves ripple across the globe. This war is just one in a series of recent crises which have fractured the international community, making the decades of the 2020's among the most disruptive in recent history. Each crisis compounds the deleterious effects of those which came before. The war in Iran is no exception. It abruptly stalled ec ...

With America's 250th anniversary, there will be many analyses of the country's history from domestic and international perspectives. But the meaning of the American story should also be assessed in key regional settings, from Asia to Latin America, and in transatlantic terms. In this vein, it is worth exploring the U.S. engagement in and with the Mediterranean world, one of the first places of U.S. international activism, and a setting where diverse aspects of U.S. foreign policy ha ...

The close relationship between energy and geopolitics is well established. The same holds true for several armed conflicts. In recent years, however, the conflict most closely intertwined with energy has been the 2026 Iran War, which began on February 28. A ceasefire has been in effect since April 8, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Iran and the United States on June 17. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by Iran's attacks on commercial vessels and recent U.S. strike ...

Les relations, très étroites, entre l’énergie et la géopolitique sont bien connues. Cela vaut aussi pour plusieurs conflits armés. Mais, dans la période récente, le conflit le plus lié à l’énergie est la guerre d’Iran de 2026, qui a débuté le 28 février. Un cessez-le-feu est en vigueur depuis le 8 avril et un protocole d’accord a été signé le 17 juin par l’Iran et les États-Unis. Mais, comme le montrent les attaques de l’Iran contre des navires et les frappes américaines de ces dern ...

Cet essai analyse la guerre Iran–États-Unis–Israël de 2026 comme un révélateur de la transformation profonde de l’ordre international. À travers le prisme du droit de la mer, du détroit d’Ormuz, des alliances fragmentées, des câbles sous-marins et des flux énergétiques, il montre que le pouvoir mondial se déplace progressivement du contrôle des territoires vers la maîtrise des infrastructures de circulation. Loin de disparaître, la mondialisation entre dans une phase de connectivité ...

University campuses across the MENA region consume significant amounts of energy but lack the tools to anticipate and optimize their demand. Current monitoring systems are descriptive and reactive: they record what has already happened but provide no forward-looking intelligence. Meanwhile, commercial building management systems remain financially out of reach for most institutions in developing countries, with costs exceeding $10,000 per building.A validated framework combining art ...

Este Policy Paper también ha sido publicado en inglés y francés por Le Grand Continent La economía marroquí constituye un caso ilustrativo entre las economías de renta media, en un contexto marcado por una creciente fragmentación del entorno internacional, un crecimiento mundial anémico y una desaceleración de la convergencia. Desde 2022, su trayectoria se caracteriza por una relativa solidez, con un crecimiento superior a la media de las economías de la misma categoría. Superi ...

Ce Policy Paper a également été publiée en anglais et en espagnol par Le Grand Continent Le Maroc offre un exemple éclairant parmi les pays à revenu intermédiaire, dans un contexte marqué par une fragmentation croissante de l’environnement international, une croissance mondiale atone et un ralentissement de la convergence. Depuis 2022, sa trajectoire se distingue par une certaine robustesse, avec un rythme d’expansion supérieur à celui des autres économies de même catégorie. Dé ...

This Policy Paper has also been published in French and Spanish by Le Grand Continent Morocco offers a compelling example of how a middle-income economy can navigate a more fragmented global environment, characterized by weak growth and slower convergence. Since 2022, economic activity has remained relatively strong, with growth exceeding that of many comparable economies. Non-agricultural growth has averaged 4.4% since 2022, around 1.3 percentage points above its historical av ...

The inventory is worrisomely low The US military has fired off more than 1000 Tomahawk cruise missiles, roughly ten times the number it currently buys each year. The Pentagon used more than 1200 Patriot interceptor missiles, "more than three million dollars a pop", and more than 1000 precision strike, ground based missiles, "leaving the inventories worrisomely low." US commanders were forced to ration interceptors by letting unguided or less destructive missiles hit empty or no ...

At the end of May 2026, Israeli airstrikes targeted the surroundings of Beaufort Castle (Qalaat al-Chaqif), near Nabatiyeh, before the Israeli army announced that it had captured the site. This development raises a fundamental question: why does a medieval fortified hilltop retain military value in the age of satellites, drones, and cruise missiles?This Policy Brief argues that Beaufort's significance is geographical before it is ideological or technological. Overlooking the Litani ...

Fin mai 2026, des frappes israéliennes ont visé les abords du château de Beaufort (Qalaat al-Chaqif), près de Nabatiyeh, avant que l'armée israélienne n'en annonce la prise. Ce fait soulève une question centrale : pourquoi une hauteur fortifiée au Moyen Âge conserve-t-elle une valeur militaire à l'ère des satellites, des drones et des missiles de croisière ?Le présent Policy Brief tente de démontrer que la valeur de Beaufort est géographique avant d'être idéologique ou technologique ...

This article draws in part on perspectives shared by members of the Rihla Initiative for Green Economic Growth, whose regional insights helped inform the sections on how the costs of the war are being felt across the Global South. The war on Iran and in the Gulf has made it impossible to treat the Strait of Hormuz as a regional issue. The disruption around the Strait has moved through the world economy in concrete ways, from higher fuel bills and pressure on food and fertilizer ...

This essay argues that the current debate about the future of the international monetary system is not really about Gulf currencies, oil pricing, or de-dollarization in the narrow technical sense. It is about something deeper and more important: whether institutional trust can survive when geopolitical certainty is eroding.The Gulf monarchies—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman—increasingly exist in a world where the United States no longer looks ...

The global energy system has entered a period of acute structural stress following the strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran in late February 2026, and the subsequent disruption of flows through the Strait of Hormuz. According to the International Energy Agency, the resulting shock marks the most severe disruption to global energy markets since the 1970s oil crises, with systemic characteristics comparable to the combined effects of those crises and the 2022 Russia-Ukraine ...

Le monde du travail est engagé dans un processus de mutation sans précédent. La quatrième révolution industrielle, portée par l’intelligence artificielle (IA) et la robotisation, a été le point de commencement d’une ère nouvelle où les repères économiques et sociaux se redéfinissent à une vitesse inédite. Ces technologies suscitent un engouement légitime et offrent des perspectives prometteuses, mais requièrent une vigilance accrue face aux incertitudes qui les entourent.Bien que, à ...

Driven by its mission to reflect on and analyze the major geopolitical, economic, and societal transformations shaping the contemporary world, and with a view to contributing to knowledge-sharing and disseminating the main outcomes of its research program, the Policy Center for the New South regularly publishes collective volumes addressing issues of particular importance to Morocco, Africa, and the broader Global/New South. In this spirit, the Center has recently released two volum ...

This paper, the fourth in a research series on services-led growth in the Global South, examines Egypt’s potential for growth and economic transformation through the integration of services into Global Value Chains (GVCs). It employs a new taxonomy that classifies services into Knowledge Services (KS), Enabling Services (ES), and Local Services (LS) and applies OECD 2025 Trade in Value-Added (TiVA), Trade in Employment (TiM), and input-output databases to benchmark Egypt against Mor ...

This paper is the third in a series of country and comparative studies that together comprise a research program on services as drivers of economic growth and structural transformation in the Global South. The paper analyzes the pattern of Tunisia's services-led economic growth from 2012- 2022 using a specialized three-category framework: knowledge services (KS), enabling services (ES), and local services (LS). Using data from the OECD Trade in Value Added (TiVA), Trade in Employmen ...

This Paper was originally published on mitvim.org.il This paper argues that the reconstruction of Gaza will depend not only on the amount of funding mobilized, but on how financing is structured, governed, and anchored within a broader politi`cal context. In a setting shaped by movement restrictions and weak institutions, financial design is not neutral but shapes priorities, distributes power, and determines what can be implemented on the ground. The paper examines the key cha ...

This paper is the second in a series examining services-led development and global value chain (GVC) integration in the Global South. It applies a three-category analytical framework covering knowledge services (ICT and professional business services), enabling services (transport, logistics, and finance), and local services (retail, hospitality, health, and personal services), to OECD Trade in Value Added indicators. The paper thus  ...

Cet oped a été publié initialement dans la revue afkar/ideas 77 (IEMed).  La politique étrangère du Maroc traverse une transition structurelle, sous l’effet de la polycrise mondiale, de la diversification de ses partenariats et de l’affirmation de nouveaux choix stratégiques. La centralité accordée aux notions de « hub », de « plateforme »ou de « corridor » traduit un glissement sémantique et fonctionnel dans le narratif national, accordant une priorité majeure aux considé ...

This paper was published as a book chapter in “The Economic Potential of Islamic Countries, Part B: Sustainability, Governance, Energy and Digital Transformation,” released by Emerald Publishing. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant deficiencies within social protection systems worldwide, especially in Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries. This underscores the urgent need to fortify these social protection schemes to ensure resilience in the face of crises (Sa ...

This report was originally published on the website of the Middle East Institute ( mei.edu) The following study discusses the role of Lebanon’s gold reserves in the establishment of a currency board and evaluates four policy options: a true currency board, constrained central bank reform, full dollarization, and a unified managed float. Gold reserves are relevant under all four. The conclusion is consistent across them: no monetary framework, however carefully designed and howe ...

We are now in the fifth week since the U.S. airstrike that killed top leaders of the Iranian regime, initiating a war involving the United States and Israel against the country. More than a month of mutual bombardments between Iran and Israel has ensued, extending to other Persian Gulf nations, U.S. military installations—and even Cyprus. From a global perspective, the impact has stemmed primarily from disruptions to regional production of goods and the blockade of the Strait of Hor ...

While acknowledging the centrality of security tensions and potential conflict in the Gulf, this essay intentionally sets aside a detailed treatment of military and hard-power dynamics, concentrating instead on the geoeconomic logics of capital, infrastructure, energy, and connectivity, through which Gulf states now articulate power in a fragmented world order.It examines the emergence of a new tripartite or three-pillar power configuration in the Gulf, arguing that Saudi Arabi ...

Historically, manufacturing has served as the primary pathway to economic development, offering strong scale economies, learning-by-doing effects, and the capacity to generate the foreign exchange necessary to import capital goods and technology. However, advances in robotization and artificial intelligence (AI) are fundamentally undermining manufacturing’s traditional role, making it increasingly skill- and capital-intensive while limiting its ability to absorb labor. Thi ...

By mapping Iraq’s economic structure in detail, the Multiregional Social Accounting Matrix (MRSAM) sheds light on regional interdependencies and distributional dynamics, offering a critical foundation for evidence-based policy design. Key MessagesIraq is dependent on oil, but this dependence is felt unevenly. In 2013, oil accounted for nearly half of GDP, over 90% of exports, and almost all fiscal revenues, but less than 2% of jobs; benefits from oil were concentrated in Basra ...

Le 27 janvier 2026, le gouvernement espagnol a adopté par décret royal une mesure de régularisation extraordinaire visant les personnes en situation administrative irrégulière ou engagées dans une procédure de protection internationale. Le choix du décret royal permet une mise en œuvre rapide de la mesure, sans passage par un débat parlementaire, dans un contexte politique fortement polarisé sur les questions migratoires.La régularisation concerne les personnes pouvant justifier d’u ...

On January 27, 2026, the Spanish government adopted a Royal Decree for the extraordinary regularization of persons in an irregular administrative situation or involved in an international protection procedure. The choice of a royal decree allows for the rapid implementation of the measure, without the need for parliamentary debate, in a political context that is highly polarized on migration issues.Regularization applies to people who can prove their presence on Spanish territory be ...

Introduction: COP30 as a Test of Reality, Not AmbitionCOP30 in Belém was never going to be a breakthrough. In a world marked by fiscal exhaustion, geopolitical rivalry, and eroding trust in multilateralism, expecting transformational climate cooperation bordered on denial. The choice of the Amazon as host carried symbolic weight, but symbolism does not override power, interests, or institutional capacity.The outcome of COP30 confirms a deeper truth: the global climate regime has ent ...

This Paper was originally published on revues.armand-colin.comL’écart entre les sexes en matière de réussite éducative demeure une préoccupation majeure au Maroc. Cette étude analyse les disparités de genre en lecture et en mathématiques aux niveaux national, urbain et rural, en exploitant des données individuelles issues de l’évaluation PIRLS 2021 (7 017 élèves) et de TIMSS 2019 (13 536 élèves), toutes deux menées auprès d’élèves de 4e année du primaire. En appliquant la méthode de ...

This Paper was originally published on cairn.infoL’insertion professionnelle des jeunes, et particulièrement des diplômés de l’enseignement supérieur, constitue un enjeu majeur pour le développement économique et la cohésion sociale de toute nation. Au Maroc, cette question revêt une acuité particulière et s’attache à un paradoxe persistant : malgré une démocratisation et une progression notable de l’accès à l’enseignement supérieur au cours des deux dernières décennies, le tau ...

The return of President Donald Trump to the White House at the start of 2025 was expected to signal an American retreat from international engagement, especially in regions of traditional security interest, such as southern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. To the surprise of many observers around the Mediterranean, and perhaps to the dismay of some in the Trump administration’s ideological orbit, this has not happened. If anything, the second half of 2025 has seen a high d ...

I recently participated in a discussion between Israelis and Arabs, some living in the Middle East, some living abroad[1]. The discussion topic was ‘The Two State Solution’. This article presents my personal takeaways from the discussion. It does not try to describe the details, and other participants may have different takeaways.I joined the discussion thinking that the two-state solution was dead. Most of the other participants felt the same way—all very pessimistic. But I left fe ...

An unusual gesture indeed—the dictator, more often than not a recluse, withdrawn behind his fortress and protected by 1.2 million armed soldiers, finally admitted what had long been seen on the battlefield in Ukraine and by spy satellites far above. North Korean soldiers—possibly 12,000 of them—are fighting on front lines alongside Russian troops, and they are falling or being wounded; some 4,000 men so far, by current estimates.  ...

This Paper was originally published on transatlantic.org The contemporary maritime domain is increasingly recognized as a geopolitical and economic space, but also as an environment intertwined with human, social, ecological, and governance systems ashore. The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR 2024) report argues that maritime security has evolved from a narrow naval and state-centered concern into a multidimensional issue embedded in global human s ...

On November 17, 2025, the United Nations (UN) Security Council adopted Resolution 2803, endorsing President Donald Trump's Comprehensive Plan to end the conflict in Gaza. Contrary to popular belief, the American initiative does not date from the Trump Administration's 2nd term. It was born during his first term.The plan endorsed by the UN Security Council resolution, dubbed the ''Deal of the Century'', is in fact the heir to the initial plan, which bore the name ''Peace to Prosperit ...

The adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 on November 17, 2025, endorsing the “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict,” is a step in the right direction, but it must be accompanied by the implementation of a Gaza development and post-conflict reconstruction program. Paragraph 6 of Resolution 2803 “calls upon the World Bank and other financial institutions to facilitate and provide financial resources to support the reconstruction and development of Ga ...

Le 17 novembre 2025, le Conseil de sécurité de l’Organisation des Nations Unies (ONU) a adopté la résolution 2803 par laquelle il fait sien le Plan d’ensemble du Président Donald Trump ayant pour objectif de mettre fin au conflit à Gaza. Contrairement à ce qu’on pourrait croire, l’initiative américaine ne date pas du 2ème mandat de l’Administration Trump. Elle a vu le jour durant son premier mandat.  Le Plan entériné par la résolution du Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU, surnommé ‘ ...

Cette tribune a été initialement publiée sur telos-eu.comSi un domaine est supposé devoir échapper à la « démocratie d’opinion », c’est bien la politique étrangère, surtout dans la France de la Ve République. Elle se doit d’être articulée autour d’intérêts à long terme et de calculs savants, sans reculer devant la raison d’Etat. L’opinion des Français à son propos est rarement scrutée.Elle se révèle plus construite qu’on ne croit. Telle est la leçon du sondage Toluna-Louis ...

Now that a cease-fire is in place, it is time to consider Gaza’s reconstruction. This will be the fifth such effort in less than twenty years. Lessons from the previous four indicate that rebuilding houses, bridges, and roads is relatively straightforward. Far more challenging is building a thriving Gazan economy and society—one where young people live with dignity, have jobs, feel heard and included in their communities, and are hopeful about their future. Achieving this requires n ...

L’« Accord sur Gaza » d’octobre 2025, imposé aux parties au conflit -Israël et le Hamas-  par le président américain Donald Trump, et le « Sommet de la paix de Sharm el-Sheikh », ont permis d’ouvrir une perspective pour un arrêt des hostilités et l’acheminement de l’aide humanitaire vers la bande de Gaza, en attendant la négociation de la seconde phase devant consolider le cessez-le-feu et préparer la paix dans la Région. Si l’implication du Hamas dans les négociations rel ...

The "Gaza Agreement" of October 2025, imposed on the parties to the conflict -Israel and Hamas- by US President Donald Trump, and the "Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit", have opened up the prospect of a halt to hostilities and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, pending the negotiation of the second phase to consolidate the ceasefire and pave the way for peace in the Region.While Hamas' involvement in the negotiations to free the hostages and end the war gave it visibili ...

Almost a year after the December 2024 fall of former President Bashar al-Assad, Syrians on October 5 took part in their first parliamentary vote—a symbolic milestone for a nation emerging from years of war and authoritarian rule. Rather than a direct popular election, the process followed an indirect model: about 7,000 members of regional electoral colleges cast ballots to choose two-thirds of the 210 seats in parliament. The remaining one-third will be appointed directly by Preside ...

This paper argues that the Middle East has become the crucible of twenty-first-century imperial politics, exposing the collapse of legal universality and the resurgence of coercive empire. Through the archetypes of Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar, it analyzes how states invoke law rhetorically while practicing domination through siege, spectacle, and exclusion.The United States, China, Türkiye, Israel, Iran, the European Union, and the Gulf monarchies all oscillate between Hammurabian ...

This paper was originally published on tandfonline.comYouth’s life paths have become increasingly challenging, especially for those classified as ‘Not in Education, Employment, or Training’ (NEET), who comprise 31.2% of North Africa’s youth population. This paper contributes to the growing discourse on the NEET phenomenon by exploring its structural and psychosocial dimensions in North Africa, with a specific focus on gender. Using a rich micro-level dataset of 7,815 individuals age ...

This Paper was originally published on ilo.org A guide by the Mainstreaming Employment into Trade and Investment in the Southern Mediterranean (METI) Programme to advise policymakers on how to develop and implement trade, investment and employment.The PRG is a strategic framework designed to align trade and investment policies with employment goals in the Southern Mediterranean. The guide promotes practical solutions and supports policies that foster economic growth, empow ...

This paper analyses the stabilization experience in the MENA region, focusing on Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Jordan over the past century. It seeks to answer the question: To what extent have these countries succeeded in achieving resilience to shocks and stresses? Key policy elements included significant fiscal adjustments—varying in scale across countries—and exchange rate developments supported by monetary policies aimed at combating inflationary pressures. The outcomes involved ...

The impacts of climate change are increasingly manifesting through severe and multifaceted loss and damage, particularly across vulnerable regions such as the Mediterranean. These impacts extend beyond environmental degradation, contributing to forced displacement, food insecurity, political instability, and the erosion of human rights and dignity. Furthermore, they reinforce structural inequalities between the Global North and South, thereby challenging global principles of climate ...

Syria’s post-conflict transition, marked by the fall of the Assad regime and the appointment of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, will be a critical opportunity for renewal while confronting significant challenges. The country must navigate a complex landscape of political fragmentation, economic hardship, and security risks. This policy brief explores Syria’s prospects for reconstruction and long-term stability by assessing recent political reforms, economic recovery strategies, a ...

MENA faces a severe water crisis, with 12 of the world’s 17 most water-stressed countries. Climate change, population growth, inefficient water management, and weak governance drive this challenge. Water production, treatment, and distribution require high energy inputs, while energy generation depends on water for cooling and refining. The region must integrate renewable energy, especially solar power, into water solutions like desalination. Inaction could shrink GDP by up to 14% ...

يستكشف هذا العرض الحاجة الملحة إلى إحداث تحول في النموذج المعتمد حاليّا في عملية تقديم المساعدات الإنسانية، في سياق حالات النزاع وما بعد النزاع، في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا. ويدعو هذا العرض إلى تبني مقاربة ذات "بعد تنموي للمساعدات الإنسانية"، تجمع بين الإغاثة الفورية والأهداف التنموية على المدى الطويل. كما يدعو هذا المقال، من خلال تركيزه على محدودية المساعدات الإنسانية التقليدية، لا سيما في سياق الأزمات الطويلة، مثل: العراق، اليمن، لبنان وغزة، لضرورة تبني آليات تمو ...

Depuis 1956, l’économie égyptienne est en crise. Durant la période entre 1956 et 2024, elle a connu douze dévaluations et huit crises majeures de sa balance des paiements. Avec un déficit récurrent de sa balance courante, le pays est exposé au plus grand des risques : le risque souverain. Ce qui est une première faiblesse. Mais ce pays, qui a toujours réussi à s’épargner ce risque, témoigne aussi de certaines forces, ce qui constitue sa première force. De ce constat est ...

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is at a critical juncture, facing an intricate polycrisis defined by interlinked challenges including energy insecurity, water scarcity, migration, conflict, and socio-political fragmentation. These crises are not isolated; their interconnectedness amplifies their impact, creating a destabilizing feedback loop that hinders sustainable development and peacebuilding efforts. This paper explores the concept of polycrisis through the lens o ...

Following the European Parliament’s approval of the 26 candidates proposed by Member States to form the new European Commission (2024-2029), the new European super-ministers will take office on 1 December. Notably, for the first time, the core of “Europe’s government” includes two representatives from the far-right: Italian Raffaele Fitto, nominated by the Meloni Government as Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms, overseeing structural funds, and Hungarian Olivér Várhelyi, appoin ...

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is characterised by its diversity in political systems, economic conditions, and social structures. It is home to a mix of high-income countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as low-income and conflict-affected states like Yemen and Iraq. This diversity creates a complex environment for think tanks. Political instability in some areas, coupled with economic uncertainty, presents a challenging landsca ...

This paper explores the urgent need for a paradigm shift in humanitarian aid within conflict and post-conflict settings in the MENA region, advocating for a ‘developmental humanitarianism’ approach that integrates immediate relief with long-term development goals. Focusing on the limitations of traditional aid, particularly in protracted crises such as in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and Gaza, the paper argues for innovative financing mechanisms and a realist perspective that aligns humani ...

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the role and impact of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), formed in April 2022, in navigating the complexities of Yemen's ongoing civil conflict. The PLC was created to unite various anti-Houthi factions under a single governance framework, with the support of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and to steer Yemen toward peace and stability. However, the PLC has faced numerous obstacles, including internal divisions, resistance from ...

In an era marked by shifting global dynamics, Africa and the Middle East are experiencing a profound transition from traditional geopolitics to a more nuanced geoeconomic framework. This evolution reflects the growing recognition that economic interests, rather than mere political allegiances, are driving international relations in these regions. The rise of emerging powers, particularly China and other Asian nations, has challenged the long-standing dominance of Western economies, ...

Le minilatéralisme, approche flexible et rapide de la coopération internationale, s'avère efficace pour relever des défis communs entre un petit nombre d'États. Inspiré du « Dialogue 5+5 » méditerranéen, ce concept est proposé pour renforcer la coopération euro-africaine dans l'espace atlantique, en créant un forum « 3+3 » réunissant l'Espagne, la France, le Portugal, le Maroc, la Mauritanie et le Sénégal. Ce cadre permettrait de répondre aux enjeux sécuritaires, ...

History is unfolding before our eyes. These are days that could define the future of our world. The United Nations is calling for a “Summit for the Future,” promising “Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow.” This vision will take shape on September 23-24, 2024, in New York City. António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the UN since January 2017, has championed this summit as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvigorate global action, recommit to fundamental principle ...

La dynamique qui anime aujourd’hui le conflit israélo-palestinien, notamment la guerre que mènent à Gaza les troupes du Tsahal et les combattants du Hamas, appuyés par le Jihad islamique et les autres factions armées palestiniennes, laisse espérer un accord entre les parties prenantes pour mettre fin à une guerre qui a généré des dizaines de milliers de morts et de blessés. Espoirs nourris par le dernier discours (31 mai) du président américain qui détaille, on ne peut plus clair, l ...

...

Greater female participation in the labor market and in international trade have been recognized as important drivers for economic growth and essential targets in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, achieving both targets simultaneously will be difficult, if not impossible, in most Middle East and North African (MENA) countries without additional policies to eliminate the remarkably high levels of gender inequality in the labor market. I ...

الحرب بطبيعتها ليست عملية حسابية. فمن حيث الاستراتيجية العسكرية، لا تعتبر عملية الجمع دائما إضافة، ولا عملية الطرح تنقيصا. فعملية الضرب لا ُتضخِّم كما أن القسمة لا ُتقلل. وإذا كانت الوسائل هي بالتأكيد ميزة في الحرب، فإن نتيجة الصراعات (النصر أو الهزيمة) لا تعتمد فقط على هذه الوسائل، ذلك ان الحرب تكشف عن صمود المجتمع وليس عن قوة الجيش فقط. فالحرب ُتظهر ارتباط القوة العسكرية بصلابة الجبهة الداخلية المرتبطة بدورها إلى حد كبير بالتماسك الاجتماعي. و ليس لهذا الأخير وحدة قياس، ف ...

On November 13, 1974 (YouTube, Nov 14), Yassir Arafat appeared in front of the United Nations General Assembly. He reminded his audience and the world that, “today I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter’s gun. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand.” Almost half a century has passed since then, and Arafat as well, and there is still no olive branch for the Palestinians, only the gun. Before the current Israel-Gaza war, noted the respected Foreign Affairs ...

أعاد "طوفان الأقصى"، الاسم الرمزي للهجوم المفاجئ على إسرائيل الذي شنَّته حماس وكتائب عز الدين القسَّام، في السابع من أكتوبر 2023، والردُّ الإسرائيلي المُدمِّر للأهالي المدنيين والبنى التحتية في غزة نتيجة لذلك، قضية الشعب الفلسطيني إلى الواجهة. قضيةٌ لا زالت تسكن العقول والقلوب والضمائر. أكثر من أي وقت مضى. هكذا لا يمكن أن يبرز «شرق أوسط جديد» ويكون قابلاً للاستمرار بدون حل عادل ودائم لهذا الصراع الذي استمر 75 عاماً. ...

La guerre n’est, par sa nature, pas arithmétique. En matière de stratégie militaire, ni l’addition est toujours un ajout ni la soustraction une diminution. La multiplication n’amplifie pas comme la division ne réduit pas. Les moyens sont certes un avantage dans la guerre, mais l’issue des conflits (victoire ou défaite) n’en dépendent pas exclusivement. La guerre révèle la résilience d’une société et pas seulement la puissance d’une armée. Mieux, elle montre la dépendance de la puiss ...

Le « Déluge d’Al-Aqsa » -nom de code de l’attaque surprise menée en Israël par le Hamas et les Brigades Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam, le 7 octobre 2023 -, et la riposte israélienne dévastatrice pour les populations civiles et les infrastructures de l’enclave de Gaza qui en a été la conséquence, ont ramené au premier plan la cause du peuple palestinien. Cause qui continue d’habiter les esprits, les coeurs et les consciences. Plus que jamais, un « nouveau Moyen- Orient » ne pourra émerger et ...

The title of the Policy Brief seems alarming. ‘Israel-Palestine The Last Chance for a Just Solution’, an assessment by Abdelhak Bassou, Senior Fellow of the Policy Center for the New South, affiliated professor at Mohammed VI University in Rabat, and one of the leading security experts of Morocco. His paper, published in November 2023, could not have more timely, dramatic, urgent, and constructive. Scenes of the apocalypse for an estimated twelve million people in a region, consider ...

في 6 أكتوبر 1973 تلقت السلطات الإسرائيلية تحذيرات عن احتمال اندلاع حرب على حدودها مع الدول العربية. هذا التحذير أكد المعلومات التي تم استلامها قبل بضعة أيام، ولكن أصحاب القرار السياسي والاستخبارات في اسرائيل لم يأخذوا الأمر على محمل الجد. حيث تعرضت إسرائيل لهجوم مفاجئ وعرف جيشها حالة من الهلع. وكانت الكارثة. خمسون عاما بعد ذلك، تقريبًا في نفس اليوم، فوجئت إسرائيل بهجوم جديد. في صباح 7 أكتوبر 2023، عبر مئات الرجال مسلحين الحاجز بين إسرائيل وقطاع غزة، انتشروا في أكثر من 20 مكانًا، قت ...

The Mediterranean region is one of the major climate-change hotspots. Advancing the region’s transition to a low-carbon and renewable energy production system will be crucial to counter global warming and achieve the objectives outlined in the Paris Agreement. However, fossil fuels continue to dominate the region's energy mix, while renewable energy sources meet only a marginal share of the overall demand. The green-energy transition in Mediterranean countries, moreover, represents ...

On October 6, 1973, the Israeli authorities were warned of the imminent outbreak of war on their borders with the Arab states. This warning confirmed information received a few days previously, which Israeli political decision-makers and iintelligence services had not taken seriously. Israel was taken by surprise and its army panicked. It was a debacle. Fifty years later, almost to the day, Israel was once again taken by surprise. On the morning of October 7, 2023, hundreds of armed ...

Le 6 octobre 1973, les autorités israéliennes ont été averties de l’éclatement imminent d’une guerre à leurs frontières avec les États arabes. Cet avertissement confirmait les informations reçues quelques jours auparavant, mais que les décideurs politiques et le Renseignement israéliens n’avaient pas pris au sérieux. Israël est pris par surprise et son armée est en panique. C’est la débâcle. Cinquante ans plus tard, quasiment jour pour jour, l’État hébreux est enco ...

Dans la région MENA (l'Afrique du Nord et le Moyen-Orient), le secteur de l’eau est marqué par une tendance accélérée à l’amenuisement des ressources hydriques avec des périodes de sécheresse de plus en plus fréquentes et des besoins en croissance soutenue. « D’ici la fin de cette décennie, la quantité d’eau disponible tombera sous le seuil absolu de pénurie, fixé à 500 mètres cubes par personne et par an », apprend-on dans le nouveau rapport de la Banque mondiale (BM) int ...

تعج وسائل الاعلام في لبنان،وحتى خارجه, بأرقام ومعطيات حول تواجد اللاجئين السوريين في مختلف مدن البلاد. في ظل انعدام ارقام رسمية عن العدد الحقيقي لهؤلاء اللاجئين، تزدهر الأخبار الكاذبة والمعطيات المغلوطة عن العائلات التي ارتأت الهروب من بلدها الأم الذي يرزح تحت وطأة حرب، دفعت بالسوريين خارج بلادهم منذ اندلاع الثورة السورية سنة 2011. ومنذ ذلك الحين، لا تزال سوريا تعرف أكبر أزمة لاجئين في العالم حسب تقارير المفوضية السامية للأمم المتحدة لشؤون اللاجئين (UNHCR). فحسب ذات المصدر، أُجبر أك ...

Le Policy Center for the New South (PCNS) et le Fonds Monétaire International (FMI) ont organisé, le 28 avril, à Rabat, une table ronde d'experts sur le thème "Fighting Inflation and Building Resilience : the Outlook for MENA and Morocco". Au niveau international, la lutte contre l’inflation constitue la principale préoccupation des politiques économiques dans la majorité des pays. La détection des risques inflationnistes a pris du retard après la crise sanitaire parce que les aut ...

In the chaotic global post-COVID-19 economy, with the ongoing war in Ukraine, the challenge of adjusting to the global stagflation that is engulfing the world is particularly hard for the oil importing countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. A regional commission of experts, working under the auspices of the Economic Research Forum (ERF), and the Finance for Development Lab (FDL), was asked to evaluate the macro-economic risks ahead, and to make recommendations ...

 This publication was originally published in the IEMed Mediterranean Yearbook 2022   The informal sector plays a major role in most MENA economies. It employs a large share of the total population and, on average, accounts for about 22% of GDP. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), which defines informal employment as the proportion of workers without access to social security, the share of informal employment in total employment in MENA countries ra ...

Lorsque l’URSS (Union des Républiques socialistes soviétiques) est démantelée ; il s’installe en Occident un sentiment de victoire définitive qui porte au trône du monde la puissance occidentale, démocratique et libérale. La mondialisation, qui avait timidement pointé du nez durant les années 80, commence à s’ériger en occidentalisation du monde. L’Occident n’avait pourtant pas su gérer sa victoire. Au lieu d’intégrer le continuateur de l’URSS, il le marginalise et l’ ...

Ce thème, abordé au Centre HEC de Géopolitique à Jouy-en-Josas, lors de la 12e édition des Dialogues stratégiques avec le Policy Center for the New South, une rencontre semestrielle, a permis de revenir dans le détail sur cette zone qui relie la Méditerranée à l’océan Indien, à la jointure de trois continents : l’Asie, l’Afrique et l’Europe. Cette route maritime qui s’étend sur plus de 2 200 km, pour une largeur qui varie de 300 km à moins de 30 km entre Djibouti et le Yémen, r ...

“Once upon a time a classic first line in fairy tales, used by Charles Dickens, for example in his “A Christmas card” in 1843, or Charles Perrault, the French poet, writer of “Cinderella” and “Sleeping Beauty”, both published in 1697 in “histoires ou contes du temp passé” Once upon a time suggests a nostalgic touch, the good old, romantic days glamourized because negative memories are annihilated and deposed in the dustbin of the human mind. Once upon a time, Beirut, the capital ci ...

Feeble eyesight may hinder you from finding Puntland on a map, the unrecognized Federal member state in Somalia, Khaatumo State, Jubaland, or Somaliland, concerning the planet’s size just large enough to be covered by the shadow of a palm tree. Arab entities surrounded by sun and sand and the Gulf of Aden, Somaliland is surviving as a self-declared nation, located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Ethiopia to the south and west, Somalia ...