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Editor's Note - Summer 2020
In the midst of a once-in-a-century pandemic – the Covid-19 outbreak – accompanied by an economic collapse, something all too familiar in America occurred: an incident of police brutality causing the death of a Black man.
Symposium — The Middle East in 2020
Roger Cohen, Mona Yacoubian, Kirsten Fontenrose, Richard J. Schmierer
The following is a transcript of the 100th in a series of Capitol Hill conferences convened by the Middle East Policy Council. The event took place on April 17, 2020. Due to circumstances arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, the event was held using the Zoom virtual meeting platform, with Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley moderating and Thomas R. Mattair, the Council’s executive director, serving as discussant.
The Libyan Crisis: A Case of Failed Collective Security
Djallil Lounnas
On April 4, 2019, General Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the strongman of the Al Bayda government, a Libyan faction associated with the “Tobruk Parliament,” launched an assault on the capital, Tripoli, in a final bid to conquer the country. Indeed, Libya has been divided since 2014 between the government of Tripoli, called the Government of National Accord (GNA), formed under UN mediation in December 2015, and the Al Bayda government, which emanates from the Tobruk parliament.
Electoral and Constitutional Transitions: Tunisia and Egypt Preview
Ayfer Erdoğan
Sub-Saharan Africa: A Theater for Middle East Power Struggles Preview
Jens Heibach
Why Russia Has Not (Yet) Won Over Syria and Libya Preview
Emil A. Souleimanov and Namig Abbasov
Iran’s Regional Dynamics: A Piecemeal Approach Preview
Banafsheh Keynoush
The Geopolitics of U.S. Energy Sanctions Against Iran Preview
Omid Shokri Kalehsar
Identity vs. Interests: Turkey Looks East Preview
Shirzad Azad
Anatolian Security vs. Neo-Ottomanism: Turkey’s Intervention in Syria Preview
Mihai Murariu and George Anglițoiu
Interviews From Germany: Germany, Israel and the European Union Preview
David Cronin and Annette Groth
Interviewed by Roger Gaess
Permission to Narrate a Pandemic In Palestine Preview
Bram Wispelwey, Rania Muhareb, and Mads Gilbert
The Ambassadors: America’s Diplomats on the Front Lines
I expected Paul Richter’s The Ambassadors to be a well-written collection of “war stories.” I looked for tales of risk run by four of the best of the Foreign Service: Ryan Crocker, Robert Ford, Chris Stevens and Anne Patterson, a sort of hagiography of officers, three of whom are friends of long
The Hundred-Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017
It is difficult to find someone more qualified to narrate and analyze the history of the Zionist-Arab conflict from a Palestinian perspective than Rashid Khalidi.
The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank: The Theatrics Of Woeful Statecraft
The 25th anniversary of the Oslo Accords saw a number of reflections and analyses on the political and economic impacts the agreement had on Palestinian life and land. Some praised the efforts of the last several decades, while many bemoaned the lack of progress.
MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman
This well-written life-and-times narrative, penned by New York Times Middle East correspondent Ben Hubbard, makes the case that the 34-year-old Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), incarnates the overconfidence and sense of entitlement so often attributed to his Millennial generation.
Saudi Arabia under Ibn Saud: Economic and Financial Foundations of the State
While the promise of this book’s title is not actually fulfilled by the content, the work nonetheless proffers a valuable and rare perspective on events as the kingdom’s founder, Ibn Saud, sought to sustain the regime he had established.
Book Excerpt — Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads
Saudi Arabia has a very clear interest in maintaining regional stability because like the United States, it has a lot to lose.