The future of so-called rentier states, countries with their economies based on extractive resources such as oil, gas and minerals, is under severe pressure. The impact of the Covid-19 black swan event, the resulting oil and gas demand destruction and a possible moving forward of peak oil demand scenarios are causes for concern in the […]

The assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the long-time head of Iran’s nuclear and missile development programs, has set off a major debate on how country should respond. Top Islamic Republic officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, have called for definitive punishment of those responsible. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force Commander, General Qaani, vowed to […]

The role played by Universities in forging networks of non-state intercultural partnerships can be a significant long term de-escalation mechanism in the Persian Gulf region. First, it facilitates the establishment of social contact points and fosters relations between communities experiencing a hostile intergovernmental environment. Second, University networks offer a viable platform for dialog – an […]

Will the 11th congress of the Tunisian Islamist party Ennahdha mark a post-Ghannouchi turn? With his elections in 2012 and 2016 as head of Ennahdha, Rached Ghannouchi (born in 1941) indeed reached the limit of two successive presidential mandates enshrined in the party’s internal rules (article 31). What is at stake behind Ghannouchi’s likely departure […]

On the first anniversary of his resignation, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is once again tasked with forming a government. Last year, protests broke out across the country in what became known as the 2019 October Revolution, which demanded the removal of the corrupt political regime in its entirety. These demands came as a direct […]

Since June 2020, Sirte has become a major focus of the Libyan conflict. With its central geographical and social location, the city has become the dividing line between the General Command of Haftar’s Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), supported by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, on the one hand and the Turkish-supported Government […]

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain signed the Abraham accords peace agreement to normalise relations with Israel last week in Washington. With this agreement, the two countries joined Egypt and Jordan, which signed peace treaties with Israel in 1979 and 1994 respectively. Mauritania also established diplomatic ties with Israel in 1999 but froze relations […]

Le transport, la restauration, l’hôtellerie, l’habillement et le textile constituent les secteurs les plus impactés par la crise du Covid-19 en Tunisie. Ils ont en effet été les plus exposés aux mesures de confinement imposées par les autorités tunisiennes et donc aux chocs à la fois d’offre et de demande. Cependant, comme le montre une […]

Depuis la révolution du Jasmin, la Tunisie, plus jeune démocratie dans la région, vit une conjoncture économique des plus défavorables. La transition démocratique a eu pour conséquence directe une instabilité politique durable. Pas moins de huit gouvernements se sont succédé depuis 2010. La transition a aussi ébranlé l’économie du pays. La lenteur de la formation […]

The head of the Coptic Church in Egypt, Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, has been leading a process of reform since he assumed the papacy in 2012. His reformist approach includes both internal measures related to religious rituals and an external one linked to rapprochement with the Catholic and Protestant churches. However, his reformist ideas […]