CENTRE for MEDITERRANEAN, MIDDLE EAST & ISLAMIC STUDIES

Following the large-scale protests that swept the country in 2019, Algeria is attempting to reclaim its diplomatic clout in international affairs. The country’s policy continues to reflect support for anticolonial movements, using its renewed influence at the UNSC to promote the Palestinian and Western Saharan issues. At the same time, its influence is declining in the very unstable Sahel region, where multiple terrorist organisations are active and coups d’état take place. Algiers has to balance between safeguarding its border security and keeping its foreign policy tenets intact.

The ongoing war in Gaza has intensified regional tensions, drawing strong reactions from neighboring Jordan. The country is home to a large Palestinian population and has always been a proponent of Palestinian rights, while -at the same time- holding a peace treaty with Israel since 1994. The war’s impact on Jordan may lead to a significant risk of destabilization, as the country is striving to balance between its support of the Palestinians and its national security interests.

This article tracks domestic and foreign policy developments in Tunisia during the past three years, on the occasion of the latest election results, with Saied being reelected with 90% of the vote. A series of undemocratic discrepancies, a continuum of socioeconomic precarity and growing xenophobic practices are leading to the characterization of Tunisia as a state steadily moving towards authoritarianism.

For Jordan, Israel’s war on Gaza is all but a foreign policy issue. It reverberates heavily on its domestic and foreign politics due to the stark contrast between the Jordanian deep support for the Palestinian cause and the state’s relation with Israel, compounded by its strong alliance with the United States. This article examines the variables that inform the Jordanian regime’s complex balancing act amid the ongoing regional crisis and how these impacted the outcome of the recent parliamentary elections. This article also argues that although the monarchy has managed to walk a thin line and avoid wider confrontations, the protracted crisis underscores an increasingly precarious balance that will test Jordan’s ability to deflect external and internal pressures in the face of prolonged conflict.

The death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19 triggered snap elections in Iran and brought pro-reform Masoud Pezeshkian to presidency. This article presents an overview of the election outcome and its implication for Iranian politics, economy and society.

On October 7, 2023, President Biden declared his administration’s “rock-solid and unwavering support” to Israel. More than nine months into the Gaza war, his adherence to his initial promise is unquestionable. This article will examine US foreign policy vis-à-vis the war on Gaza, focusing on its prospective objectives and its implications on domestic, regional, and international levels. It will also argue that American foreign policy on the issue is primarily reactive rather than proactive.

Tunisia is usually being referred to as one of the most successful cases with regards to social justice and democratization after the Arab Spring uprisings. However, ten years later, the country is once more facing a political and socioeconomic crisis, with President Saied’s policies becoming more and more unpopular amongst the people. Amidst the recent wave of popular upheaval in Tunisia, this article aims to analyze current domestic affairs and examine whether authoritarianism is on the rise.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues in full gear, contrary to the steadfast reactions of the western world, the regional responses from the Middle East paint a different picture. Having initially been caught off-guard with the intensifying tag between Russia and the west, most ‘heavyweight’ MENA countries have adopted a ‘sit tight and assess’ approach. Longstanding partners of the west are balancing their reactions in order to minimize the risks stemming from overtly picking sides in a conflict that they increasingly see as not their own. On the region’s eastern flank, Iran too, walks a thin line.

Egypt has been in constant upheaval, especially in the past years, following Sisi’s rise to power. Popular struggle is becoming more and more penalized, while a series of human rights violations and growing public discontent towards the government have been observed. Popular demand seems overshadowed by a security and counter-terrorism agenda. This article will focus on the securitization strategy and examine Egypt’s current foreign policy priorities, its role in regional power struggles and whether new coalitions challenge the interests of traditional allies.

Even though, during the past year, developments in Syria have entered a stabilization trajectory, the country remains fragmented and a “playground” where different regional and national interests collide. The Assad regime has managed to maintain and extend its control in most of the Syrian territories around Damascus and in the south. However, there are still challenges from opposition forces in the northwest, the Kurdish-controlled areas in the northeast and a re-emerging ISIS threat looming both from previously ISIS-controlled enclaves as well as prisons and camps.^[1] At the same time, lines are blurred in regional alliances, such as the one between Russia and Iran, as the players attempt to consolidate their power at each other’s expense. What will 2022 look like for Syria and what are the imminent threats for the country’s sovereignty?