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Publications menara 2019-05-15T15:15:57+00:00
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Middle East and North Africa Regional Architecture: Global Actors, Contentious Issues and Integration Dynamics (Special Issue of the Foreign Policy Review)

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Middle East and North Africa Regional Architecture: Global Actors, Contentious Issues and Integration Dynamics (Special Issue of the Foreign Policy Review)

Other

menara 2019-05-30T12:03:58+00:00

This Special Issue of the Foreign Policy Review is dedicated to the MENARA project conducted in the H2020 framework of the European Union with the participation of fourteen institutions, led by the CIDOB in Barcelona. The MENARA (“lighthouse” in Arabic) – the acronym for the Middle East and North Africa Regional Architecture – studies the [...]

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THE MENARA FACT-FINDING MISSIONS: MAIN RESULTS

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THE MENARA FACT-FINDING MISSIONS: MAIN RESULTS

Other

menara 2019-05-30T11:57:37+00:00

This report aims to provide an analysis of the interviews conducted in the scope of the MENARA Fact-Finding Missions. Each respondent was asked three questions: (1) Which traditional or new actors will shape the future of the Middle East and North Africa? Why? (2) In your opinion, what are the three main risks and the [...]

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DRIVING SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE MENA REGION: THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

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DRIVING SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE MENA REGION: THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Other

menara 2019-05-30T11:52:04+00:00

On 15 November 2018, the Center for Public Policy and Democracy Studies (PODEM)2 hosted a stakeholders’ meeting in Istanbul with twenty-nine participants, including academics, experts, and representatives from civil society and international humanitarian and development organizations from Europe and the MENA region, as part of the Middle East North Africa Regional Architecture Project (MENARA).3 Through [...]

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ONLINE REAL-TIME DELPHI SURVEY FOR THE RESEARCH PROJECT MENARA

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ONLINE REAL-TIME DELPHI SURVEY FOR THE RESEARCH PROJECT MENARA

Other

menara 2019-05-30T11:47:30+00:00

A number of 139 experts and researchers from different institutes and organizations were invited to participate at the Online Real-Time Delphi Survey (RTD) about possible and likely futures of the MENA region. The experts have been chosen due to their verifiable high expertise in specific areas and topics on the MENA region. All invitees received [...]

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EMBEDDEDNESS AND/OR PERIPHERY: THE MENA REGION IN THE GLOBAL ORDER

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EMBEDDEDNESS AND/OR PERIPHERY: THE MENA REGION IN THE GLOBAL ORDER

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menara 2019-05-29T14:12:16+00:00

The place and role of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in the international system can be understood and analysed as a set of asymmetrical relationships with distinct dynamics. The external environment affects the security, political, economic and social developments in the MENA region, while these not only interact with but often shape the [...]

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TRANSFORMATIONS OF STATE AND SOCIETY IN THE MENA REGION

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TRANSFORMATIONS OF STATE AND SOCIETY IN THE MENA REGION

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menara 2019-05-29T14:13:16+00:00

The political order in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has seen a number of transformations since the uprisings in 2011. Local, national, regional and international patterns of order and cooperation have been reversed, undermined or reformed and have re-emerged in new shapes and constellations. The present policy brief focuses on the changes [...]

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Report of the Focus Group with Stakeholders in the Middle-East

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Report of the Focus Group with Stakeholders in the Middle-East

Other

menara 2019-05-24T08:56:59+00:00

As part of the MENARA project, the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut (IFI – AUB) organized a focus group in Beirut (Lebanon) on 2 November 2018 with twelve scholars, experts, civil society leaders and activists from Lebanon and the Arab Middle East. It should be [...]

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Report of the Brussels Focus Group

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Report of the Brussels Focus Group

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menara 2019-05-24T08:43:01+00:00

On 22 June 2018, a group of experts including members of the Brussels-based think thanks, Belgian diplomats, EU policy advisers and academics met at the Egmont Institute on the latter’s invitation to discuss salient issues related to the geopolitical order in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which is the core topic analysed by [...]

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Report of the Focus Group with Maghreb-based Stakeholders

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Report of the Focus Group with Maghreb-based Stakeholders

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menara 2019-05-24T08:40:13+00:00

As part of the MENARA project, Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane (AUI) organized a focus group in Rabat (Morocco) on 11 July 2018 with various scholars and experts from the Maghreb and those working in the region. The discussions were linked to the general aims of the MENARA project (to characterize the regional order, define scenarios [...]

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President Barack Obama speaks at Cairo University in Cairo, Thursday, June 4, 2009. In his speech, President Obama called for a 'new beginning between the United States and Muslims', declaring that 'this cycle of suspicion and discord must end'. 

Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy
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Unpredictability in US foreign policy and the regional order in the Middle East: reacting vis-à-vis a volatile external security-provider

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Unpredictability in US foreign policy and the regional order in the Middle East: reacting vis-à-vis a volatile external security-provider

Other

menara 2019-04-16T12:22:22+00:00

This article explores the impact of the US foreign policy’s predictability, or lack thereof, vis-à-vis the Middle Easter regional order. It lays out two main arguments. Firstly, since 2003, the US has undertaken some concrete actions which have undermined former expectations of its behaviour among regional actors. By that, Washington distanced itself from open and [...]

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The EU global strategy: the dynamics of a more politicized and politically integrated foreign policy

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The EU global strategy: the dynamics of a more politicized and politically integrated foreign policy

Other

menara 2019-04-16T12:06:13+00:00

The European Union (EU) has been portrayed as a force for good in the international system. However, due to systemic changes in the international environment and the crises of European integration, its role in the world is becoming more contentious. This paper applies the politicization literature to EU foreign policy and, using the case of [...]

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The Art of the (Im)Possible: Sowing the Seeds for the EU’s Constructive Engagement in the Middle East and North Africa

Final Reports

The Art of the (Im)Possible: Sowing the Seeds for the EU’s Constructive Engagement in the Middle East and North Africa

Final Reports

menara 2019-04-08T09:06:57+00:00

This report provides policy recommendations to European Union (EU) policy makers with regard to the EU’s engagement in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It draws on the inputs and insights gathered during three years of research conducted by the MENARA Project. It argues that designing a new flexible roadmap to advance mutual [...]

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EUROPEAN POLICY BRIEF: REGIONAL DYNAMICS IN THE MENA REGION

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EUROPEAN POLICY BRIEF: REGIONAL DYNAMICS IN THE MENA REGION

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menara 2019-04-04T07:57:38+00:00

The MENARA Project studies the geopolitical order in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), identifies the driving forces behind it, sheds light on bottom-up dynamics and assesses the implications of these processes on the EU and its policies towards the region. This Policy Brief aims to present the findings of the MENARA research that [...]

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Sustainable Development in the MENA Region

Future Notes

Sustainable Development in the MENA Region

Future Notes

menara 2019-03-29T09:43:36+00:00

In the MENA region, the realization of the United Nations General Assembly’s SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) is limited and slow. The priorities given to the seventeen SDGs differ significantly across the region due to the specific needs and situations of each country. Positive changes can be observed, for example for renewable energy, while other important [...]

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Struggling for a Sustainable Economy: Iran after the JCPOA

Future Notes

Struggling for a Sustainable Economy: Iran after the JCPOA

Future Notes

menara 2019-03-29T09:34:37+00:00

Following the United States’ decision to withdraw from the JCPOA in May 2018, the Iran dossier has come back at the forefront of contemporary world politics. New rounds of sanctions imposed on Iran are likely to have a significant impact on the political and economic sustainability of the Islamic Republic, which has recently celebrated its [...]

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A Half-Empty Glass: Limits and Dilemmas of the EU’s Relations to the MENA Countries

Working Papers

A Half-Empty Glass: Limits and Dilemmas of the EU’s Relations to the MENA Countries

Working Papers

menara 2019-03-27T11:21:01+00:00

The decades’ long relationship between the European Union and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has gone through different stages and phases in response to regional events, developments in the EU and broader global geopolitical trends. While navigating through often troubled waters, the EU has fallen prey to three main false dilemmas or perceived [...]

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Water and Food Security Strategies in the MENA Region

Future Notes

Water and Food Security Strategies in the MENA Region

Future Notes

menara 2019-03-26T11:31:47+00:00

Food security in the MENA region will become one of the key issues of the 21st century. If insufficiently addressed, it may lead to severe social, environmental, economic and political consequences. Given high population growth across the region and the fact that water could be a bottleneck for agricultural production, the region will have to [...]

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Women and Gender in the Middle East and North Africa: Mapping the Field and Addressing Policy Dilemmas at the Post-2011 Juncture

Final Reports

Women and Gender in the Middle East and North Africa: Mapping the Field and Addressing Policy Dilemmas at the Post-2011 Juncture

Final Reports

menara 2019-04-12T17:51:04+00:00

This report offers a “map” of the diverse situations of women in the post-2011 MENA region. It shows that there have been tremendous achievements and improvements in the lives of women in health and education but less progress in employment; and that legal inequalities remain widespread, as do limitations on women’s participation in politics and [...]

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Turkey’s Evolving Response to Migration Management: Facts and Policy Steps

Future Notes

Turkey’s Evolving Response to Migration Management: Facts and Policy Steps

Future Notes

menara 2019-03-21T17:53:04+00:00

Previously being more a transit country for migrants trying to get asylum in Europe, Turkey has now become a country of immigration and turned into a country of residence for not only Syrian people but also other people from the MENA region. As a result of the growing trend in the number of arrivals the [...]

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Imagining Future(s) for the Middle East and North Africa

Final Reports

Imagining Future(s) for the Middle East and North Africa

Final Reports

menara 2019-08-01T08:20:23+00:00

Scenarios are imagined futures that can demonstrate how current actions may lead to dramatically different outcomes. As such they are useful tools to help guide strategy and shape the future. This report lays out scenarios for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with two time horizons: short term (2025) and long term (2050). The [...]

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Contested Multilateralism: The United Nations and the Middle East

Working Papers

Contested Multilateralism: The United Nations and the Middle East

Working Papers

menara 2019-03-03T09:14:34+00:00

In the Middle East, multilateralism has often been associated with intervention and creating order (or disorder), rather than being a positive force for integrating the region in an equitable manner. Many of the regional struggles and their attendant multilateral implications that have taken place have played out in international institutions, and particularly in the United [...]

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Interregnum: The Regional Order in the Middle East and North Africa after 2011

Final Reports

Interregnum: The Regional Order in the Middle East and North Africa after 2011

Final Reports

menara 2019-07-01T16:51:22+00:00

The MENA region has entered a period in which the existing order is increasingly challenged while an alternative one is still to be framed. This report contends that the Middle East regional order since 2011 has changed in several ways. This is evidenced by the decline in US power and Russia’s comeback, the rise of [...]

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Restoration, Transformation and Adaptation: Authoritarianism after 2011 in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran

Working Papers

Restoration, Transformation and Adaptation: Authoritarianism after 2011 in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran

Working Papers

menara 2019-01-21T09:02:51+00:00

Following the push for reform during the popular uprising in 2011, authoritarianism is once again dominating domestic politics and power relations in the MENA region. Drawing on data collected during field trips to Cairo, Tehran, Beirut and Kuwait city, the authors of this MENARA report analyse three distinct ways in which political leaders in Egypt, [...]

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Refugee Movements in the Middle East: Old Crises, New Ideas

Working Papers

Refugee Movements in the Middle East: Old Crises, New Ideas

Working Papers

menara 2019-01-14T09:14:54+00:00

The MENA region has been dealing with waves of refugee crises for decades. Addressing urban and protracted refugee crises in the region contributed to triggering reflection on the global governance of refugee protection. The Global Compact on Refugees now sets out the parameters for stronger solidarity and responsibility-sharing, based on multi-stakeholder partnerships, inclusive and comprehensive [...]

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Bouteflika’s Uncertain Fifth Term

Future Notes

Bouteflika’s Uncertain Fifth Term

Future Notes

menara 2019-01-14T09:08:49+00:00

In April 2019, Algerian voters will go to the polls to elect their next president. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the incumbent president, is the ruling FLN designated candidate for the elections. Bouteflika, who was first elected in 1999 and is the longest-serving Algerian head of state, has yet to announce his candidacy. However, for the moment the [...]

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Exploring Refugee Movements in the Middle East Regional Context: Responses to the Syrian Crisis in Lebanon and Turkey

Working Papers

Exploring Refugee Movements in the Middle East Regional Context: Responses to the Syrian Crisis in Lebanon and Turkey

Working Papers

menara 2019-01-03T08:55:49+00:00

Refugee movements are not a new phenomenon in the Middle East and North Africa. The history of the region has been shaped by waves of displacement and refugee crises, and the most recent, the dramatic case of Syria, is still in process. This paper investigates refugee movements in the region and their impact on regional [...]

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Palestine and the Arab–Israeli Conflict: 100 Years of Regional Relevance and International Failure

Working Papers

Palestine and the Arab–Israeli Conflict: 100 Years of Regional Relevance and International Failure

Working Papers

menara 2018-12-19T12:59:34+00:00

This paper asserts that the Arab–Israeli conflict, and in particular the question of Palestine, has been the major issue of regional concern across the Middle East for over a century. It claims that the failure to resolve the question of Palestine will continue to impact on the region’s stability and its geopolitical dynamics and to [...]

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Migration Dynamics in Play in Morocco: Trafficking and Political Relationships and Their Implications at the Regional Level

Working Papers

Migration Dynamics in Play in Morocco: Trafficking and Political Relationships and Their Implications at the Regional Level

Working Papers

menara 2019-02-21T10:21:07+00:00

In 2018, Morocco became the first country of departure for migrants from Africa, as Spain became, simultaneously, the most important gateway to Europe during the same year. For Spain, this development revived fears generated by the events of autumn 2005, when hundreds of migrants breached, for the first time, the security fences between its cities [...]

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Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East and North Africa

Working Papers

Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East and North Africa

Working Papers

menara 2018-11-30T11:06:36+00:00

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is both the source of concern about weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the driving force pushing for multilateral arms control. While most states in the region are parties to – or have signed, but not ratified – the multilateral WMD-related arms control treaties, the few outstanding cases [...]

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The Links between Jihadi Organizations and Illegal Trafficking in the Sahel

Working Papers

The Links between Jihadi Organizations and Illegal Trafficking in the Sahel

Working Papers

menara 2018-11-30T09:58:46+00:00

This paper examines the links between jihadi organizations and illegal criminal activities in the Sahel region. Based on extensive interviews conducted in the region, the paper argues that, while radical organizations are linked with activities such as human trafficking and drug trafficking, this is not their main sources of revenue, which in fact generally comes [...]

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Technological Trends in the MENA Region: The Cases of Digitalization and Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

Working Papers

Technological Trends in the MENA Region: The Cases of Digitalization and Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

Working Papers

menara 2018-11-21T20:36:49+00:00

In the MENA region the important technological trends of digitalization and of information and communications technologies (ICT) are very diverse due to different levels of development both between and within countries. Aspects like infrastructure, economic conditions, job market, social media are discussed. Adequate governance for innovation and specifically ICT is severely lacking in most of the MENA [...]

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Armed Conflicts and the Erosion of the State: The Cases of Iraq, Libya, Yemen and Syria

Working Papers

Armed Conflicts and the Erosion of the State: The Cases of Iraq, Libya, Yemen and Syria

Working Papers

menara 2018-11-07T11:06:16+00:00

How have armed conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen challenged or weakened each state? This report underlines the main dynamics that have affected state capacity and authority and highlights the key challenges facing policymakers in rebuilding centralized, efficient and legitimate states. It puts particular emphasis on the need for building consensus around governance mechanisms [...]

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Morocco and Its Quest to Become a Regional Driver for Sustainable Energy

Future Notes

Morocco and Its Quest to Become a Regional Driver for Sustainable Energy

Future Notes

menara 2018-11-02T11:36:48+00:00

This Future Note analyses how Morocco is driving growth in renewable energy in the Middle East and North Africa region. After giving an overview of the electricity sector’s role in de-carbonizing Morocco’s energy system, the paper sheds light on the enabling environment, in terms of the regulatory, policy and institutional framework as well as financing [...]

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Algeria–Morocco Relations and their Impact on the Maghrebi Regional System

Working Papers

Algeria–Morocco Relations and their Impact on the Maghrebi Regional System

Working Papers

menara 2018-11-13T13:56:35+00:00

This paper analyses the dynamics of relations between the two regional powers in the Maghrebi sub-regional system: Algeria and Morocco. More specifically, it examines the trajectory of the long and complex interactions between those two states as well as the key issues at stake, especially the Saharan problem. Based on extensive interviews conducted in both [...]

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The MENA Region in the Global Energy Markets

Working Papers

The MENA Region in the Global Energy Markets

Working Papers

menara 2018-10-30T14:32:13+00:00

This paper explores how the current dynamics in the energy market sector affect, and are affected by, the interactions between the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the global order. In particular, it aims to answer the overarching question: “Is MENA peripheral to or embedded in global dynamics in relation to energy?” To [...]

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The International NGO Triangle in the MENA Region

Working Papers

The International NGO Triangle in the MENA Region

Working Papers

menara 2018-10-17T15:41:56+00:00

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is increasingly embebbed into the global order in the transnational field, namely through the intra- and interregional interactions of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with state actors. The phenomenon is investigated in the framework of the “international NGO triangle”, namely the system of relations between the non-governmental organization, the [...]

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The Mirage of Regionalism in the Middle East and North Africa Post-2011

Working Papers

The Mirage of Regionalism in the Middle East and North Africa Post-2011

Working Papers

menara 2018-10-10T09:48:10+00:00

Existing regional cooperation platforms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are internally fragmented and largely ineffective. Focusing on the League of Arab States, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Arab Maghreb Union, this paper discusses attempts to re-energize and instrumentalize existing regional organizations following the Arab uprisings. It shows that regional [...]

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Militarization and Militia-ization: Dynamics of Armed Group Proliferation in Egypt and Libya

Working Papers

Militarization and Militia-ization: Dynamics of Armed Group Proliferation in Egypt and Libya

Working Papers

menara 2018-10-08T09:15:30+00:00

This paper analyses the drivers behind some of the different types of proliferation of armed groups in power and politics that have taken place in the Middle East and North Africa after 2011. Based on thick empirical description and analysis of the highly distinct ways that armed groups have proliferated in Egypt and in Libya [...]

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Jihadist Groups in North Africa and the Sahel: Between Disintegration, Reconfiguration and Resilience

Working Papers

Jihadist Groups in North Africa and the Sahel: Between Disintegration, Reconfiguration and Resilience

Working Papers

menara 2018-10-08T09:12:00+00:00

This paper, based on extensive interviews and fieldwork conducted in North Africa and the Sahel, considers the recent evolution of jihadi organizations in this region, and offers analysis of patterns of competition and violence among different jihadi groups. We argue that while there is a clear division between Al-Qaeda-affiliated groups and those linked with the [...]

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The Libyan Security Continuum: The Impact of the Libyan Crisis on the North African/Sahelian Regional System

Working Papers

The Libyan Security Continuum: The Impact of the Libyan Crisis on the North African/Sahelian Regional System

Working Papers

menara 2018-10-08T08:59:29+00:00

This paper analyses the impact of the Libyan crisis on the regional environment in North Africa/the Sahel. More specifically the paper shows that, despite international attempts to resolve the crisis, the situation remains very difficult in Libya with the persistence of instability and radical militancy and a dramatic increase in illegal trafficking, particularly human trafficking. [...]

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New Trends in Identity Politics in the Middle East and North Africa and Their Impact on State–Society Relations

Working Papers

New Trends in Identity Politics in the Middle East and North Africa and Their Impact on State–Society Relations

Working Papers

menara 2018-11-27T10:46:06+00:00

State–society relations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have been deeply impacted by the dynamics around collective identities in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings and of other domestic and regional far-reaching developments, such as the failed coup attempt in Turkey or the ramifications of the Syrian conflict. It is therefore of utmost [...]

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The Implications of the Syrian War for New Regional Orders in the Middle East

Working Papers

The Implications of the Syrian War for New Regional Orders in the Middle East

Working Papers

menara 2018-10-01T13:04:26+00:00

This paper argues that the impact of the eight-year war in Syria will reverberate across the region for years to come, and explores, in particular, four noteworthy legacies. First, it examines the series of interventions in Syria by regional and foreign powers (including Russia, Turkey, Iran, the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab [...]

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The Governance of Migration and Border Controls in the European-North African Context

Working Papers

The Governance of Migration and Border Controls in the European-North African Context

Working Papers

menara 2018-09-27T11:47:32+00:00

Against the backdrop of the growing leverage that MENA states have been acquiring vis-à-vis Europe on the issue of migration and border controls over the last decade, this paper identifies a number of trends in the responses of MENA states on these issues. By providing examples from the western Mediterranean, especially North African countries, it [...]

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Regional Powers and the Production of Insecurity in the Middle East

Working Papers

Regional Powers and the Production of Insecurity in the Middle East

Working Papers

menara 2018-09-17T09:57:08+00:00

What impact have regional powers had on shaping regional order in the Middle East? What role will they play in the future of the regional system? Following the US-led invasion of Iraq and the failure of the USA to establish regional order, the area has witnessed a series of attempts by regional states to project [...]

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The Crisis of the GCC and the Role of the European Union

Future Notes

The Crisis of the GCC and the Role of the European Union

Future Notes

menara 2018-09-11T12:41:18+00:00

The dispute that erupted in 2017 between the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has been the gravest crisis in the history of the institution. In the last fifteen months, the rupture between the GCC states was consolidated and became a lasting reality to which each regional and global power must accommodate its strategy [...]

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The Gaza Equation: The Regional Dimension of a Local Conflict

Working Papers

The Gaza Equation: The Regional Dimension of a Local Conflict

Working Papers

menara 2018-09-06T11:47:25+00:00

The paper provides historical and political context to current diplomatic and humanitarian developments in the Gaza Strip, and investigates the present and the future of the area. Special attention is given to the political, economic and security dimensions, as well as the relationship between this area and the broader region. The conclusions linger on whether [...]

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Russian Policies Towards the MENA Region

Working Papers

Russian Policies Towards the MENA Region

Working Papers

menara 2018-07-26T13:30:23+00:00

Russia wields its influence in pursuit of important state interests. As in the Soviet era, contemporary Russia declares ambitious goals and pursues them in a desperate effort to play a decisive role in world politics. The overall objective of Russian foreign policy is to become a world power, and gaining influence over the MENA region [...]

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The EU and the Iran Nuclear Deal: How to Proceed?

Future Notes

The EU and the Iran Nuclear Deal: How to Proceed?

Future Notes

menara 2018-07-10T05:19:49+00:00

Trump steered the USA away from the diplomatic framework of the nuclear deal in yet another blow to the transatlantic alliance. Indeed the JCPOA represents a landmark achievement for the European Union, a sign of its ability to affect the global stage as a complementary as well as autonomous voice vis-à-vis the US. So far, [...]

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Embeddedness of the MENA in Economic Globalization Processes

Working Papers

Embeddedness of the MENA in Economic Globalization Processes

Working Papers

menara 2018-06-18T12:43:04+00:00

MENA countries’ integration in processes of economic globalization has trailed behind many emerging markets in Asia, but also Latin America. This applies especially to the “bunker states” and “bully praetorian states” of the Arab republics and Iran, less so to Lebanon and the “globalizing monarchies” of the GCC, Morocco, and Jordan and even less to [...]

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Morocco’s African Foreign Policy

Future Notes

Morocco’s African Foreign Policy

Future Notes

menara 2018-06-06T07:43:59+00:00

Morocco’s African foreign policy is not new, although it features some new characteristics, such as an emphasis on the economy, its reach far beyond traditional francophone African circles, as well as unprecedented number of royal visits across Africa. There are also two non-material aspects to Morocco’s new approach: it comes with a South-South twist and [...]

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Material Choke Points in the MENA Region

Other

Material Choke Points in the MENA Region

Other

menara 2018-05-22T08:58:04+00:00

The MENARA Project studies the geopolitical order in the making in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), identifies the driving forces behind it, sheds light on bottom-up dynamics and assesses the implications of these processes on the EU and its policies towards the region. This document summarises the findings of the MENARA research on [...]

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Libya: Moving Beyond the Transitional Mood

Future Notes

Libya: Moving Beyond the Transitional Mood

Future Notes

menara 2018-04-24T08:15:29+00:00

The Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) signed in December 2015 resulted in some relative stabilization and improvement of the security situation of the country, especially in Tripoli. Yet, it has not brought the political and institutional divisions to an end. The diplomatic focus put on revising the LPA during 2017 has shed light on the vested [...]

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The Transmutation of Jihadi Organizations in the Sahel and the Regional Security Architecture

Future Notes

The Transmutation of Jihadi Organizations in the Sahel and the Regional Security Architecture

Future Notes

menara 2018-04-17T08:41:33+00:00

Since 2017, the jihadi scene in the Sahel has witnessed major changes with the merger of all the groups that were affiliated with Al-Qaeda, leading to the creation of a new and powerful one: the Group in Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), under the leadership of Iyad Ag Ghali. In parallel, and since 2015, [...]

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Iraqi Kurdistan and Beyond: The EU’s Stakes’

Future Notes

Iraqi Kurdistan and Beyond: The EU’s Stakes’

Future Notes

menara 2018-03-15T18:08:59+00:00

In 2017, Iraq saw events that dramatically changed its political and societal reality. Not only the territorial defeat of the so-called Islamic State but also the Iraqi Kurdistan referendum and the retaking of the disputed areas by Iraqi forces loyal to Baghdad had important implications for the Middle East as a whole and also affected [...]

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The Riddle of the Sphinx: Why President Sisi Fears the Election

Future Notes

The Riddle of the Sphinx: Why President Sisi Fears the Election

Future Notes

menara 2018-02-13T11:03:48+00:00

The riddle posed by President Sisi’s words and behaviour is if his regime is performing as well as he claims, why is he so politically insecure? Although threats of terrorism and widespread anti-regime violence appear to be receding, the political crackdown, including upon potential candidates for the upcoming presidential election, has intensified. This reflects Sisi’s [...]

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Hybridization of Domestic Order-Making in the Contemporary MENA Region

Methodology and Concept Papers

Hybridization of Domestic Order-Making in the Contemporary MENA Region

Methodology and Concept Papers

menara 2017-12-23T14:52:52+00:00

The domestic political orders in the MENA countries are going through a period of crisis and restructuring. Since mass protests spread from Tunisia and Egypt to other countries in the region in 2011 a number of worrying trends have affected the forms and functions of states, regimes, contentious actors and collective identities. Conceptualizing these trends [...]

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Religion and Politics. Religious Diversity, Political Fragmentation and Geopolitical Tensions in the MENA Region

Working Papers

Religion and Politics. Religious Diversity, Political Fragmentation and Geopolitical Tensions in the MENA Region

Working Papers

menara 2017-12-11T15:00:38+00:00

Motivated by the need to inform the enduring and unresolved debates about religion and politics in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, this report focuses on the relation between social change and religious diversity and the challenges this poses for the state–religion relationship. It also draws attention to the pluralization of the religious [...]

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Regional Order from the Outside In: External Intervention, Regional Actors, Conflicts and Agenda in the MENA Region

Methodology and Concept Papers

Regional Order from the Outside In: External Intervention, Regional Actors, Conflicts and Agenda in the MENA Region

Methodology and Concept Papers

menara 2017-12-04T09:11:59+00:00

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been beset by a series of external interventions, regional crises and local conflicts – most recently precipitated by the Arab uprisings – that have led to major uncertainties and changes in the existing order. The aim of this paper – which launches Work Package 5 within [...]

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The MENA Region in the Global Order: Actors, Contentious Issues and Integration Dynamics

Methodology and Concept Papers

The MENA Region in the Global Order: Actors, Contentious Issues and Integration Dynamics

Methodology and Concept Papers

menara 2017-11-27T10:20:00+00:00

The paper aims at revealing the current nature of the interactions between the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the global order. The authors argue that this relationship can be divided into three separate issues: global actors, which influence (and are influenced by) regional developments, primarily the USA, China, Russia and the European [...]

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Military Factors in the Mena Region: Challenging Trends

Working Papers

Military Factors in the Mena Region: Challenging Trends

Working Papers

menara 2017-11-21T10:18:03+00:00

Although the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has witnessed a long series of conflicts since the end of the Second World War, it is now in the unprecedented situation where nearly all MENA states are involved to a certain extent in ongoing conflict (e.g. in the Iraq–Syria area; Libya; Yemen). MENA states are [...]

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Material Factors for the Mena Region: Energy Trends

Working Papers

Material Factors for the Mena Region: Energy Trends

Working Papers

menara 2017-11-17T09:41:01+00:00

This report analyses the key energy factors and trends shaping the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s energy landscape. The unsustainable increase in energy demand, driven by population and economic growth, is exerting considerable pressure on governments in the region to institute significant policy changes and demand-side measures as well as energy mix diversification [...]

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Environmental Factors in the MENA Region: A SWOT Analysis

Working Papers

Environmental Factors in the MENA Region: A SWOT Analysis

Working Papers

menara 2017-11-02T15:04:23+00:00

The MENARA study area has undergone significant transformation over twenty years decades, resulting from a combination of ideational and material factors. In this report, we examine the magnitude, distribution and trends in key environmental and energy factors that materially affect the economic, social and political profile of the MENA region. We do this by conducting [...]

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Demographic and Economic Material Factors in the MENA Region

Working Papers

Demographic and Economic Material Factors in the MENA Region

Working Papers

menara 2017-10-31T11:04:06+00:00

The Middle East and North Africa is one of the world’s most rapidly transforming regions, politically, economically, demographically and environmentally. Despite largely declining total fertility rates, the momentum of absolute population growth will mean that the region surpasses China in terms of total population by 2090. Land degradation, water stress and trends of urbanisation will [...]

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Global identities: Embedding the Middle East and the North Africa Region in the Wider World

Working Papers

Global identities: Embedding the Middle East and the North Africa Region in the Wider World

Working Papers

menara 2017-09-18T12:24:35+00:00

This paper outlines the ways in which the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been embedded in global identity processes and structures in the post-2011 period. It assesses MENA social and political developments in relation to global ideational and identity factors. Important among these is the imagined yet increasingly widespread and pernicious idea [...]

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Challenging the State in the Middle East and North Africa: the role of identities

Working Papers

Challenging the State in the Middle East and North Africa: the role of identities

Working Papers

menara 2017-09-05T19:14:04+00:00

Since independence, states in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have been dominant players in shaping the regional order. The purpose of this paper is to explore and define challenges to the state and their role in shaping identities in the MENA region, and to evaluate their regional roots. The paper emphasizes two [...]

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Future Challenges of Climate Change in the MENA Region

Future Notes

Future Challenges of Climate Change in the MENA Region

Future Notes

menara 2017-07-18T10:16:22+00:00

The MENA region will be one of those most severely affected by ongoing climate changes. These will be caused by increased average temperatures, less and more erratic precipitation, changing patterns of rainfall, continuing sea-level rise and changes in water supply. All this will happen in a region which already suffers from aridity, recurrent drought and [...]

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How Can Renewable Energy Help Contribute to the Development of the MENA Countries?

Future Notes

How Can Renewable Energy Help Contribute to the Development of the MENA Countries?

Future Notes

menara 2017-07-14T12:25:19+00:00

Increasing energy demand, for electricity in particular, and energy security concerns, a sharp cost reduction in renewable energy technologies and socio-economic benefits as well as environmental issues are all considerations that have played an important role in advancing the deployment of renewable energy technologies throughout the world. The MENA region is no exception, and it [...]

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Precarious Resilience: Tunisia’s Libyan Predicament

Future Notes

Precarious Resilience: Tunisia’s Libyan Predicament

Future Notes

menara 2017-05-04T14:00:07+00:00

Libya suffers from an interlinked political, security and economic crisis that is proving to be particularly destabilising for its neighboring Tunisia. The emerging conflict economy across the Tunisia–Libya border, the proliferation of non-state armed groups along with support from external actors and the backlash of increasing securitization of the border regions intended to contain the [...]

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A New Phase in Turkish Foreign Policy: Expediency and AKP Survival

Future Notes

A New Phase in Turkish Foreign Policy: Expediency and AKP Survival

Future Notes

menara 2017-03-01T10:40:22+00:00

The forced departure of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in May 2016 and the attempted coup d’état of July 2016 against the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in Turkey were catalysts for a new phase in the country’s foreign policy. The emphasis on the “civilizational” aspects of Turkey’s role in foreign affairs is diminishing and [...]

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Material Factors for the MENA Region: Data Sources, Trends and Drivers

Methodology and Concept Papers

Material Factors for the MENA Region: Data Sources, Trends and Drivers

Methodology and Concept Papers

menara 2016-12-29T09:58:26+00:00

This background paper on material factors in the MENA region selects key datasets for understanding past and present demographic, environmental, energy, economic and military transformations. It introduces the key literature relating to each factor and it identifies the most appropriate databases to assess the conditions in the MENA region. Using these databases, the ways in [...]

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On the Importance of Ideas, Identities and Values in the MENA Region

Methodology and Concept Papers

On the Importance of Ideas, Identities and Values in the MENA Region

Methodology and Concept Papers

menara 2016-12-28T07:59:59+00:00

This paper evaluates the importance of ideas, norms and identities in the MENA region. The basic assumption is that ideas, norms and identities matter in world politics in general, and in the MENA region in particular. After presenting an overview of the debate on these concepts in the field of international relations, and their relevance [...]

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Re-Conceptualizing Orders in the Mena Region. The Analytical Framework of the MENARA project

Methodology and Concept Papers

Re-Conceptualizing Orders in the Mena Region. The Analytical Framework of the MENARA project

Methodology and Concept Papers

menara 2017-06-27T16:24:24+00:00

The aim of this work is to set the conceptual architecture for the MENARA Project. It is articulated in five thematic sections. The first one traces back the major historical junctures in which key powers shaped the defining features of the present-day MENA region. Section 2 sets the geographical scope of the project, maps the [...]

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Energy Relations between Turkey and Israel

Future Notes

Energy Relations between Turkey and Israel

Future Notes

menara 2017-01-09T17:57:06+00:00

This Future Note* prepared within the scope of the MENARA project aims to provide a brief outlook to the energy relations between Israel and Turkey. Following a six years of rupture in bilateral relations, Turkey and Israel signed a reconciliation agreement on June 2016 in order to normalize relations. Several developments have unfolded at regional level during this [...]

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The New US President: Implications for the Middle East and North Africa

Future Notes

The New US President: Implications for the Middle East and North Africa

Future Notes

menara 2016-10-12T07:17:24+00:00

By Robert Springborg The US presidential elections of 8 November 2016 will see two different visions of America’s future confronting one another. While most of the presidential debates have focussed on domestic issues, including the economy, trade issues and societal polarisation, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has typically represented an important area for [...]

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Implications of the EU Global Strategy for the Middle East and North Africa

Future Notes

Implications of the EU Global Strategy for the Middle East and North Africa

Future Notes

menara 2016-11-23T14:25:42+00:00

The Middle east and North Africa are in turmoil, europe’s security is inextricably linked to what happens in this region, and yet the eu has limited capacities to change realities on the ground. these are three of the main messages of the eu Global strategy presented in June 2016. the document presents europeans and the...

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