16 Items

Report

Rewriting the Arab Social Contract

| May 16, 2016

During the fall 2015 semester, former Minister Hedi Larbi convened eight distinguished experts, each with direct operational and academic experience in Arab countries and economies to participate in a study group titled Rewriting the Arab Social Contract: Toward Inclusive Development and Politics in the Arab World. Over the course of seven sessions during the semester, these experts contributed  to an integrated approach to the historical, social, political, and economic dimensions of the Arab uprisings, focusing in particular on the often overlooked economic and social issues at the root of the uprisings.

A map illustrating the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement.

Creative Commons (Paolo Porsla)

Analysis & Opinions - Agence Global

Yes, let us honestly assess Sykes-Picot’s ugly century

| May 11, 2016

We are into the season when you will be flooded with articles and analyses on the 100-year anniversary of the Sykes-Picot agreement that was signed on May 18, 1916. That agreement between Great Britain and France, with Russian acquiescence, defined how they would divide the spoils of the crumbling Ottoman Empire in the East Mediterranean region.

A group of people hold the posters of former President of Tunisia Zine El Abidine Ben Ali during a demonstration to mark the anniversary of January 14 revolution at Avenue Habib Bourguiba in Tunis.

Getty Images

Analysis & Opinions - Agence Global

2011-2016 Arab dashed hopes, opened eyes

| January 13, 2016

"Many analysts this week have marked the five years since the fall of former Tunisian President Zein el-Abideen Ben Ali, the first of several Arab dictators who were toppled from office by a wave of spontaneous street demonstrations across Arab countries. This process of retrospective introspection is important, if it can clarify whether new upheavals will occur or why the revolt of 2011 has been beaten back for many years..."

Demonstrators protest outside the embassy of Saudi Arabia against the execution of prominent Saudi Shia cleric Nimr Baqir al-Nimr by Saudi authorities, in Tehran, Iran in January 2016.

Getty Images/Anadolu Agency

Analysis & Opinions - Agence Global

The dark heart of 2015’s legacy across the Middle East

| January 2, 2016

"Freedom of expression and participation in the public sphere are powerful antidotes to the sense of hopelessness, marginalization, and helplessness that were such important drivers of the Arab uprisings and revolutions in 2011-12. The freedom to speak out and engage politically in society keeps people seeking non-violent ways to repair the broken systems and promises of their societies. For educated young adults, it also helps to keep them living in their own countries, rather than emigrating and depriving their societies of their talents and energy..."

Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries meet at a summit in Doha in December 2014.

Getty Images/Marwan Naamani

Analysis & Opinions - Agence Global

The GCC states face their biggest challenge ever

| December 30, 2015

"Keep your eyes on the oil-fueled Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Arab states in the year ahead, because they are just starting to experience a genuinely novel, almost existential, challenge that will test the quality of their statehood and national integrity as these have never been tested before. The issue that sparks this historic reckoning of statehood and citizenship in the GCC is not Iran’s nuclear future, the fate of “Islamic State,” nor the wasteful war in Yemen. It is the sudden array of sharp fiscal adjustment measures that most GCC states have announced in the past three weeks..."

Analysis & Opinions

Inside the Middle East: "International Monetary Institutions and Reform in Tunisia" with Minister Hedi Larbi

| December 23, 2015

Excerpt from an October 16 installment of the “Inside the Middle East" Q&A Series, with Minister Hedi Larbi, Former Minister of Economic Infrastructure and Sustainable Development and Middle East Initiative Fall 2015 Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar, on the role of International Monetary Institutions such as the World Bank and IMF in encouraging and implementing economic reforms during the political transition in Tunisia.

U. S. President Barack Obama is ushered by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on Nov. 12, 2014. US and China agreed to take an action against climate change will cooperate military and

AP Images

Analysis & Opinions - The Boston Globe

Obama's revival in foreign policy

| November 19, 2014

It is far too early to count out President Obama as a foreign policy lame duck.

During last week's successful Asia trip, Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced an important Climate Change agreement along with technology, visa and military transparency deals. This is a welcome sign that the US and China are capable of taking on tough challenges together.

But, there are other international obstacles ahead for Obama. Can he face down Vladimir Putin on Ukraine and find a way to reach a deal with Iran to block its nuclear ambitions?

Are we witnessing an Obama revival on foreign policy?