RAMSES 2021. At the Edge?, written by Ifri's research team and external experts, offers an in-depth and up-to-date analysis of geopolitics in today’s world.

Middle East / North Africa

The Middle East and North Africa Programme at IFRI aims to provide expertise on the trends and developments in politics, societies and economies across the region.
The programme has the following objectives:
- Proposing a new approach towards the MENA region through an analysis of local, regional, and international dynamics with the potential to guide and influence new policies ;
- Highlighting the role of foreign powers which have traditionally been present in the region and analyzing the new role taken on by emerging countries ;
- Anticipating new directions and outlooks in each country;
- Interpreting risks and potentials and puting forward new templates for analysis.
The programme has built a dense network of researchers and experts who provide expertise on the MENA region and working together on a range of crosscutting themes.
Senior Research Fellow, Head of Ifri’s Turkey and Middle East Program
...Associate Research Fellow, Turkey and Middle East Program
...Senior Advisor for North Africa and the Middle East
Research Interests:
- North Africa
- The Middle East
Associate Research Fellow, Turkey and Middle East Program
...Associate Research Fellow, Turkey and Middle East Program
...
Turkey has undergone significant transformations since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002, as illustrated by the notable growth of its airline industry. Turkish Airlines (THY) is the main company based in the country, and has...
Middle Eastern geopolitics is currently undergoing structural changes: the regional order is in transition in the aftermath of the Arab Spring that undermined authoritarian governance, and triggered the competition for power against a backdrop of American withdrawal.
The geopolitical shadow of the Gulf now extends far beyond the Middle East as a function the external dealings of Iran and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula.
The economies of the Persian Gulf are highly dependent on their petrol exports, particularly to Asia.
In the last decade, Jordan has been facing a resurgence in public discontent against harsh living conditions and the corruption of the regime.
RAMSES 2020. A World without a Compass?, written by Ifri's research team and external experts, offers an in-depth and up-to-date analysis of geopolitics in today’s world.
Airports in the Gulf emirates are major transit hubs in global airline networks today. Apart from their “advantageous” geographical location, their development results primarily from the ambitions of political actors seeking to maintain their power. This has led especially to the creation of...
The war in Yemen has entered its fifth year, and the situation is more complex than ever.
The Shifting Foundations of Political Islam in Algeria CARNEGIE Middle East Center Paper, April 2019
Understanding Algeria’s various Islamist communities—including militant groups, moderate factions, and grassroots movements—offers a window into the country’s uncertain sociopolitical future.
Eastern Mediterranean: Preventing Escalation Les Jeudis de l'Ifri
Covid-19 in the Middle East: immunity in chaos? Videoconference for Ifri's members
North Africa and the Middle East a priori appeared as fragile spaces in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic: significant migratory flows, strong social inequalities as well as in the access to health structures, weak governance, violent protests and open wars could all amplify the...
What is Turkey seeking in the Middle-East? Videoconférence
A videoconference around Dorothée Schmid, head of Ifri’s Turkey / Middle-East Pogram.
Can economics bring peace to the Middle East?
Economics are an underestimated factor in the analysis of armed conflicts in the Middle East. It is however an increasingly determining variable in the social and political balance of powers within the states, as illustrated by the 2011 ‘Arab springs’, but also on a regional level.<...>
Division or Reconciliation: The Changing Political Agenda and Role of Think Tanks in the Next Decade? Council of Councils Twelfth Regional Conference
The 12th regional conference of Council of Councils (CoC) will take place at Ifri from November 17 to 19, 2019. An initiative of the Council on Foreign Relations, the CoC strives to define major foreign policy challenges by...
Global cybersecurity challenges: Disentangling risks and opportunities in international politics Ifri-PCNS Roundtables
International politics are increasingly intertwined with cyber-related issues. Cyberattacks are more and more frequent and sophisticated; their perpetrators, like their victims, may be governments or private actors.
G7 / Think Tank7 Summit G7 Engagement Group
The Think Thank 7 (T7) is an engagement group that brings together the leading Think Tanks from the G7 countries in order to analyze and make recommendations on key issues of the G7 presidency.
Global Governance of Migration: A Challenge Beyond the North-South Paradigm GFMD Side Event
The global dialogue on migration is frequently stalled due to contradictory interests and positions between the countries of the North (Europe and North America) and the South.
Turkey advancing in the Middle East Seminar and Round-table Conference
The Syrian imbroglio has arguably proved to be the most consequential foreign policy topics for Turkey in decades, structurally impacting Ankara's vision and priorities as well as its regional engagement.
Toward a Global Low Carbon Transition: What Sustainable Opportunities for Africa? Ifri-OCP Policy Center Roundtables
Despite its marginal contribution to the historical growth in greenhouse gas emissions, the African continent could be one of the most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change.
Dorothée Schmid, head of the Middle East program participated in a webinar organized by Italian think tank ISPI and the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center to...
Protests have stopped President Abdelaziz Bouteflika from seeking another term, but it won’t change the military’s domination of the political system.
Turkey is looking to revive a fragile ceasefire in Aleppo, and the planned evacuation of civilians, which brokered with Russia. But why is Ankara, a staunch opponent of Damascus, interested in helping to create an outcome that would benefit President Assad? Amanda Morrow put the question to...
Después de haber rehuido durante años implicarse en una región que considera un avispero, China quiere finalmente mostrarse como un participante más activo en Oriente Medio. La visita que el presidente chino, Xi Jinping, comienza este martes a Arabia Saudí, Irán y Egipto señala la creciente...