Middle East / North Africa

A saying claims that trade has no religion; it even adapts to a war situation, as demonstrated by the real-time reorganisation of trade channels at the Turkish-Syrian border. 

What will become of US foreign policy under Donald Trump? A selection of Ifri researchers has come together to offer their thoughts on this question. Our experts cover an array of topics through 14 contributions, ranging from the future Sino-American relations, through US engagement in the...

What is the proper place and forum for decisions about war and peace in a democracy? There is surprisingly little consensus on this matter, not in theory and not in practice. While in Iraq, Libya and Syria, all Western actions have ended in failure, it seems necessary to analyze the place and...

Russian military intervention in Syria was not an attempt to exert dominance as a hegemonic power in the Middle East.

In Israel, both the regional geopolitical context and domestic politics play an important role in the development of the offshore gas fields.

Having been formed in large part by the legacy of the post-independence diplomatic process, by forced withdrawal during the civil war and fixation on a few regional issues, Algerian diplomacy has to redefine itself in a rapidly changing world.

Given its colonial history, Algeria does not want foreign powers involving themselves in internal affairs.

Successive attempts to institutionalise Islam in France have not resulted in an entirely satisfactory outcome.

During the Cold War, Algeria was one of the Soviet Union’s favored partners. Ties between the two countries deteriorated during the 1990s before going through a renewal around fifteen years ago. 

When President Bouteflika came to power in 1999, he sought to liberalise the country’s economy. But these reforms were reversed after only a few years.