North Africa and Middle East
Analysis of changing dynamics in the North Africa/Middle East region, against a backdrop of increasing security crises and their political, economic and energy consequences.
Related Subjects

Multilateralisms: Survival or Revival?

The organized multilateralism born out of the Second World War and the Cold War, and revived in the 1990s with the dream of a world of peaceful “global governance,” has fizzled out. The erosion of the large universal frameworks (United Nations, World Trade Organization, arms control and disarmament, international criminal justice, and so on) did not give way to a void but to an excess: a multitude of agreements and schemes that bore witness to the accelerated rebuilding of international relationships. Will institutional anarchy and the open competition of interests visible in uninhibited struggles for power be able to organize themselves around common fundamental interests in the future?
U.S. Foreign Policy and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A View from Palestine
How will the US respond to the changing Palestinian and Arab paradigm?
U.S.-Algerian Security Cooperation and Regional Counterterrorism
This paper explores the recent evolution of security cooperation between the United States and Algeria, which have forged a strong partnership on counterterrorism despite lingering mutual distrust.
Israel's Immigrant Parties: An Inefficient Russia Lobby
Since 2009 the influence of immigrant party Israel Beiteinu on foreign and security policy in Israel has grown. The party won 15 seats in the 2009 parliamentary elections and its leader, Avigdor Lieberman, became the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Syria: Russia's Best Asset in the Middle East
Russia's foreign policy towards Syria and the Greater Middle East is generally not aggressive. It is a defensive policy aimed mainly at developing its traditional political and economic interests in the region and protecting its Southern borders.
Migrations, Remittances and Development - Comparing Experiences from Mexico and Maghreb
The potential synergy between development and migration has become a key feature of most international migration politics. However, this relationship is far from evident.
German Military Engagement in Afghanistan: Conditions, Assessment, Outlook
Since the beginning of 2010, German authorities have become conscious of the fact that they cannot continue to maintain the Bundeswehr’s involvement in Afghanistan with a majority of the German population opposing it. It is clearly understood that the federal government and the Bundestag will adhere to President Obama’s plans to gradually withdraw national troops from ISAF, starting in the summer of 2011, and to hand over complete control of the country’s security to Afghani authorities.
Maghreb Countries' Economic Projection on Sub-Saharan Africa
While largely interrupted by the colonial period premise, trade relations between the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa have enjoyed a new boom with the independence era. However, until the end of the 1990s, the African policy of the three Maghreb countries significantly impacted their economic projection.
Chinese and Indian Economic Presence in the Maghreb
One of the major events of the last couple of decades has been the rise of China and India, reflected by their increasingly important economic presence in the world, both in terms of trade flows and of foreign direct investments.
Africa, which has long remained the former colonial powers" “private hunting ground”, does not seem to escape from Indian and Chinese presence and activity, hence worrying Africa"s traditional partners.
The United States' Economic Strategy and Presence in the Maghreb
Before the 9/11 events, US-Maghreb relations were growing stronger, especially after the United States had long left the floor to the Maghreb’s “natural” European partner. Therefore, the American action in this region was in line with a mechanism previously set off by Clinton Administration member, Stuart Eizenstat, which aimed at reducing intra-regional obstacles and stimulating American investments towards an area where Americans were little-represented. Hence Washington seemed more involved in promoting the emergence of a strong, world-economy-integrated Maghrebi market.
The Gulf Cooperation Council in the Maghreb: Exchange and Investment Strategies
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a regional organization which was created in 1981, reassembling six Arab countries together: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Thanks to their oil income, GCC countries have enjoyed economic boom since 2002, hence breaking with the 1990s economic slow-down.
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