This Chatham House event is chaired by Hayder Al-Shakeri, MENA Programme. On the panel are: Merissa Khurma, CEO AMENA Strategy, Mondher Tounsi, University of Oxford, Nissrine Ait Haji, Entrepreneur and Youth Activist. This is about how Gen Z are shaping protests in North Africa specifically in Morocco and Tunisia. How…
PHOTO: The new Syrian Government Today’s Chatham House meeting is chaired by Raya Jalabi, Middle East Correspondent, Financial Times. On the panel are: Dr Haid Haid, MENA Programme, Rime Allaf, Syrian writer, formerly Chatham House and Dr Ibrahim Al-Assil, Belfer Center, Harvard University. It is a year since the rapid…
View More Chatham House: One year of Syria’s transition: Progress, challenges and prospects
The Chatham House event, led by Dr. Renad Mansour, highlighted challenges in Iraq’s upcoming elections, including sectarian politics and government formation. The presidency is expected to be awarded to a Kurdish party, but significant obstacles remain, including political fragmentation and public disillusionment, as citizens seek improved governance and basic services.
View More Chatham House: Iraq’s 2025 Elections: What comes next?
Asaad al-Shaibani, Syria’s foreign minister, outlines post-civil war plans to rebuild international relations and internal governance. The new regime aims for inclusivity, economic investment, and transitional justice while addressing community trust. He emphasizes a pragmatic approach towards rebuilding, focusing on diplomatic ties, especially with the UK and Turkey, amidst regional challenges.
View More Chatham House: A foreign policy for the new Syria
Drawing on material from two out of the three strands of DD102 study materials, discuss some of the ways in which differences and inequalities can both change and persist over time. The two topics I have chosen from two strands are City Road, Cardiff from the introductory strand, which looks…
View More Differences and Inequalities
The content discusses the concept of ‘making and remaking’ through the experiences of three individuals on City Road, Cardiff. Nof Al-Kelaby showcases resilience by adapting his business to new demographics. Shari Hall enhances local businesses through her blog, fostering virtual connections. John exemplifies the challenges of homelessness, highlighting complex social dynamics.
View More Connections and Disconnections on City Road, Cardiff
I am a new member of Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, in London. On a recent visit, I made use of the vast resources of a very well-stocked library at Chatham House and this book is the first of the loans that I have finished reading. It…
View More Review: Moscow Rules: What Drives Russia To Confront The West – by Keir Giles
Alev Scott is a young female Brit whose mother has Turkish Cypriot roots and in this great study of modern turkey she relocates to Istanbul and immerses herself as much as possible in Turkish society Long time leader Erdogan, has done a lot to change Turkey in the past couple…
View More Review: Turkish Awakening – A Personal Discovery of Modern Turkey – by Alev Scott
I was just chatting away to Ionutz a security nurse in the local mental hospital and he’s Romanian. I passed through Bucharest a few years ago en route to Istanbul on a train journey traversing Eastern Europe. Romania seemed quite rural, poor and quite different to the Europe with which…
View More Review: Red Horizons – The True Story of Nicolae & Elena Ceausescus’ Crimes, Lifestyle, and Corruption – by Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa
Henry Kissinger is a very famous international American statesman. This is the first book of his that I have read. I was drawn to exploring his views as I have always noticed him throughout my life as being a key figure in international politics. The book is a neat summary…
View More Review: World Order – Reflections on the Character of Nations and the Course of History – by Henry Kissinger
This book was written in 1990 and is thus a bit dated. The postscript announces the start of the first Gulf War after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Post World War 1 saw most of the current political boundaries drawn in the Near East or as we now most predominantly…
View More Review: The Near East Since The First World War – by M.E.YappThis detailed 800 page book covers fifty years of MI6, the UK’s foreign espionage service. From relatively humble beginnings during the second world war, MI6 grew to become a leading foe of Soviet Russia and its notorious KGB. The book documents in detail issues that affected the service from the…
View More Review: MI6 – Fifty Years of Special Operations – by Stephen Dorril
Only a short volume, this well-written work documents the weakening of the West in the geopolitical arena. The book first focuses on the reductions in military power of Western nations, both in terms of their military budgets and also their matériel. Despite modern weapons being produced, the volume of forces…
View More Review: The Edge – Is the Military Dominance of the West Coming to an End – by Mark Urban
This is an excellent introductory text for those wishing to better understand the complex details of the rise of Islamic State, ISIS or ISIL. From its arrival due to the Syrian Civil War and its cancerous spread into post-war Iraq, this extremist-terrorist Sunni Islamic (Wahhabi) nation/fundamentalist organisation, has been indefatigable.…
View More Review: The Rise Of Islamic State – by Patrick Cockburn