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Begin New Search Political Geography Middle East Content Type Research Paper Publication Year within 10 Years

1. Politics of Sports in the Middle East

Author:
Marc Lynch, Curtis R. Ryan, Marc Owen Jones, Ehsan Kashfi, and Majd Abuamer
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
Abstract:
Following the 2022 World Cup, POMEPS partnered with Georgetown University-Qatar’s Center for International and Regional Studies—which has had a long-standing interest in studying sports and politics in the MENA region, and most recently completed a multiyear project on the World Cup—to bring together a group of scholars from the Middle East, Europe, and the United States to explore the deep interconnections between football and politics in the Middle East. We invited scholars from a wide range of perspectives, making sure to include contributions focused not only on the Arab world but also on Iran and Turkey. The essays in this collection offer a rich and varied window into these multidimensional politics, from the local to the global and from the historical to the contemporary. They offer a tantalizing glimpse into the possibilities for future research.
Topic:
Politics, Sports, Political Science, and Soccer
Political Geography:
Iran, Turkey, Middle East, and Arab Countries

2. From a space of conflict to a space of peace: The role of urban planners in advancing the peace process

Author:
Oded Haas
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:
This review paper is based on the concept of creating space to understand the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In fact, the paper argues, the conflict produces and is produced by a process of creating conflict spaces. Therefore, intervention is proposed in the process of generating space in order to create an alternative to the conflict space – a space for peace. A joint planning model places urban planners at the heart of the space producing process, and identifies urban planning as activity with great impact potential, both because it mediates between the global economy, national policy, and individual daily life in the production of space, and because it can promote the creation of a peace space born of professional consensus. Joint planning is the practice of bringing knowledge, experience and an alternative perspective into the planning process. Mixed cities that constitute core spaces in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are proposed as spaces that currently offer an opportunity to create change, or can be created as change, which will serve as a basis for turning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict space into the Israeli-Palestinian peace space.
Topic:
Conflict, Peace, Urban Planning, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

3. The Unfulfilled Promise of EU Foreign and Security Policy towards Iran

Author:
Riccardo Alcaro, Steven Blockmans, Akin Unver, and Sine Özkaraşahin
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
With the 2015 nuclear deal dead in all but name, Iran is getting closer to Russia and more repressive at home, while EU member states’ priorities about the Islamic Republic now extend beyond nuclear proliferation to human rights and European security. This shift in priorities cements a re-orientation of the EU’s approach to Iran from conditional engagement to confrontation. EU member states’ options are limited, however. Pressure worked prior to the nuclear agreement because the EU cut off significant trade with Iran. But US extraterritorial sanctions, re-imposed after the United States left the deal in 2018, have rendered EU-Iran trade so modest that cutting it would have little impact. The EU could get more leverage by providing incentives, yet the political inexpediency of rewarding Iran at a time of rising belligerence of the Islamic Republic greatly restricts the range of benefits potentially on offer. Still, in the mid- to longer term, the EU and its member states will need to combine pressure with some form of incentives if they want to defend their interests in non-proliferation, European security and the protection of human rights in Iran. They also need to resort to a variety of international partnerships in order to maximise their residual leverage.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, European Union, and JCPOA
Political Geography:
Europe, Iran, and Middle East

4. Research Report: Perspectives on Youth Engagement in Operationalizing Peace and Security at a National Level

Author:
Katrina Leclerc
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP)
Abstract:
This research report summarizes findings of a rapid study of variations in the ways young people, ages 15-30, especially young women, are engaged in country-level planning on issues of peace and security across six country case studies: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Iraq (including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, or the KRI), Jordan, Nigeria, the Philippines and Tunisia. The research findings provide a preliminary indication of some common concerns expressed by young people who are engaged in peace activism. These concerns include the ways government officials seek to engage youth in national peace and security initiatives and policy development. Particular attention was paid to how young women are encouraged to participate and the ways their specific concerns are addressed within youth-led peacebuilding organizations and networks, in both official Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) processes and by organizations involved in implementing the Women, Peace and Security Resolutions.
Topic:
Security, Youth, Peace, and Gender
Political Geography:
Africa, Iraq, Middle East, Asia, Philippines, Nigeria, Jordan, Tunisia, and Democratic Republic of Congo

5. Survivor-Centred Justice for Gender-Based Violence in Complex Situations

Author:
The George Washington University The Global Women's Institute (GWI)
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
The Global Women's Institute (GWI), The George Washington University
Abstract:
The report Survivor-Centred Justice for Gender-Based Violence in Complex Situations is the result of new research conducted by IDLO, in partnership with the Global Women’s Institute at George Washington University, in six countries across the globe with the aim to identify approaches that centre survivors in all efforts to address gender-based violence (GBV) in complex situations. The report is informed by country case studies in Afghanistan, Honduras, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Sudan, and Tunisia, to provide different perspectives of complexity in accessing justice and an analysis of diverse justice mechanisms dealing with GBV in situations of conflict, organized crime, climate disasters, and health emergencies, often intersecting with contexts of legal pluralism and political transition. Research findings show that, in order to be effective, measures and programmes aimed at ensuring access to justice for GBV survivors need to be responsive to women’s specific needs and vulnerabilities, as well as relevant to contextual challenges, while firmly anchored in international gender equality and human rights legal obligations.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Gender Based Violence, Justice, and Group Survival
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Philippines, Central America, North America, Tunisia, Honduras, South Sudan, and Papua New Guinea

6. “Re-imagining the Reality of Entrepreneurship in the Lens of Palestinian Youth”

Author:
Pal-Think for Strategic Studies
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Pal-Think For Strategic Studies
Abstract:
As an independent think-tank that works to produce knowledge and spread it in Palestinian society, and in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, PalThink for Strategic Studies has implemented the “Re-imagining the Reality of Entrepreneurship in the Lens of Palestinian Youth” project, which aimed at promoting entrepreneurship in the Gaza Strip. It is one of PalThink’s core beliefs that entrepreneurship is an effective way to create job opportunities and that promoting it, by refining young people’s skills to design and plan their innovative entrepreneurial ideas, is a valiant attempt to reduce unemployment. The project aimed at enhancing the skills of 20 male and female students and graduates and raising their awareness about entrepreneurial projects, the reality of start-ups, and the economic barriers facing youth in the Gaza Strip. The project also included the production of three research papers discussing the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurial projects in the Palestinian business environment. This booklet was published after the conclusion of three discussion sessions that presented and discussed the three papers with experts and researchers from Palestinian civil society institutions.
Topic:
Civil Society, Economics, Entrepreneurship, and Youth
Political Geography:
Middle East and Palestine

7. Women’s Peace Groups in Formal Peace Processes: Benefits of Participation, Price of Exclusion

Author:
Shiri Levinas
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:
Women’s peace organizations work to end violence and promote peace agreements almost everywhere where conflicts occur. Studies and observations from the past 20 years show that these organizations contribute significantly to peace processes, despite their variation in forms, methods, and the extent of their involvement. In the context of formal negotiations and the formulation of peace agreements, the integration of women’s peace organizations was found to increase the prospects of reaching an agreement, as well as to change and enhance the nature and content of the agreement itself (including governance, social justice, rehabilitation, gender equality, etc.). Their integration was also found to significantly increase the feasibility of implementing the agreement and promote women’s representation in the political system. However, in Israel, as in most countries, decision makers marginalize women’s peace organizations despite their extensive work and significant contributions. This article examines the main barriers preventing the participation of women’s peace organizations in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, the price of their exclusion, and the actions needed to integrate them and express their potential. The article is based on interviews conducted in 2019 and 2020 with women-peace activists from Israel and beyond, as well as a review of research literature and case studies of women’s peace organizations in Israel and abroad. It outlines some of the prices Israeli society pays for women’s exclusion and recommends actions that may promote their integration into formal peacemaking efforts. This is the third in a series of papers of a joint project by the Mitvim Institute for Regional Foreign Policies and the Davis Institute for International Relations at Hebrew University examining selected actors’ contribution to the advancement of Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Topic:
Women, Peace, Participation, and Exclusion
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

8. Does the Road to Peace Pass Through Prisons? The role of former and current inmates in advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace

Author:
Udi Golan
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:
Prisoners and former prisoners constitute a significant and distinct group among the Palestinian public, both due to their numbers (hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have served time in Israeli jails since 1967) and their position in society. This position paper examines whether former and current Palestinian inmates can contribute to advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace, and how. The article discusses theoretical aspects that place them in a position to contribute to advancing peace, and provides examples from other countries where prisoners played an important role in advancing or attempting to advance peace. Based on the theoretical knowledge and examples, the article discusses the possible role of Palestinian prisoners in advancing peace. It describes the complexity and legal, moral and security-related issues involved, and points to positive developments, such as a process of moderation and adoption of support for peace undergone by some Palestinian inmates, who over time turned into prominent peace supporters. The article also points to measures that can be promoted in order to realize the potentially positive role of inmates in advancing peace, including dialogue with serving inmates, using the incentive of prisoner release to support moderate positions and to promote peace, and adopting policies of de-radicalization, dialogue and prevention, alongside punishment and deterrence measures, in order to turn some prisoners into actors contributing to peace. This is the fourth in a series of papers of a joint project by the Mitvim Institute for Regional Foreign Policies and the Davis Institute for International Relations at Hebrew University examining selected actors’ contribution to the advancement of Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Topic:
Security, Prisons/Penal Systems, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Golan Heights

9. The Significance of Convening the European Union – Israel Association Council

Author:
Maya Sion-Tzidkiyahu
Publication Date:
08-2022
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:
On July 18, 2022, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union (EU) decided to move ahead with convening the EU-Israel Association Council (AC) after a decade-long hiatus. What does this mean? What opportunities does it offer, and what were the costs of not convening it so far? This paper explains what the AC is, the reasons for its suspension and for the decision to re-convene it. Assuming it will re-convene, the paper recommends future measures between Israel and the EU.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, International Cooperation, European Union, and Economy
Political Geography:
Europe, Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

10. MEPPA’s Progress and Promise, One Year In

Author:
Avi Meyerstein
Publication Date:
08-2022
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:
When the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (“MEPPA”) overwhelmingly passed a divided Congress just after the 2020 presidential election, the new law made a splash. With wall-to-wall bipartisan support, it would invest $250 million over at least five years in Israeli-Palestinian relations. But what’s beyond the headlines? Months into implementation, where does MEPPA stand today, and where can it lead? Most importantly, what will it take to truly build a new foundation for lasting peace? To understand MEPPA’s purpose and full potential, it helps to understand where it came from. MEPPA sprang from an even bigger idea: a global, decade-long campaign to create a $200 million-per-year International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. That effort, launched by the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) in 2009, was inspired by lessons learned over the prior two decades: from the failed Oslo process, from the successful Northern Ireland peace, and from a small but growing field of initiatives building partnership and trust between Israelis and Palestinians.
Topic:
Partnerships, Peace, and Trust-building
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Palestine