BRICS, the hitherto five-state grouping of emerging countries that, until now, included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, expanded in early 2024. This enlargement doubled BRICS’ membership to include authoritarian members Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but with Argentina desisting from joining after the election of President Milei. This is the first BRICS Read More…
The Arab Spring threw a wrench into Egypt’s promising liquified natural gas (LNG) industry. Now, with stability returned to that country and the discovery of new gas deposits in the Nile littoral, Egypt is poised to become a major source of energy to the E.U. market. As auspicious as this sounds, it raises the stakes in an already volatile region marked by militarization and beset by inter-state strife and transcontinental tension.
On the Editor’s Forum, program editors at NAOC continue their case-by-case examination of different areas of the globe and identify their respective security contingencies. In this instalment, the Eastern Mediterranean is the region being reviewed.
Can we advance women’s rights while respecting culture and customs? In this article about gendered advocacy, Stephanie Oldfield discusses the disconnections between cultural norms and perceptions impeded on women’s bodies.
Israel and the US seem to be closer to the same page than ever in recent history. The only question that remains is whether the status quo is more comfortable.
Among Donald Trump’s many audacious foreign policy proposals, he has seriously considered moving the US’ embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This would be a globally unprecedented move that could destabilize the Middle East for years to come.
Egypt and the IMF are in the process of finalizing a US$12 billion loan deal. Is the IMF helping to pave the way towards greater prosperity in Egypt, or to greater political instability? Charlotte Provost discusses the potential ramifications of the financial agreement.
Government violation of human rights is rampant in the Middle East, but criticism is intermittent. Juliette Bronchtein analyzes what Amnesty International’s latest report on Egypt’s repression tactics, and ongoing human rights abuse by Turkey mean in the context of a potential revival of peace negotiations in Israel-Palestine.
In response to the downing of their fighter jet, Russia has decided to cut economic ties with Turkey. It has also suspended visa-free travel agreement with Turkey from January 1, 2016 onward.
Years after the Arab Spring, Paul Pryce proposes that the time has come to draw upon NATO’s Istanbul Cooperation Initiative.