The Iron Wall of Jabotinsky has to be torn down, and it can only be torn down through long term civil and ideological struggles against this heritage of Zionism, with the Palestinians living inside the green line playing a crucial part.
Every time the Gulf States’ rulers justify their support for violent rebels in Syria or the military regime in Egypt by appealing to the unalienable right of peoples to basic rights and representative governance, they legitimize the Arab Spring in the eyes of their own peoples, too.
There is little systematic evidence to suggest that “ruthlessness” is, in and of itself, a critical variable.
Obama’s overture to Rouhani is costing the United States the goodwill of some old pro-Washington friends in the Arab world. When Prince Bandar, a close friend of the United States and a trusted adviser to the Saudi King, issues threats, Washington must listen.
Below the radar of the Geneva-2 peace talks, Bosnian and Syrian women are meeting to discuss the lessons that must be learnt from the failure of the Dayton Agreement. Without the voices of those who have the greatest stake in preserving peace in their countries, peace agreements don't work.
The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) as applied in Libya promoted regime change and western interests. Resistance to a proposed intervention in Syria shows emerging powers and public opinion will not accept an ends justify the means logic, and the US ‘exceptionalism’ that is said to justify it. A c
Civil resistance is not sufficient to bring down a ruthless regime, as one can see in Bahrain or in Yemen. But dismantling the ideological base of the regime is an essential first step, whether violent or nonviolent.
Arab Awakening's columnists offer their weekly perspective on what is happening on the ground in the Middle East. Leading the week, Egypt's most powerful man tries to tame the media.
If Saddam Hussein and Hafez Assad had worked towards unlearning the new reality which Sykes-Picot aimed to create in the Arab World, the current deadlock in the Syrian-Iraqi situation would never have happened.
Discussions on R2P – and even the terms of the debate – tend to privilege the military option, though there is little empirical basis for thinking military strikes will best deter those harming civilians. Protection strategies need a deeper analysis of all potential levers of influence. A contribu
Using the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) to justify decisions to intervene militarily abroad is often self-serving. Countries like India are ambiguous about the right to intervene because the practice is deeply inequitable. A contribution to the openGlobalRights debate, R2P and the Human Rights C
The recent debate over military action in Syria – and the upcoming Commons Defence Committee’s Inquiry on UK intervention strategy - shows how data and information in conflict is changing the imperatives of decision-making.
