Essays
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Refugee crisis on the Greek-Turkish borderEurope's liberal warriors put democracy to the sword
The parties at the centre of Germany's political landscape have often exhorted citizens to distance themselves from the right-wing AfD party. And yet, Europe's response to what is happening on its outer border in Greece shows that the ruling centre has itself assimilated some fundamental nationalist ideas. An essay by Stefan Buchen
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First anniversary of the Hirak movementThe jury's still out on Algeria
Few would have thought that Algeria's Hirak protest movement would still be mobilising the masses 12 months on from its first peaceful demonstration. According to Isabelle Werenfels and Luca Miehe, the systemic change people hoped for post-Bouteflika has yet to materialise. External players need to brace themselves for ongoing political turbulence
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The longest duelIran and the USA square off
The Iranian people are being held hostage by the confrontation between America and the regime in Tehran. Stefan Buchen considers in his essay whether the country's culture can still continue to flourish in the face of this latest 'high noon'
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Arab Spring 2.0The Middle East's fearless protesters
The upheavals of the past year in the MENA region are arguably as momentous as those of the Arab Spring in 2011. Yet perhaps the biggest difference is that our interest seems to have evaporated. Why? Essay by Jannis Hagmann
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Interview with the Moroccan thinker Hassan AouridDemocracy cannot be stopped
Hassan Aourid is one of the most important political and intellectual figures in Morocco. In interview with Ismail Azzam for Qantara, Aourid outlines his vision of the decline of political Islam and the future of democracy and human rights in the Maghreb
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Syria's constitutional committeeGeneva is key to Assad's rehabilitation
Finding a lasting political solution to the Syrian conflict is the challenge facing the constitutional committee that has been meeting in Geneva since the end of October, under UN mediation. But achieving this goal is an illusion, since the Syrian regime has for years shown no willingness to surrender any of its power. By Kristin Helberg
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Modiʹs identity politicsIslamophobia threatens to engulf India
Indiaʹs constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, but the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not care. Run by Hindu-supremacists, it is enforcing aggressive anti-Muslim policies. By Arfa Khanum Sherwani
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An enduring stereotypeThe West's gleeful obsession with the 'oppressed Arab woman'
The stereotype of the oppressed Arab woman continues to dominate public discourse throughout Europe. Not only is this skewed image altering the perception of changing notions of family and roles within the Arab world, it is also an expression of our own cultural insecurity, writes Claudia Mende
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Revenge is not the answer!Prosecuting tyranny in the Arab world
In the wake of the Arab Spring, not one Arab dictator has faced charges for creating a police state and inducing terror among citizens. Similarly, none has been prosecuted for destroying state institutions, the essentials of citizenship, or the means of social advancement. Analysis by Shafiq Nazim Ghabra
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Identity politics in the WestIslam – no longer the bogeyman
The champions of white identity are re-grouping. In the West hostility towards Islam has had its day. It is now being absorbed into common or garden racism, says Stefan Buchen in his essay