Essays
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Ukraine warThe deep desire to declare a state of emergency
Russia's attack on Ukraine took Germany by surprise. The "end of an era" has shifted the political focus to the military, bringing back stale memories of the Western response to the attacks of 9/11. Essay by Stefan Buchen
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Russia's interventions in Ukraine and SyriaWhat drives Putin is evident from Syria
Anyone wishing to know how far Putin will go in Ukraine should look to Syria. There, the Kremlin has been successfully asserting its own interests for years – with military ruthlessness, diplomatic pressure, brazen propaganda and tactical agility. Commentary by Kristin Helberg
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Tunisia's ex-president Moncef MarzoukiThe conscience of the Arab Spring
Moncef Marzouki was Tunisia's first democratically elected president after the fall of dictator Ben Ali. Today he is the most prominent critic of increasingly counter-revolutionary developments under President Kais Saied. Commentary by Ali Anouzla
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TurkeyErdogan's search for partners in the Middle East
Ankara is seeking to improve its relations with several states in the Middle East – such as the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Israel. There are several reasons for this. Meanwhile, those being approached are not averse to the idea. By Kersten Knipp
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Egypt's National Human Rights StrategyPropaganda tailored to the U.S.?
Abdul Fattah al-Sisi's National Human Rights Strategy smacks of the containment and sabotage tactics adopted by counter-revolutionaries during Egypt's 2011 revolution and its aftermath. Taqadum al-Khatib assesses the situation for Qantara.de
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Islamic scholar Mathias Rohe on the muezzin call"Traditional religious practice is not political Islam"
Since the German city of Cologne launched a two-year model project to allow Muslim communities to perform the call to prayer, there has been much heated public debate on the issue. Islamic scholar and law professor Mathias Rohe examines the arguments
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Germany: Controversy surrounding journalist with Palestinian rootsThe lost honour of Nemi El-Hassan
On 10 September, WDR, the public broadcaster in Germany's most populous western state, introduced the 28-year-old journalist Nemi El-Hassan as the new presenter of its popular and respected science programme "Quarks". Then German tabloid giant "Bild" got involved and everything changed. A commentary by Stefan Buchen
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Arab world"The people aren't ready" – can Arabs do democracy?
"The people aren’t ready for democracy" has been the constitutional basis for Arab tyranny, its favourite slogan and its sacred narrative for more than a century. Yet, asks Khaled Hroub, what chance does democracy have, unless it is repeatedly put to the test by the people at all levels of society?
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9/11 twenty years onHow the 'War on Terror' destabilised the Middle East
Two decades after the attacks of 11 September 2001, the West faces the shattered debris of its failure – not only in Afghanistan, but also in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen. What went wrong in the war on terror? And what lessons can Europe learn from it? Essay by Kristin Helberg
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Mohammed VI and the Arab SpringWhat happened to Morocco's 2011 constitution?
Morocco's 2011 Arab Spring constitution has been hijacked by the deep state, which is asserting its own authoritarian interpretation and turning the clock back decades. Analysis by Mohamed Taifouri