Politics

Weapons exports to Israel

"Unlawful arms export licences have likely been issued"

Germany remains one of Israel's top arms suppliers, a situation likely to persist under Friedrich Merz. According to Lilian Löwenbrück from the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, politicians and manufacturers could face charges for complicity in crimes against international law.
By Hannah El-Hitami
Germany's new government

Merz, Netanyahu and the reason of state

Under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Germany is expected to double down on its support for Israel, even if it means sidelining international law. Domestically, repression of Israel's critics is set to intensify.
By Daniel Bax
Pankaj Mishra on Germany, Israel and Palestine

"An anarchic, nihilistic world"

The West, particularly Germany, has instrumentalised Holocaust remembrance to justify state violence, argues Pankaj Mishra. A conversation on suppressed colonial histories, Western complicity in Gaza and Germany's role in the erosion of international law.
By Elias Feroz
Anti-Erdoğan protests

Turkey at the crossroads

The March arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has sparked widespread protests demanding his release and fresh presidential elections. Successful or not, the protests point to a changing face of Turkish society.
By Ceyda Nurtsch
Two years of war in Sudan

A fractured nation on the brink of partition

Two years in, Sudan's war shows no signs of resolution. As both sides push to establish rival governments, civilians bear the brunt of the violence, and national divisions threaten to become permanent.
By Hamid Khalafallah
UGTT in crisis

The decline of Tunisia's most powerful trade union

Plagued by internal divisions, Tunisia's UGTT union is losing the political influence it gained after the 2011 revolution. What is behind the crisis—and how has President Kais Saied capitalised?
By Mohamed Ben Rajeb
Civil society since the Arab Spring

Europe must support the agents of change

Civil society organisations in West Asia and North Africa face widespread repression. But instead of supporting activists on the ground, European policymakers continue to prop up autocratic regimes.
By Ilyas Saliba
Erdoğan rival Ekrem İmamoğlu

Detained but defiant

Days before he was set to secure his official presidential candidacy, Ekrem İmamoğlu was arrested on corruption and terrorism charges. A relative unknown until he won Istanbul's mayoralty in 2019, how did he become Erdoğan's greatest rival?
By Ayşe Karabat
Syria after Assad

A future built on citizenship and freedom

Syria's new leadership has not made a clear enough commitment to civil liberties. An inclusive understanding of citizenship, rooted in the history of Arab national movements, is needed to ensure that the goals of the 2011 uprising are not lost from view.
By Samir Aita
Öcalan and the PKK

From terrorist to peacemaker

On Saturday, the PKK declared a ceasefire in response to jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan's call to disarm. The collapse of the last Turkey-PKK ceasefire in 2015 triggered an eruption of violence. Will Öcalan succeed in ending the 47-year-old conflict this time?
By Leyla Egeli
Turkey and post-Assad Syria

Bound together by fate, history and migration

Turkey’s close ties to the new Syrian regime have reignited fierce debates at home. In Syria, Turkey sees a reflection of its own deep divisions—Islamist vs. secular, Alawite vs. Sunni, Turkish vs. Kurdish.
By Ayşe Karabat
German elections 2025

Debates on the Middle East, migration and antisemitism

Germany heads to the polls on 23 February. Where do the main parties stand on migration, Israel and Gaza, antisemitism and the future of Syria?
By Leon Holly