Middle East Program The Bush School of Government & Public Service

In the spirit of accelerating sustainable development and economic recovery in Africa, this year’s meeting will focus on leveraging open government approaches to strengthen public service delivery in the region. Participants will share experiences, best practices and lessons on advancing critical public service policy areas including anti-corruption, digital innovation, access to justice, and civic participation. To date, Germany’s relationships with the Gulf monarchies have remained limited, particularly when compared to those of the US, China, France and the UK, all of which have established close political and economic ties with Saudi Arabia and its neighbours. In recent years, Germany has increasingly recognised the Gulf monarchies as significant regional partners in terms of economic cooperation, but in the public and political debate, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are still mostly considered as ‘frenemies’ of Germany.

Impressively, 89% of all government services offered in these portals were conducted online rather than in person. In addition, international organizations have maintained close contact with Yemeni actors in reporting on the ongoing conflict. The best source for data on the Yemeni war at the close of the 2010s, including interventions and airstrikes by outside actors, is the Yemen Data Project. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs provides a useful site on Yemeni developments.

Arab Perspectives on the Middle East Crisis

For now, it seems that a pragmatic Saudi Arabia is not giving up on normalization with Israel, the Palestinians, or regional de-escalation. The West’s unwavering support to Israel, Riyadh’s vulnerability in case of an Israeli or U.S. military strike against Iran, and the human tragedy of Palestinian civilians are enabling Riyadh in its three-way pursuit. This conflict has undermined the decades-old fallacy that stability is achievable while the Palestinian population remains under brutal occupation. The international community must now stem the bloodshed while expressing empathy for both Israelis and Palestinians. This begins by recognizing the root causes of the conflict and the broader context of occupation and power asymmetry between the two communities, while seeking a more sustainable political opening as an exit from the carnage.

It has also demanded from Arab governments and the Palestinian Authority to unequivocally condemn Hamas. The Biden administration has rejected Arab calls for de-escalation or a ceasefire, rendering the US complicit in present and future Israeli war crimes. The US envoys doubled down on equating Hamas to ISIL (ISIS) to emphasise the brutality of the October 7 attack and make clear that there is no diplomatic solution to pursue, only a military one.

Climate change

For instance, the German Development Cooperation Agency already signed a memorandum of understanding with the Islamic Development Bank in 2017. Qatar, another top-scorer in the region, has seen an even steeper drop, falling from 64 to 58 at its lowest point ever. The country has been in the international spotlight for hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022, drawing criticism for alleged bribery in the award process, inhumane working conditions on building sites and discrimination against minority https://www.metadialog.com/government/ groups. But corruption risks in Qatar go far beyond this event, as public access to relevant information on state procurement and government budgeting is highly restricted. While petty corruption offenses are regularly punished, independent mechanisms to detect and prevent systemic corruption are severely lacking. Anti-corruption legislation may also be abused to target critics and whistleblowers, who have no protection from government repression, as the case of Abdullah Ibhais demonstrates.

Finally, the World Bank’s Algeria country portal provides economic data and briefings on the country. The Arab Spring shook its authoritarian political system, but fragmentation and conflict waged by various actors – separatist fronts, religious movements, the transitional government, youth groups, tribal militias, and outside powers – have all but ensured the state’s breakdown since 2012. The potential exists for further political transition and dialogue, and perhaps even a unitary country, but at the end of the 2010s the priority for many global observers is staunching the humanitarian disaster unfolding across the population. After nearly two decades of governance by the same ruling party, Turkish democracy suffers multiple threats – economic instability, political abuses, geopolitical uncertainty, and polarization between social and religious actors.

Palestine

The program examines the growing energy, trade, security and political relationships with the aim of developing greater understanding of the interplay between these strategically important regions. Jacqueline S. Ismael is Professor Emerita of Social Work at the University of Calgary and is founding co-editor of the International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies. She has published extensively on Canadian social policy, international social welfare, and Middle East politics.

She attributes many of Iraq’s domestic issues to Maliki-induced divisiveness, and foresaw continued instability under Maliki’s leadership. Many Iraqis and foreign backers reached the same conclusion and forced Maliki out of office in 2014. Gasiorowski contributes an excellent chapter on Iran, but he missed the mark when he predicted that the… After decades of costly US failures in the Middle East, both on the strategic and diplomatic levels, losing wars and failing to mediate peace, the US seems addicted to Middle East chaos.

Survey sheds light on Palestinian views ahead of Hamas attack on Israel

The program also explores the use of water and environmental policy, climate adaptation and mitigation, and green initiatives to enhance the climate resilience of the Middle East and North Africa. Developing the traditional civil-military relations approach to include security actors, the book compares the style of civil-security relations in both Egypt and Turkey. The volume comprehends the competition between civilian actors and military and security actors to impose control over the …

• The change in usage began to evolve prior to World War II and tended to be confirmed during that war, when the term Middle East was given to the British military command in Egypt.
• The Program on Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli Affairs examines the future of Palestinian politics and the Palestinian national movement as well as the prospects for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the role of the conflict in the stability of the broader Middle East.
• The Middle East Regional Platform also serves as a regional convener for trainings and meetings and events based on regional or bilateral interest.
• Employment, poverty, accessibility and regulatory/ judicial reform are issues that underpin this critical area.
• Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

The National Anti-Corruption Authority, shut down in 2021, has still not resumed work, leaving whistleblowers with nowhere to turn. The government has also attacked and intimidated civil society organisations and journalists publicly, contributing to social distrust and tensions. The president further consolidated power, dismissing the prime minister and freezing the parliament.

War, Ambitions, and Actualities in the Energy Theater of the Middle East and Beyond

Finally, the Yemen Peace Project is an advocacy organization delivering information about the war. Iran has a peculiar political system, being a theocratic republic where a constrained electoral arena and tenacious policy debates subsist underneath the weight of tutelary religious institutions that give supreme power and authority to Shi‘a clerics. Such a political order has undergone many evolutionary changes in the 40 years since its revolutionary birth, but among its future challenges are an economy stifled by international sanctions, internal polarization, generational change, and the complexities of regional geopolitical resistance. Saudi Arabia is in the middle of a monumental succession, as power passes down to a new generation of princes as embodied by the controversial Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.

Meral Akşener, the chairwoman of the opposition Good Party, has been the sole political leader in Turkiye to describe the Hamas-orchestrated aggression as terrorism. Increased optimism and confidence in the Middle East sports sector has attracted investments from Middle East sovereign wealth funds and government-backed investment groups. The positive outlook is well-founded amid an increasingly packed calendar of global sporting events in the region, with several high-profile athletes choosing the Middle East as a destination to continue their legacy. As the region adapts to emerging needs and capitalises on technology, new models of delivery – based on collaboration and partnership will drive the design and execution of government public services.