2022 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 December 2022 Algeria: Independent Publishers Are Opening New Vistas for Books and Archives Kenza Merzoug · December 2022 In a period marked by commemorations of the sixty years of Algerian independence and in a hampered society, independent publishers, on both shores of the Mediterranean, have gone their own way, bringing out ground-breaking books and journals. With a resolutely modern take on the world, a (…) Turkey: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Goes for Broke Jean Michel Morel · December 2022 The bomb that exploded in the centre of Istanbul on 13 November 2022 gave President Erdoğan a pretext to crack down viciously on the Kurds in view of his coming bid for re-election seven months from now. But the incumbent president seems to have gained nothing by this. Political and economic (…) Algeria. A Grey Area in the Family Code: Femicides Still Go Unpunished Ali Boukhlef · December 2022 Since the beginning of 2022, some forty women have been murdered in Algeria. The relevant associations demand the criminalisation of these femicides, but while the constitution claims to protect women against all forms of violence, the Family Code and the silence of the victims’ family members (…) November 2022 From the Urgency of Climate Change to the Urgency of Free Information · November 2022 Is night falling on the Middle East? While Egypt played host a few days ago at Sharm el-Sheikh – with great fanfare – to the world’s leaders, for an international conference on climate change where nothing serious was at stake, thousands of Egyptian activists and journalists are still rotting in (…) Saudi Arabia: The Lasting Imprint of King Salman Philippe Gérard · November 2022 Enthroned in 2015 at the age of 80, King Salman Ibn Abdelaziz has been gradually overshadowed by the rise of his son, Mohamed Ben Salman (MBS), official crown prince and unofficial viceroy since 2017. And yet the father’s legacy has been a major influence on his son’s decisions. Born in 1935, (…) Questions to our readers · November 2022 Orient XXI will celebrate its tenth anniversary in the fall of 2023. At the dawn of this decade and on our fundraising campaign, we would like to know more about how you browse our site. Free and ad-free media, Orient XXI lives thanks to its readers. Your opinion is therefore essential for us. (…) Iraq’s Shi’ites Are Fighting Among Themselves Laurent Perpigna Iban · November 2022 Bogged down in their internecine strife, the two major Iraqi trends of political Shiism are dragging the country back to its old demons. While for the moment, the religious leaders have managed to calm the belligerents’ ardour, everyone wonders how long this will last. Our investigation was (…) “Haaretz”, the Last Bastion of Jewish Opposition in Israel Sylvain Cypel · November 2022 “Israel is now closing in on a right-wing, religious, authoritarian revolution”, headlines the daily Haaretz the day after the Israeli legislative elections of 1 November 2022, which confirmed the anchoring of a fascist extreme right and the denial of oppression in Palestine. If the traditional (…) October 2022 Algeria Introduces English at Primary Level to Counterbalance French Ali Boukhlef · October 2022 In July President Tebboune called for that the teaching of English to become part of the primary program starting with the new school year this September. The rapidity of this reform involves many ulterior motives regarding France and the French language, the language of colonisation, but is (…) Iran: The Revolt of the Third Generation Bernard Hourcade · October 2022 Iranian society has changed in depth since 1979. The current revolt is that of the grandsons and granddaughters of Khomeiny and it has disturbed the equilibrium, but its success will depend on the extension of the movement The courageous uprising of young Iranian women is not just about the (…) When Turkey Comes To Terms Again With Israel Mostafa Shalash · October 2022 The restoration of diplomatic relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv signals another change of course in Turko-Israeli relations which have always been dictated, on the Turkish side by domestic politics. This normalisation also reflects an upheaval in the region’s political landscape, marked by (…) Digging Into the Emirates’ Lobbying Strategies in France Eva Thiébaud · October 2022 This investigation conducted for Orient XXI constitutes an unprecedented decryption of the lobbying, as discreet as it effective, carried out by one of France’s key partners. An idealised self-image coupled with a systematic vilification of Qatar, accused of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, (…) September 2022 Armament. “Made in France” War in Yemen Ariane Lavrilleux · September 2022 After the United States, France is the second arms supplier to the Saudi-Emirati coalition involved in the Yemeni civil war since 2015. Who equips and repairs the fighter planes used by the Coalition? Where are their pilots trained? Where are the bombs that fall on Yemeni markets and homes (…) 1915: Armenian Genocide. The Triple Entente Condemns it but Makes No Move Nicolas Lepoutre · September 2022 On 24 May 1915, the Triple Entente nations (France, England and Russia) publicly condemned the Armenian massacres using a new vocabulary, mentioning for the first time crimes “against humanity and civilisation”. Though most often in French school books their declaration figures only in the (…) Iran Scores a Big Hit With an Iconic Song Sabrina Mervin · September 2022 Based on an idea by the Supreme Leader Khamenei, the song “Salâm farmândeh” (Salute commander) launched last Spring has been a smash hit in Iran. Immediately exported to Shi’ite populations across the world, it has given rise to any number of local versions. Their tonality reflects either (…) Israel’s Spyware Diplomacy in Africa Suraya Dadoo · September 2022 Ghana has purchased Pegasus spyware from the Israeli group NS0 under dubious conditions. This acquisition by a country often considered a model in Africa confirms that the Israeli cyberweapons and surveillance industry is closely linked to Tel Aviv’s diplomacy and normalization program in (…) Qatar: A High-Profile Inter-Arab Derby for Curtain Raiser Raphaël Le Magoariec · September 2022 Two of three most famous football teams in the Arab world, Zamalek (Egypt) and Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia) will meet on Friday 9 September to baptise the Lusail Iconic Stadium, the crown jewel of Qatar’s sporting equipment. The tone of the game is a foregone conclusion: it will be a splendid (…) What you’ve always wanted to know about the IMF Jean-Pierre Sereni · September 2022 IMF: three letters that have long haunted the economic news of many countries having gained their independence at the end of WW2. The international financial institution dispatches its experts to countries "in need of help” on every continent. Why and how? Orient XXI answers your questions on (…) August 2022 In Germany, the Fight Against Antisemitism Turns into a Witch Hunt Ben Ratskoff · August 2022 Some journalists and intellectuals are the target of strong campaigns in Germany against their supposed antisemitism. But in addition to the unbridled Islamophobia that these media denunciations reveal, it is in reality voices critical of Israel, including Jewish and Israeli ones, that find (…) Union-Busting in Moroccan Call Centres Jana Treffler · August 2022 In the many call centres located in Morocco, where workers of both sexes hold low-paid jobs, the multinational owners do their best to keep out the unions. A criminal code left over from colonial days makes this easier. When Ayoub Saoud wanted to go to his job in call centre Casablanca B2S, (…) Against All Odds, the Persistence of Palestine Hicham Alaoui · August 2022 Although Palestine seems to have disappeared from the Western and Arab diplomatic agenda, it remains rooted in the regional reality and in the memory of the peoples. One cannot so easily eradicate the aspiration to emancipation. President Biden’s recent visit to the Middle East did not reset (…) July 2022 Egyptian Photographer Ibrahim Ahmed Questions Masculinity Sama Waly · July 2022 Ibrahim Ahmed retraces the history of his family and that of the country from photographic archives. He creates original works that allow him to question and go beyond the concept of masculinity transmitted by a patriarchal society whose relationship to gender has not always been so strictly (…) At El-Hadjar Algeria’s Hopes of Building a Steel Industry Have Gone Up in Smoke Jean-Pierre Sereni · July 2022 With the demolition of the first of the two blast furnaces at the El-Hadjar complex, in Annaba wilaya, the pioneers’ dream of a flourishing steel industry, a symbol of modernity and of the hopes for a prosperous future in the newly independent Algeria of the 1970s, has disappeared. The news (…) Pakistan-Arabia: Trouble in Paradise Jean-Luc Racine · July 2022 Well established ever since Pakistan gained its independence in 1947, that country’s alliance with Saudi Arabia has recently been compromised by the Kashmir crisis and the rapprochement between Riyadh and New Delhi. Identity-based thinking in Pakistan harks back to the 1947 partition which (…) Hassan Massoudy, Calligrapher of Emotions Emma Redondo · July 2022 In 2004, Hassan Massoudy published his autobiography Si loin de l’Euphrate: jeunesse d’artiste en Irak (Albin Michel) serving as the starting point of this interview conducted by Emma Redondo. In this dialogue, Hassan Massoudy discusses the place of calligraphy in society and the evolution of (…) A Grave of Smoke Elias Khoury · July 2022 On 16 April 2013, in Tadamon, a district of Damascus, members of the Syrian armed forces shot dozens of civilians one by one in a mass grave and then incinerated them. Images of this massacre leaked in April 2022 led to war crime complaints in several European countries. Elias Khoury remembers. (…) What Algeria Owes to Ireland’s Struggle for Independence Slimane Hargas · July 2022 The war launched by the NLF against colonial France has often been seen as a revolution unlike any other. But militants for independence have drawn inspiration from many other histories, including that of the Anglo-Irish conflict, in which they find an instrument of revolutionary legitimation, (…) June 2022 France: Police Violence as Part of Colonial History Mathieu Rigouste · June 2022 In France, at a time when there is increasing public controversy over the role of the police, there is also a tendency to forget the colonial origins of state brutality. And the influence of the transmission of a certain “know-how” acquired during Algeria’s war of independence still perceptible (…) Saudi Arabia-Yemen Relations: A Long History of Mistrust Helen Lackner · June 2022 Nearby Yemen and Saudi Arabia dominate the Arabian Peninsula demographically, with similar populations of around 30 million, and their respective policies have implications for the entire region. Historical legacy, economic situation and political developments explain the fundamental tensions (…) Orient XXI. Unravelling the Threads of Current Events · June 2022 For the past few months, the news has been mostly taken up with the war in Ukraine and the mobilisation of the West against the Russian invasion. But by concentrating on that war the media have tended to neglect the non-Western world, the rest of the world, i.e. most of the humanity. In the (…) Big Brother. The Weapons of Mass Influence of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates Marc Owen Jones, Claire Beaugrand · June 2022 In Digital Authoritarianism in the Midde East, researcher Marc Owen Jones deciphers the new digital tools that support the Saudi and UAE regimes’ drift from authoritarianism to dictatorship. These textbook cases illustrate formidable strategies for controlling information and monitoring (…) Erdoğan Wants to Send a Million Refugees Back to Northern Syria Lara Villalón · June 2022 The pre-electoral atmosphere and the severe economic crisis that has hit Turkey these past months have revived the xenophobic rhetoric against the country’s four million refugees. The Turkish president is proposing the voluntary return of a million of these to the area in northern Syria (…) Parliamentary Election in Lebanon: A Modest Wind of Change Lorenzo Trombetta · June 2022 The new parliament elected on 15 May 2002 will be different from its predecessor. The catastrophes which Lebanon has undergone since 2019 have left their mark in the ballot boxes. It remains to be seen whether the composition of the new chamber on the Place de l’Etoile and more generally the (…) May 2022 Parliamentary Elections in Lebanon. Tripoli, the Disenchanted Capital of the Revolution Thomas Abgrall · May 2022 As a result of Saad Hariri’s withdrawal from politics, the outcome of the recent election in the Lebanon’s second-largest city, was unpredictable. Hostility towards the Hezbollah, clientelism, a high rate of abstention and the emergence of a candidate from the ranks of the 2019 protestors all (…) Maghreb-Ukraine (2). Tunisia With its Hands Tied, Public Opinion Favourable to Russia Akram Belkaid · May 2022 The Maghreb countries want to avoid taking sides in the Ukraine war. In our first article, we looked at the Algerian and Moroccan positions. Here we will analyse Tunisia’s policy and the state of public opinion in the region where anti-Western feelings benefit Russia. Among the three (…) Maghreb-Ukraine (1). Algeria and Morocco Refuse to Choose Akram Belkaid · May 2022 Faced with the war in Ukraine, the Maghreb countries have no intention of siding with one or the other of the warring parties. This choice of neutrality can be explained by many geopolitical factors but also by Russia’s military clout and increasing economic influence in the region. In this (…) Egypt’s Military Economy Under Threat from the IMF Jean-Pierre Sereni · May 2022 Struggling with a very serious financial crisis, Egypt has once again appealed to the International Monetary Fund. This time, however, the financial institution may challenge the privileges which Egypt’s military sector enjoys to the detriment of its private counterpart. A prospect which does (…) Maltese, a Language so Unique in Europe Joseph M. Brincat · May 2022 Arabic origins, Sicilian and Italian vocabulary and a strong influence of English are the characteristics of an original European language with a long history: Maltese. Situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, Malta and Gozo present an intriguing linguistic picture. Although they are (…) April 2022 Egypt. Al-Sisi, a Human Rights Illusionist Marc Español · April 2022 During the last six months, Cairo has announced a series of ostentatious reforms aimed at improving its mediocre record in human rights. In fact, however these are merely window-dressing meant to dupe the “international community” and ease the moral pressures on the regime. On 25 October (…) Nuclear Power in the Middle East between Energy Needs and Military Temptation Mostafa Shalash · April 2022 Though the Iranian nuclear issue is the focus of world attention, Tehran is not alone in developing its program in the region. From the Gulf to Egypt, several countries would like to bank on a program of clean nuclear energy. But these projects come up against their dependence on foreign (…) Spain falls into line with Morocco on the Western Sahara conflict Ignacio Cembrero · April 2022 Rabat has won the day. After a fifteen-month crisis with Madrid, Premier Pedro Sanchez has finally approved the Moroccan plan for the autonomy of Western Sahara. The idea is to put an end to the conflict without resorting to the self-determination referendum demanded by the Polisario Front with (…) Israeli-Apartheid: Over-View on the Left Jean Stern · April 2022 Of course, the war in Ukraine and the economic and environmental situations are the mainstays of the campaigns being conducted by the three principal left-wing candidates, Jean-Luc Melenchon, Fabien Roussel and Yannick Jadot. However, the recent NGO reports describing the existence in Israel and (…) March 2022 Why is Israel so Soft on Moscow? · March 2022 Among the “Western” nations, Israel’s voice is not heard on the Ukrainian crisis. And the leaders of this country do not want to oppose head-on Vladimir Putin to whom they are linked by strategic and economic interests. At the risk of angering the American ally. Since the beginning of (…) Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates: A Risky Balancing Act Alain Gresh · March 2022 Faced with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, two important allies of the USA and France in the Gulf region have opted for a cautious attitude. Their wait-and-see approach reflects the increased Russian influence in the reason over the past few years and a distrust of the West which abandons its (…) Israel-Palestine: Emmanuel Macron on the Way to Jerusalem Jean Stern · March 2022 In the wake of the Abraham Accords, the outgoing president of the French Republic, a fan of Israel, fascinated by that start-up nation, could bring about a change in his country’s historic option in favour of the two-State solution. Several countries involved in these accords are allies of (…) Turkey’s Impossible Choice Between Ukraine and Russia Bayram Balci · March 2022 The Russian military intervention in Ukraine is not just another case of simple aggression: it has unleashed a new European confrontation unprecedented since the end of the Cold War. All the countries around Russia and Ukraine are directly affected. That includes Turkey, which has strong (…) Russo-Ukraine Crisis. The National Resistance, a “white privilege” Ahmed S. Hashim · March 2022 Russia is facing unexpected resistance in Ukraine that will damage the image of its army and its ambitions on the international scene. The West makes the Ukrainian people a paragon of heroism while national resistance movements in the Middle East are labelled as terrorists. An armed intervention (…) Libyan Youth Dream of Marriage Mary Fitzgerald · March 2022 Many young Libyans, struggling with unemployment and the aftermath of years of war, can no longer afford the luxury of marriage. Long ignored by successive transitional governments, they are now the focus of attention and are being offered marriage allowances, land or housing by the government (…) Algeria. Government Hesitation Paralyses Growth Jean-Pierre Sereni · March 2022 Rising inflation, persistent massive unemployment, imports at half-mast: by timidity as much as because of the choice of the duo that runs Algeria, economic reforms are on hold. The current rise in the price of oil is not likely to change the situation for an impoverished population. A bit (…) February 2022 Israel Mired in the Pegasus Affair Sylvain Cypel · February 2022 As long as Israeli software was being used to monitor the Palestinian population, nobody was worried about it. But the Pegasus scandal blew all that apart, with the revelations about listening in on Israeli politicians, and practices akin to those of a gangster state, stirring concerns even (…) The Proliferation of Drones in the Middle East Has Done Nothing to Change the Strategic Order There Jean-Loup Samaan · February 2022 Drones are the latest weapon on the Middle Eastern battlefields. Many countries in the region have purchased them, others are manufacturing their own. Yet thus far drones have done nothing to modify the strategic situation in that part of the world. On 17 February 2022, the Abu Dhabi (…) Why the Houthi Drones Struck Abu Dhabi Quentin Müller · February 2022 At war for seven years now, Yemen has been the target of heavy air strikes carried out by the United Arab Emirates since December 2021. In retaliation, the Houthi rebels have, for the first time, hit Abu Dhabi with their drones. But the epicentre of the confrontation between Emiratis and Houthis (…) Morocco. “I demand the release of my husband Soulaiman Raissouni” Khouloud Mokhtari · February 2022 Moroccan journalist Soulaiman Raissouni, who has been in prison for a year and a half, is awaiting the outcome of his appeal. The editorialist of the daily Akhbar Al-Yaoum is targeted by the regime because of his critical writings. His wife Khouloud Mokhtari is asking for his release while (…) Kais Saied, Tunisia’s All-Powerful President Khadija Mohsen-Finan · February 2022 As early as 2013, Kais Saied was mapping his route, to put into practice his plans for a grass-roots democracy. He was convinced that it was his mission to modify the Tunisian political system by turning the pyramid of power upside down. He would do it without a party, without a detailed program (…) January 2022 Diplomacy Without Diplomats? The Disputed Reform of the French Foreign Ministry Sophie Pommier · January 2022 In June 2, the diplomats will be on strike for reasons they set out in an article signed by 500 agents, published on May 25 in Le Monde. They are protesting their integration into a new undifferentiated body of senior civil servants, within the National Civil Service Institute. According to (…) More than Window-Dressing: On the Credibility of Public Statistics from Al-Sisi’s Egypt Salima Batsi, Stephan Roll · January 2022 Official Egyptian social and economic data do not provide a reliable picture of the reality of life within the country due to numerous irregularities—nevertheless they are mostly uncritically adopted by external actors. Egypt has so far fared extremely well in the Covid 19 pandemic—at least (…) Alain Gresh :“The rise of the extreme right in France is linked to our colonial history” Bassam Haddad, Alain Gresh · January 2022 On 14 December 2021, our colleague Bassam Haddad from Jadaliyya sat down with Alain Gresh, publication director of Orient XXI at his home in Paris to discuss a number of topics, including Europe/France-Mideast relations in a changing global environment, internal French policies regarding (…) Turkey, a New African Power Jean Marcou · January 2022 In just a few decades, Turkey has developed a dense network of economic, political and military connections in Africa. It has become a key partner for many countries on the dark continent, to a degree which has other powers, like France, quite worried. The third annual Turkey-Africa summit (…) Gulf Countries Race for Foreign Capital Sebastian Castelier · January 2022 Sovereign funds, foreign investments, oil companies’ low-profile borrowing or sales of shares, Gulf countries are in search of the winning martingale to attract foreign capital deemed essential for diversifying the regional economy when the oil windfall is exhausted. To prepare the initial (…) Through the Looking-Glass, the Crusades Nicolas Lepoutre · January 2022 From Ridley Scott’s 2005 movie Kingdom of Heaven to the video game Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft, 2007), the Crusades have been a source of inspiration for various cultural productions, so much so that this historical episode seems well known to us or at least relatively familiar. Yet our (…)