Think Tank Forum:

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is confronting serious political and socioeconomic challenges, from mass demonstrations and civil conflicts to intensifying macroeconomic volatility and governance crises eroding citizen-state relations. The war on Gaza has had a significant impact on foreign policy and diplomacy in the region and beyond, and the resulting geopolitical and humanitarian crisis has spilled over to neighboring countries. At the same time, these domestic challenges are taking place within a broader context of structural change at a global level, including but not limited to geopolitical realignment, climate change, and technological transformation. Meeting these internal and external challenges will require MENA think tanks to organize and collaborate to maximize their collective policy impact.  

Within this context, the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) at the American University of Beirut and the Middle East Council on Global Affairs (ME Council) convened a regional think tank forum on “Organizing for Collective Impact” in Doha, Qatar from September 23-24, 2024. The forum gathered think tank executives and experts from across the region to discuss how institutions can work together to confront the challenges facing the region and enhance their resilience and collective impact. The forum also explored the working mechanisms for a MENA think tank network, an idea introduced and discussed previously at a roundtable held in February 2023.  

The two-day forum, held at the ME Council, consisted of four sessions. During the opening session, Joseph Bahout, Director of IFI, and Tarik M. Yousif, Director of the ME Council, stressed the urgency of forging pathways for cooperation and collaboration among regional think tanks while maintaining agency and autonomy. Others concurred, reflecting on the work undertaken at their institutions to support their country and the region to face local and regional challenges. Attendees discussed commonalities in their work, while acknowledging important differences. Several participants highlighted the need to engage stakeholders beyond policymakers, recognizing the difficulties in influencing policy in some countries where there has been a significant crackdown on civic space.  

The second session delved into the war on Gaza. The moderator provided updates about the ongoing genocide, and raised questions about why think tanks do the work they do, who their targets are, what their impact is, and how they can collaborate better on Gaza and Palestine more broadly. Participants agreed that Palestinians should be centered in any discussions about the future of Gaza and Palestine. They discussed the feasibility of rethinking the relationship with institutions in the West, underscoring the importance of creating spaces for frank discussions amidst increasing polarization and a shrinking civic space. Participants discussed the role that think tanks could play in defining the predominant narrative on the region. One participant pointed out that think tanks should address the future of political reform, democratization, and economic integration in the region, which have long been overlooked. Specific recommendations included hosting fellows from Palestine, particularly youth and the media, as well as supporting Arab and Palestinian scholars working on Palestine-Israel studies.  

During the third session, participants deliberated on the most critical issues their institutions are working on beyond Gaza and how they address them, noting that the region is facing unprecedented crises and think tanks should engage in horizon-scanning and work together to set a forward-looking agenda. Think tanks should also assess their role in supporting decision-making and impact. Participants agreed that a network should find crosscutting issues to guide its priority setting while respecting each member’s identity, purpose, and structure. Regional issues identified included: conflicts and peace-making, demographic shifts, trade, engagement with the Global South, social justice and equity, water, energy, food security, climate change and environmental degradation, migration and the diaspora, and religious and political fragmentation across and within countries in the region. Recommendations proposed during this session included conducting foresight exercises, undertaking stakeholder and ecosystem analyses, and working together to set a strategy, vision, specific goals, and objectives for a potential think tank network. Overall, participants concurred that this is a critical, transformative moment for the region and that by working together they could achieve more.  

The second day of the forum focused on the proposed think tank network. During an extended session, participants reflected on why there is a need for a regional think tank network and what its objectives should be. Participants deliberated on sources of funding for the network, the network’s potential structure and working mechanisms, as well as criteria for membership, agreeing that these proposed ideas would be further developed ahead of the network’s general assembly. There was agreement that members must accept the network’s values. Among its values, participants agreed that the network should maintain its independence. Reflecting on the experiences of other similar networks, one participant reiterated the importance of building a strong sense of ownership among members from the beginning and working toward sustaining it. Regarding governance and other criteria, participants noted the need to be flexible and maintain space for individual input from network members. Overall, participants recognized that regional think tanks should create a platform – a network – to share knowledge, data, and experiences based on shared values.  

The forum concluded with the official launching of the Arab Think Tank Network, a collaboration designed to enhance the policy impact of think tanks across the region. IFI will serve as the network’s secretariat for the first year after its launch, responsible for coordinating activities, facilitating dialogue, and ensuring the implementation of shared objectives across member institutions. Regular meetings of the Think Tank Network are planned, and the next forum will take place in 2025, building on the outcomes of this event to further strengthen cooperation among think tanks across the region. In addition to agreeing to establish a network, participants agreed on key activities for the network, including holding an annual general assembly, hosting an annual conference, creating a repository of regional experts and research publications, opening opportunities for non-resident fellowships and scholars, training and capacity building, and engaging jointly in global initiatives, among other activities.