Event Type: Webinar

The Middle East Council on Global Affairs (ME Council) hosted a webinar on April 12, 2023 to discuss the implications a critical juncture in Palestinian history, the Second Intifada, and address its legacy and influence on recent developments and the present reality. The discussion was moderated by Omar H. Rahman, fellow at the ME Council and editor of Afkār. The distinguished panelists included Ramzy Baroud, editor of The Palestine Chronicle, and Nour Odeh, a political analyst and journalist.

The ME Council and the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) held a webinar to examine the significance and implications of the Saudi-Iran agreement. The discussion addressed vital questions: what are the drivers behind this historical agreement? What obstacles remain in terms of implementing the agreement and how might they be addressed? How have China’s mediation efforts shaped the agreement, and how might this affect Saudi and Iranian relations with China and other global powers, namely Russia and the United States? And what implications might the warming of ties have for ongoing conflicts in the region, particularly the wars in Yemen and Syria?

The Middle East Council on Global Affairs (ME Council) hosted a webinar on March 15, 2023, in collaboration with Kedge Business School, examining how the war in Ukraine has impacted Russia’s presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Experts examined key issues pertaining to the war, including regional states’ geopolitical posturing, evolving Russian economic relations with the region, and the emerging risks and opportunities for the region as the war continues. Galip Dalay, nonresident senior fellow at the ME Council, moderated the discussion. The expert panelists included Andrey Kortunov, director general of the Russian International Affairs Council; Hannah Notte, senior research associate with the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non‑Proliferation (VCDNP); and Hamidreza Azizi, visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).

The Middle East Council on Global Affairs (ME Council) hosted a webinar on February 28, 2023, examining the extent to which the devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria on February 6 will shape the domestic and regional political orders in the period ahead. The webinar convened a panel of Turkish and Syrian domestic and foreign policy experts to address key issues, including the impact of the crisis on regional security and how the international community can accelerate the reconstruction process. Ranj Alaaldin, fellow at the ME Council, moderated the discussion. The expert panelists included Sara Kayyali, a human rights lawyer and analyst; Piotr Zalewski, Turkey correspondent for The Economist; and Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution.  

Turkey is recalibrating its regional policy. On the one hand, Ankara is pursuing a policy of de-escalation and reset towards its erstwhile antagonists, namely Arab-Gulf states and Israel.  On the other hand, the dynamics of escalation are clearly on display in Turkey’s policy towards Iraq, Syria, and regional Kurdish geopolitics. Furthermore, more confrontation appears to be looming on the horizon in Turkey’s relations with Iran and Greece. Finally, these policy trends are unfolding against the backdrop of upcoming elections and an economic downturn in Turkey.  

Since Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the country has faced relentless international scrutiny of its labor policies. Major media outlets have called on both Qatar and FIFA to better safeguard migrant worker welfare. Over the past decade, Qatar has enacted a series of significant reforms and established a cooperation programme with the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2018, placing it at the forefront of regional efforts to improve the lives of migrant workers. Yet, despite these efforts, international organizations continue to mount criticism of the reforms’ implementation and to question their durability after the World Cup. From within the country, citizens have expressed concern about media misinformation and portrayals that hold Qatar to a different standard than previous World Cup hosts. 

The Middle East Council on Global Affairs in Doha (Council), in partnership with the Arab Barometer, hosted a webinar discussion on October 31, 2022 about the growing challenge of food insecurity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The webinar will examine ongoing efforts to form a government, the future of the post-2003 political order, and the role outside actors, like the United States and Iran, can play to de-escalate tensions.

The Middle East Council on Global Affairs convened its first webinar with a panel of experts to discuss the present and future of the Gaza Strip.