Latest Articles

ﺗﻄﻤﺢ ﻫﺬه اﻟﻮرﻗﺔ إﻟﻰ ا ﺟﺎﺑﺔ ﻋﻦ اﻟﺴﺆال اﻟﺘﺎﻟﻲ: "ﻟﻤﺎذا أدرﺟﺖ دول ﺣﺼﺎر ﻗﻄﺮ ﻃﻠﺒًﺎ ﺑﺈﻏﻼق ﺷﺒﻜﺔ اﻟﺠﺰﻳﺮة ﺿﻤﻦ ﺟﻤﻠﺔ اﻟﻤﻄﺎﻟﺐ اﻟﻤﻘﺪﻣﺔ ﻟﻬﺎ؟". وﻟﻢ ﻧﺸﺄ أن ﺗﻜﻮن ا ﺟﺎﺑﺔ ﻣﺒﺎﺷﺮة أو ذات ﻃﺒﻴﻌﺔ ﺳﻴﺎﺳﻴﺔ راﻫﻨﺔ. ﺣﺎوﻟﻨﺎ أن ﻧﺴﺘﻘﺪم، وﻓﻖ ﻣﻨﻈﻮر ﺗﺎرﻳﺨﻲ وﺟﻴﻮﺳﻴﺎﺳﻲ، اﻟﺴﻴﺎﻗﺎت اﻟﻤﺘﺸﺎﺑﻜﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ ﻧﺸﺄت ﻓﻴﻬﺎ اﻟﺠﺰﻳﺮة وﺗﻄﻮرت. وﻋﻤﺪﻧﺎ إﻟﻰ رﺻﺪ اﻟﺮﻫﺎﻧﺎت اﻟﺘﻲ ﺷﺮﻋﺖ ﻟﻮﺟﻮدﻫﺎ، واﻟﻤﺴﺎرات اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺤﺮﻛﺖ ﻓﻴﻬﺎ، واﻟﻤﻀﺎﻣﻴﻦ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺳﻌﺖ إﻟﻰ ﺗﺮوﻳﺠﻬﺎ. وﺗ ﺨﻴﺮﻧﺎ أن ﻧﺒﺤﺚ ﻓﻲ ﻣﺴﺎﺋﻞ ﻣﺤﺪدة ﺗﺘﻌﻠﻖ ﺑﺎﻟﻤﺤﻴﻂ اﻗﻠﻴﻤﻲ وردات اﻓﻌﺎل اﻟﻤﺤﺘﻤﻠﺔ واﻟﻤﺘﺤﻘﻘﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺑﻌﺚ ﻗﻨﺎة ﻓﻀﺎﺋﻴﺔ ﺗﻘﻄﻊ ﻣﻊ إﻋﻼم اﻟﺪوﻟﺔ اﻟﻮﻃﻨﻴﺔ ووﻇﺎﺋﻔﻪ اﻟﺘﻘﻠﻴﺪﻳﺔ وﺗﺒﻨﻲ ﻓﻀﺎءً اﺗﺼﺎﻟﻴًﺎ ﻟﻤﺼﻠﺤﺔ اﻟﺠﻤﻬﻮر وﻟﻴﺲ ﻟﻤﺼﻠﺤﺔ اﻟﺴﻠﻄﺔ. وﻧﺰﻋﻨﺎ، ﻓﻲ إﻃﺎر اﻟﺒﺤﺚ ﻋﻦ ﺧﺼﻮﺻﻴﺔ ﻫﺬه اﻟﻈﺎﻫﺮة، ﻧﺤﻮ ﺗﺘﺒﻊ اﻟﺤﺎﻟﺔ ا ﻋﻼﻣﻴﺔ اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ ﺑﻌﺪ ﺳﻨﺔ 1996 وﻣﺎ ﺗﻜﻮن ﻗﺪ أﺳﻬﻤﺖ ﺑﻪ اﻟﺠﺰﻳﺮة ﻓﻲ إﺣﺪاث ﻧﻘﻠﺔ ﻧﻮﻋﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻤﺎرﺳﺔ اﻟﺼﻨﻌﺔ اﻋﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﻣﻦ ﻧﺎﺣﻴﺔ، وﺗﺸﻜﻴﻞ رأي ﻋﺎم ﻳﺘﺠﺎوز اﻃﺎرﻳﻦ اﻟﻤﺤﻠﻲ واﻟﻮﻃﻨﻲ ﻣﻦ ﻧﺎﺣﻴﺔ أﺧﺮى. ﻛﻠﻤﺎت ﻣﻔﺘﺎﺣﻴﺔ: ﻗﻨﺎة اﻟﺠﺰﻳﺮة، ﻗﻄﺮ، ازﻣﺔ اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺠﻴﺔ. This paper seeks to determine why the countries blockading Qatar during the summer of 2017 demanded the closure of the Al Jazeera media network. The author sought to avoid conclusions rooted only in the immediate situation and instead worked towards a historical and geopolitical understanding of the interconnected factors in which Al Jazeera emerged and evolved. The paper also explores a number of the responses which Qatar's regional neighbors could be expected to take to a satellite broadcaster which broke with the tradition across the region of loyalist television stations which promoted the government's vision of the world. This paper seeks to understand the impact of Al Jazeera on the creation of a supra-national identity.

India-Qatar relations have come a long way since the two nations established diplomatic ties in 1973. Despite a slow start, relations between the two countries have improved significantly in recent years, driven by shared economic interests and increasing cooperation in areas such as energy, defence, and culture. This article examines the trajectory of India-Qatar relations and the factors that have shaped their development. Within the broader theoretical framework of Complex Interdependence, this study analyses the economic and geopolitical factors driving India's engagement with Qatar, as well as the role of cultural and people-to-people ties in strengthening the relationship. It also considers the challenges that have impeded progress in India-Qatar relations, including regional tensions and political differences. Despite the promising growth in India-Qatar relations, this article argues that the relationship remains largely stagnant in the political and strategic domain, with Qatar's independent policymaking contributing to India's inhibitions to pursue a relationship more forcefully beyond economic transactions.

Media studies remains the weakest link in political and social research dealing with the Arab region. The research that exists in this discipline remains limited in terms of research questions, restricted in some form to the question of freedom, and set in a defensive position lacking any originality. This study sheds light on the political press, focusing on the Moroccan Francophone journal, Le journal, issued from 1997-2010. The study aims to provide a new conceptual approach to the power of the media that crystallized within the framework of a network of interdependent concepts. These include the concepts of efficiency, independence and leadership. The study hypothesizes that epistemological-methodological liberalization evades the dominant reading of freedom adopted by both journalists and researchers in foreign and Western research on Arab media.

​Qatari foreign policy presents a challenge for students of international relations. Whereas major theories within the field tend to privilege structural factors in explaining the action of states, and particularly small states, in the case of Qatar, the quality of leadership and the strategies that leadership employs to navigate through the structural constraints—primarily geography—are equally important. One of the main findings of this paper is that the strategies adopted by the Qatari elite since 1995 did alleviate many of the structural constraints which the country would otherwise have faced. Moreover, during the short-lived Arab Spring of 2011-2013, Qatar tried to reshape the political landscape in the Middle East to its favor, challenging the two regional hegemons Saudi Arabia and Iran, in Egypt and Syria respectively. Yet, the paper concludes, geopolitical factors and the relative capabilities of states remain instrumental in assuring a state’s sustained capacity to continue playing a key role. This is particularly true in a region where elite thinking continues to be defined by realpolitik.

The aim of this Study is to provide policy options for Pakistan in relation to the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) dispute with India. A special focus is on the crisis following the Indian revocation of J&K's special status in August 2019. Since then there is not just a complete blackout in J&K but also another low in the India-Pakistan relationship. Based on the analysis of the diplomatic support that Islamabad has received from the international community in general and the Muslim world in particular, this paper argues that Pakistan has to mainly rely on what it can do on its own. By examining how the present crisis is a direct outcome of how this conflict has transpired and evolved over the last seven decades, this paper draws a series of measures which the Pakistani government can take at its own and in collaboration with international actors to obtain support for a sustainable solution to the J&K dispute.

Eastern Sudan is in a critical stage, where local fault lines intersect with Horn of Africa tensions and regional and international ambitions. This study traces those fissures and their intersections in order to understand and analyze the conflict in the region. Its basic premise is that eastern Sudan represents the priority and geographical entry point in the Sudanese peace-building process, and that the establishment/strengthening of peace in this region is linked to a reciprocal relationship with the security and stability of the Horn of Africa. The study presents preliminary ideas, in terms of preventive diplomacy, that may contribute to healing the rifts. It is based on a combination of primary sources, literature, and personal interviews with Sudanese academics, diplomats and other actors. In addition, it builds on the outputs of two workshops from the Sudan Track II Peace Dialogue Project. It frames some aspects of the analysis and ideas presented with a set of theories and hypotheses that intersect with the field of conflict studies, following the "combined approach," for studying complex conflict environments.

This paper examines the 2012 General National Congress (GNC) elections in Libya, analyzing their implications and the interpretations that framed them as a victory for the liberal bloc (the National Forces Alliance) over the Islamist faction (the Justice and Construction Party and its allies). The paper reveals that this interpretation lacks accuracy, highlighting that a significant number of winning independent candidates were affiliated with Islamist movements. It also argues that Islamists later succeeded in consolidating their control within the GNC, leveraging their alliances to pass laws that excluded their political opponents. These elections marked a turning point in Libya after the overthrow of Gaddafi, representing the country's first democratic experiment in building a new political system despite the challenges inherited from the previous era. The paper examines the electoral system, key competitors, election results, and internal conflicts within the GNC, concluding that Islamist dominance after 2012 challenges the idea of a liberal victory.

In this study, the researcher builds on the idea he presented in a previous study on “Symbolic Liberalism”, which he used to describe the responses of social sciences to the ailments of late modernity. This modernity is characterized by a blend, where it is defined as classical liberalism but politically illiberal. The study argues that this modernity is undergoing polarization across various societies, including on university campuses and in the media. This is evident through high levels of intolerance that have surfaced in discussions on political, cultural, and social issues, where bias and taking sides prevail over the use of strong, persuasive arguments. This intolerance comes from both the left and the right, manifesting in what is known as "cancel culture" on both sides. The spread of "over-safety culture" among administrative officials has led to hasty decisions and sanctions against some university professors, merely for using certain references in class or for not providing prior warnings to students, all within an atmosphere of fear. The study provides examples from the United States and France, often driven by symbolic liberals. Following this, provide a case related to the ongoing war in Gaza.

This study explores the origins of Qatari-US relations, the foundations on which they are based, and the rules that govern them. It begins by examining relations between the two countries from the 1970s up until the Trump era. The paper finds that Qatar's need for US security assurances did not prevent it from adopting independent policies that occasionally contradicted US strategy. Accordingly, the Qatari-US relations have been upended, and exposed to crises due to diverging interests, concerns and challenges. While Qatar has embraced a foreign policy independent of Washington, it has also tried not to alienate it and has established itself as an asset for the US, both in terms of the military facilities it provides and the unique role it plays through maintaining ties with parties that the US cannot communicate with directly. Mutual dependency has enabled Qatari-US relations to overcome all the challenges they have faced over the past three decades, including those that emerged under the Trump administration.

This paper investigates the factors that have led to the collapse of Baath-ruled Syria. It argues that the abandonment of the rentier – distributive economic system that had traditionally propped up the social base of the Baath party (labourers, farmers, and rural populations) and the adoption of liberal economic policies was key to the crisis. The end of the Cold War, the passing of resistance discourse, with the start of the Middle East peace process, and the information revolution have contributed to weakening the cultural and ideological hegemony of the Syrian Baath-ruled state. This led to increasing reliance on the security apparatus to control an increasingly young and educated society. The loosening economic grip of the state resulting from the abandonment of the public sector, and the rise of crony capitalism accompanied by the declining role of political socialisation (in schools and universities), and the loss of control over the flow of information, left the regime with no other option but resorting to violence to deal with the crisis. The peaceful opposition movement hitherto was transformed into an armed revolution, and then into a regional and international proxy war, with the rising role foreign interference in the crisis.