Middle East

​Save the Children's report Stop the War on Children: A crisis of recruitment shows that, in 2020, almost all children in Syria and Yemen were at risk of recruitment by armed actors.

​In an article for UIK Panorama, Research Professor Pavel Baev writes about the inherent weaknesses in Russia's capacity to pursue an ambitious foreign policy, which are getting exposed in the wake Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. 

​In a MidEast Policy Brief, Research Professor Pavel Baev writes about the future of UN humanitarian aid to Syria, following the UN Security Council adoption of Resolution 2585 on 9 July 2021. Even though the resolution might appear to be a recycle of the compromise reached at the Security Council in 2020, it is different in many important aspects and will be tested again in 2022, argues Baev.

​This year, four master's students at the UiO-PRIO Student Programme have successfully defended their master's theses on topics related to the Middle East. Their theses address a wide variety of topics: effects of sectarian violence in Egypt, sexual violence during the Egyptian Revolution, France's involvement in the Lebanese Civil War, and the Reagan administration's approach to the Palestinian question.

​In the MidEast Policy Brief 'Irresolvable Dilemmas? The Prospects for Repatriation for Syrian Refugees', Research Professor Kristian Berg Harpviken and Research Assistant Bjørn Schirmer-Nilsen address the challenges for Syrian refugees in major host countries, the refugees' eroding opportunities for onward migration, and their prospects for repatriation.

​Recent discovery of hydrocarbon has exacerbated existing geopolitical tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean. In an episode of PRIO's Peace in a Pod, PRIO Cyprus Centre Researcher Zenonas Tziarras gives an overview of the Eastern Mediterranean, laying out its key players and its recent history, and sheds light on why hydrocarbons are consequential for a region that includes several Middle Eastern countries.

​Political Economy of Palestine: Critical, Interdisciplinary, and Decolonial Perspectives, edited by PRIO Global Fellow Alaa Tartir, Tariq Dana, and Timothy Seidel, was recently published by Palgrave Macmillan. The book explores the political economy of Palestine through critical, interdisciplinary, and decolonial perspectives. By doing so, it offers a fresh view into Palestinian political economy. This volume is written as an in-depth introduction for anyone who seeks to understand Palestine today.

​The UN Security Council is to decide on cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria by July 10. In his new blog post ahead of the decision on the controversial issue, Research Professor Pavel Baev looks at how the context of the problem facing the Council has changed from Moscow's perspective since it was last on the table in spring-summer 2020. Baev argues that there are good reasons to assume that Russia is maneuvering toward a compromise supporting the extension of Resolution 2533.

​In the PRIO Paper 'The Geopolitics of Syria's Reconstruction', Research Professor Hilde Henriksen Waage and Research Assistant Magnus Seland Andersson address the geopolitical competition which has effectively deadlocked the civil war in Syria.

​In a series of brief blog posts, researchers of the PRIO Middle East Centre offer their reflections on the unfolding Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. The reflections cover historical and political background as well as current dynamics and future prospects. 

​In her new article in International Peacekeeping, Senior Researcher Júlia Palik addresses the challenges of ceasefire monitoring in Yemen. "Watchdogs of Pause: The Challenges of Ceasefire Monitoring in Yemen" highlights key factors that made it difficult for the United Nations Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) to live up to its mandate. The findings from this Yemeni case study are relevant for other monitoring missions that are deployed in contexts of ongoing violence.

​In our newest MidEast Policy Brief, "Piloting Humanitarian Biometrics in Yemen: Aid Transparency versus Violation of Privacy? ", Maria-Louise Clausen addresses the challenges of using biometrics for the World Food Program's aid distribution in Yemen. She highlights the need for balanced approaches that counter fraud and aid diversion of humanitarian operations, while also safeguarding the privacy of beneficiaries.

​Research Professor Pavel Baev argues that the sequence of proactive moves in the Middle East by the new US administration simultaneously gladdens and alarms the Kremlin. In his piece for the Eurasia Daily Monitor he writes: "Russian intrigue-spinners are delighted at the occasion to contend with the top-ranked opponent in this complicated region; but at the same time, they worry about Russian policy weaknesses potentially becoming exposed in the process."

​In a new policy brief on the importance of a neighborly concert for Afghan peace, Kristian Berg Harpviken examines the present state of affairs in each of the main regions surrounding Afghanistan: Central Asia, South Asia and the Gulf. Qatar, having hosted the intra-Afghan peace talks, currently stands out as the winner, not only because it hosted a high-profile peace process, but also because it has been able to use its relevance to the US in managing the diplomatic offensive of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries over the past several years.