Search on Ifri.org

About Ifri

Frequent searches

Suggestions

North Africa and Middle East

Description

Analysis of changing dynamics in the North Africa/Middle East region, against a backdrop of increasing security crises and their political, economic and energy consequences.

Related Subjects

Image Taxonomie
Aerial view of Cairo, Egypt
See all
Publications
Image principale

Strait of Hormuz: The War of Nerves

Date de publication
07 June 2021
Accroche

In the event of a major conflict, Iran could decide to close the Strait of Hormuz, which would cause a global energy crisis.

Image principale

Is Escalation Between France and Turkey in the Middle East and Beyond Inescapable?

Date de publication
11 November 2020
Accroche

In recent years, France and Turkey have been on opposing sides relating to Middle East concerns. 

Image de couverture de la publication
ramses2021_batok_24juillet_plat1.jpg

RAMSES 2021. At the Edge?

Date de publication
02 September 2020
Accroche

RAMSES 2021. At the Edge?, written by Ifri's research team and external experts, offers an in-depth and up-to-date analysis of geopolitics in today’s world.

Image principale

The Middle East: The Economy in The Race for Power

Date de publication
23 March 2020
Accroche

Middle Eastern geopolitics is currently undergoing structural changes: the regional order is in transition in the aftermath of the Arab Spring that undermined authoritarian governance, and triggered the competition for power against a backdrop of American withdrawal. 

Image principale

The Gulf: from Geopolitics to Plain Politics

Date de publication
10 March 2020
Accroche

The geopolitical shadow of the Gulf now extends far beyond the Middle East as a function the external dealings of Iran and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula.


Image principale

The Gulf Economies and Energy Transition

Date de publication
10 March 2020
Accroche

The economies of the Persian Gulf are highly dependent on their petrol exports, particularly to Asia.

Image principale

The Gulf: New Center of the Middle East?

Date de publication
10 March 2020
Accroche

Amid the shift in major powers, the Persian Gulf is asserting its position at the heart of the Middle East.

Image principale

The Aborted Mobilisation of Jordan's Retired Servicemen

Date de publication
21 February 2020
Accroche

In the last decade, Jordan has been facing a resurgence in public discontent against harsh living conditions and the corruption of the regime. 

Image de couverture de la publication
ramses2020_plat1_ok.jpg

RAMSES 2020. A World without a Compass?

Date de publication
27 August 2019
Accroche

RAMSES 2020. A World without a Compass?, written by Ifri's research team and external experts, offers an in-depth and up-to-date analysis of geopolitics in today’s world.

Image principale

Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways: Global Airline Companies Promoting the International Position and Reputation of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar

Date de publication
08 July 2019
Accroche

Airports in the Gulf emirates are major transit hubs in global airline networks today. Apart from their “advantageous” geographical location, their development results primarily from the ambitions of political actors seeking to maintain their power. This has led especially to the creation of the “Gulf companies”, namely Emirates Airline (Dubai), Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) and Qatar Airways (Doha). However, the three emirates are not following identical strategies. Within the unstable context of the Middle East, it is important to look at the development dynamics of these companies which symbolize the global reach of small but powerful political entities on the international stage.

Offshore Gas in East Mediterranean: From Myth to Reality

Date de publication
14 May 2013
Accroche

The wave of deep offshore and unconventional gas and oil exploration projects, rendered economically feasible by relatively high prices and new technologies, has reached the shores of the Mediterranean. Levantine countries, including Cyprus, Israel, Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Syria, have new offshore gas potentials.

 

Command and Control in a Nuclear-Armed Iran

Date de publication
04 February 2013
Accroche

In the long standoff regarding its nuclear ambition, Iran has cultivated ambiguity and been loath to reliably assure the international community of its ultimate intentions, complicating Western efforts to understand, let alone constrain, Tehran’s endeavors.

Beyond the "Arab Spring": Russia's Security Interests in the Middle East

Date de publication
08 November 2012
Accroche

The reconfiguration of the regional system of international relations as a result of the Arab revolutions has engendered fresh challenges for Russia, related, amongst other things, to deteriorating relations with the USA and other Western powers. 

Temporary Workers or Permanent Migrants? The Kafala System and Contestations over Residency in the Arab Gulf States

Date de publication
05 November 2012
Accroche

The Arab Gulf is the third largest receiving region for global migrants (after North America and the European Union). The six states of the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) are the richest Arab economies, boast some of the highest GDP per capita rankings in the world, and they all depend upon guest workers in virtually every economic sector. Guest workers have played an integral role in the Gulf since the 1970s, supplying the skills and manpower needed to implement ambitious development plans.

Germany and the Arab Spring

Date de publication
13 October 2012
Accroche

Much of the analyses of German reactions to the Arab Spring uprisings have focused on Germany’s contentious decision relating to Libya. By siding with the critics of military intervention in abstaining from UNSC 1973, Germany vexed its allies and arguably displayed an astonishing lack of geostrategic foresight and moral rectitude.

The GCC States of the Persian Gulf and Asia Energy Relation

Date de publication
28 September 2012
Accroche

Since the 2000s, China and India's needs for hydrocarbons, coming on top of those of older industrialized Asian countries (Japan and South Korea), have considerably strengthened customer-supplier links between Asia in general and the Persian Gulf, in the energy field.

Powering Kuwait into the 21st Century: Adopting a Sustainable Strategy

Date de publication
28 September 2012
Accroche

Over the last ten years, Kuwait's power consumption has doubled. This rising need for electricity has been mainly driven by the fast population growth rate, the increasing need for desalinated water, accounting for 93% of water consumption, and the economic development of the country.

Al-Qaeda in a Changing Region

Date de publication
11 September 2012
Accroche

On Tuesday 10 April 2012, Osama bin Laden was finally replaced on the FBI’s most wanted list by a fugitive schoolteacher accused of possessing child pornography. As the United States’ perception of threat has shifted, so too has the broader national security discourse. The prominent al-Qaeda analyst Peter Bergen observed that the terrorist group which launched the 9/11 attacks is now more or less out of business. He argued, too, that it is time to declare al-Qaeda defeated and “move on to focus on the essential challenges now facing America”: fixing the country’s economy, containing a rising China, managing the rogue regime in North Korea, and continuing to delay Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons.

To Attack or Not to Attack: Israel Confronts a Dramatic Decision

Date de publication
03 September 2012
Accroche

In the heat of the public discussion on the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that he has not yet decided whether to attack Iran. At the same time, partly in response to opponents of such an attack, he made it clear that the risk of harm to the home front at this point, when Iran still does not have nuclear weapons, is dwarfed by the risks involved in an attack on Israel after Iran has gone nuclear.

The Gulf Countries' Energy Strategies: What's on the Menu for the Power Sector?

Date de publication
01 September 2012
Accroche

The futuristic green city of Masdar in the United Arab Emirates or the latest announcements of Saudi Arabia which might now well become the new Eldorado for solar energy companies have a clear marketing varnish. But if they are showcases of green ambitions, they nonetheless reflect the situation the Gulf States face today driven by the development of heavy industry and petrochemicals but first and foremost by the rapid population growth (around 2% for Saudi Arabia and 3% for Kuwait; Qatar and the Emirates have higher population growth rate due to immigrants).

Support independent French research

Ifri, a foundation recognized as being of public utility, relies largely on private donors – companies and individuals – to guarantee its sustainability and intellectual independence. Through their funding, donors help maintain the Institute's position among the world's leading think tanks. By benefiting from an internationally recognized network and expertise, donors refine their understanding of geopolitical risk and its consequences on global politics and the economy. In 2024, Ifri will support more than 70 French and foreign companies and organizations.

Ramses Conference, 2024
Related centers and programs
Image principale
KAMPALA, UGANDA - SEPTEMBER 28, 2012. A look at life on the side streets of Kampala, Uganda
Governing the Urban Transition in Africa
Accroche centre

Sub-Saharan Africa's cities are experiencing the fastest growth rates in the world. By 2050, most of the countries in the region will have made an urban transition, meaning that more than 50% of their population will live in urban areas. Urban growth is often presented as a cornerstone of the continent's socio-economic development.

To assess these challenges Ifri’s Sub-Saharan Africa Center is launching, in May 2022, a research program looking into the major socio-economic and geopolitical challenges of urban dynamics on the continent.

The program deals with urban development in Africa through a sectoral and cross-cutting approach based on three key sectors: 

  1. Land issues are the foundation of urban life. Each urban project triggers changes within the relationship between land and its inhabitants.
  2. Urban infrastructure is often presented as a solution to the challenges of demographic growth in cities. However, the lack of infrastructure and its financing remains a concern for specialists.
  3. The mobility of goods, people and financial flows is characteristic of urban life and drives the multiple links between cities and the countryside. Analyzing the urban-rural continuum is at the heart of this program's objectives.

Research will be conducted at the macro (continental), meso (country), and micro (city/neighborhood) levels and will be promoted through events and publications.

Image principale
Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul, Türkiye
Turkey/Middle East Program
Accroche centre

Ifri's Turkey/Middle East Program aims to provide expertise on the trends and developments in politics, societies and economies across the region.

The programme has the following objectives:

  • Proposing a new approach towards the MENA region through an analysis of local, regional, and international dynamics with the potential to guide and influence new policies.
  • Highlighting the role of foreign powers which have traditionally been present in the region and analyzing the new role taken on by emerging countries ;
  • Anticipating new directions and outlooks in each country.
  • Interpreting risks and potentials and putting forward new templates for analysis.

The programme has built a dense network of researchers and experts who provide expertise on the MENA region and working together on a range of crosscutting themes.

Page image credits
Aerial view of Cairo, Egypt
(c) Shutterstock