Fikra Forum

Yemen is experiencing brutal cycles of drought and deluge, a dangerous combination for a people already facing severe food insecurity.

The debate over making Saturday the official second day of the weekend nationwide instead of Thursday has become a hot topic in Iran in recent months, highlighting the clash between the the regime’s ideology and the country’s economic reality.

The KDP leadership’s power-sharing status quo may be in jeopardy.

While Hamas has experienced a surge of popular support in Egypt, these views have not impacted those who say that they have a positive view of the Muslim Brotherhood. Iran’s proxies, namely Hezbollah and the Houthis, remained deeply unpopular among Egyptians.

The question of Hezbollah’s role in the conflict—or relative lack thereof—is a matter of interpretation within Lebanon. In contrast, support for Hamas is more widespread across Lebanese society, although very positive views are especially concentrated in the Shia community.

Positive views of Hamas receive a jump while remaining the minority opinion among Saudi citizens; most agree that Israel is “weak and divided.”

The path towards reconciliation between Ankara and Damascus faces numerous obstacles, linked to a history of mistrust and significant gaps in major contentious issues.

With no prospects for a political solution to the Syrian crisis, the Turkish government's insistence on maintaining its previous policies in northern Syria and its usurpation of the Syrian people's decision-making warns of dire consequences for an already fragile relationship.

The Iranian model of creating and supporting proxy groups is consistent across the “Shia Crescent,” but recently Tehran has begun employing new and troubling tactics that threaten to only expand their influence.

Regional backlash against Washington’s unilateral interventionist policies, viewing the region only through security lenses, lack of social, economic, and cultural policies, and U.S. support for authoritarian regimes has created the conditions for conspiracy theories such as BOP.

Türkiye’s latest elections have allowed the YRP to demonstrate success in certain areas of President Erdogan’s traditional, pious base in Türkiye, emphasizing the waning power of Erdogan’s political message after his shift away from ideologically guided politics.

Turkey's intertwining of its mega project and its anti-PKK operation improves the chances of success for both elements. But this interconnection can be a double-edged sword—if one element fails, it may potentially hinder the success of the other.

Now more than ever, it is crucial to effectively include women's issues in peace talks and transitional negotiations, ensuring that their representation is proportionate to their realities and contributions to society.

Given the ways in which Iranian influence has grown elsewhere in the region, there are fears that the Sudanese army, with its Islamist orientation, will morph into a militia group similar to the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, ultimately exerting Iran’s will in exchange for funding and military support.

The group’s success on the battlefield against the Sudanese armed forces is riven by Hemedti’s personal aspirations bolstered by regional players that see him as a new ally in a future Sudanese state.

After the killing of Qods Force commander Qasem Soleimani, Esmail Qaani may have inherited a role for which he was not prepared, bringing instead a new style of leadership to the IRGC.

While Iranian officials acknowledge the significance of cyber tools and AI for foreign policy, they are acutely aware of the country’s financial and scientific limitations.

Until Twitter’s moderation policies are strictly enforced and moderation loopholes addressed, coordinated efforts will continue to target independent anti-Hezbollah and anti-Hamas voices on X/Twitter while effectively sharing their own messaging, thus ensuring that in the Middle East, Iran-backed actors maintain their grip on the site.

In recent years, members of tribes living on Kish land in Rabat have escalated their protests in response to decisions to re-allocate the land, demolish their homes, and evict them.

Without a sea change, U.S. and European soft power will continue to erode in Tunisia at a moment of increasing crisis for the country.

The implementation of the privatization project of the water and electricity sector will fundamentally alter the way in which essential services are provide to Moroccan citizens.

In Jordan, Hamas is working to create a misleading narrative that conflates support for ending the war in Gaza and the Palestinians' right to self-determination with supporting Hamas.

Given the politically charged nature of this issue, it is important to scrutinize unemployment numbers carefully, assessing the latest data in the broader context of Jordan’s economy over the past several years.

Today, there is a fear of the resurgence of threats to Jordan from its eastern borders, which are de-facto controlled by armed groups loyal to Iran.