Middle East

The Peres Legacy: Making Peace to Defend his Vision of Israel
- October 2, 2016
In all of the millions of words being written and spoken about Shimon Peres, many focus on his legacy as a peacemaker. This is entirely proper; Peres was one of the main architects and drivers of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, …
By Peter Jones
Middle East
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Britain’s Chilcot Report: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Foreign Policy Formulation
- August 17, 2016
On 6 July 2016, the fourth and most exhaustive British inquiry on the Iraq war — after the Intelligence and Security Committee Report (2003), the Lord Butler Review (2004), and the Lord Hutton Inquiry (2004) — this one chaired …
By Daniel Livermore
Canadian Foreign Policy, International Security, Middle East
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Future Development Challenges? Afghanistan Remains at the Top of the List
- July 7, 2016
While the joint work of the Afghan government and the international community brought a few benefits for the country, many have not been sustainable. Serious challenges remain unaddressed and require priority attention from analysts, policy-makers, and bureaucrats. Highlighting dubious, anecdotal …
By Nipa Banerjee
International Development, International Security, Middle East
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Why Canada Will Go Ahead with the LAV Deal
- July 4, 2016
The proposed $15-billion sale of light armoured vehicles (LAVs) to Saudi Arabia has brought significant attention — mostly negative — to Canada’s partnership with the Arabian Peninsula kingdom.

Much of this criticism is valid — the human-rights situation in Saudi …
By Thomas Juneau
Canadian Foreign Policy, International Security, Middle East
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No, Yemen’s Houthis actually aren’t Iranian puppets
- June 1, 2016
For years, mounting instability had many predicting the collapse of Yemen. These forecasts became reality in 2014 when years of accumulated tension pushed the country into civil war. On one side is an alliance of the Houthis, a …
By Thomas Juneau
Middle East
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How uOttawa is Taking Action to Support Syrian Refugees in Canada and Around the World
- May 20, 2016
The devastating civil war in Syria has resulted in the largest forced migration of people since the Second World War. To date, 13.5 million Syrians are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, including 4.8 million registered refugees and another 6.6 …
By Allan Rock
Middle East, Refugees
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What Next for Libya?
- May 19, 2016
In a show of unity that is rare these days, on May 16, UN Security Council members agreed to help Libya’s fledgling Government of National Accord (GNA) to build up its firepower against the so-called Islamic State (IS) and other …
By Alexandra Gheciu
Canadian Foreign Policy, International Security, Middle East
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Arms to the Saudis: Wrong Decision, Right Result?
- April 23, 2016
Those defending human rights are used to the many contradictions involved. They demand of the same governments responsible for torture and discrimination that they uphold international prohibitions on such abuse. Their impartial reporting is seized on at politically opportune moments …
By David Petrasek
Canadian Foreign Policy, Middle East
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Lessons from a Decade in Afghanistan
- March 24, 2016
The lessons below are gleaned from the experiences of the international community in the decade following the overthrow of the Taliban regime. They provide partial answers to the question of why Afghanistan has faced renewed conflict and a resurgent Taliban, …
By Nipa Banerjee
Canadian Foreign Policy, International Development, International Security, Middle East
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Slow and Costly: The Crisis Confronting Internationalized Criminal Justice
- March 6, 2016
By William Wiley

Internationalized criminal justice is in crisis — a crisis laid bare by the limited criminal-justice response to the conflict in Syria and, more widely, the struggles endured by the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International …
By CIPS
International Law, Middle East
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Women’s Development in Afghanistan: Ensuring Sustainable Gains
- February 29, 2016
International Women’s Day should be marked by acknowledging that claims — made by the international community and the Afghan government — of advances in promoting women’s rights in Afghanistan are largely disconnected from reality. Human Rights Watch and the Afghan …
By Nipa Banerjee
Canadian Foreign Policy, International Development, Middle East
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Obama’s “ghost camp” haunts him still
- February 29, 2016
The infamous Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba, built by the U.S. after the 9/11 attacks to house captured terrorists, is fast becoming a ghost camp. Over the years, some 800 detainees have been held at Guantanamo; the number …
By Wesley Wark
International Security, Middle East
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