Publications

In an unannounced and surprising move, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi visited to the Syrian capital, Damascus, carrying a verbal message from King Abdullah II. During his visit, he met with Bashar Al-Assad and several Syrian officials. This visit comes at a sensitive time amid a turbulent regional context in the Middle East, underscoring the importance of direct diplomatic engagement…

Many Arab Governments, as well as many Western officials, have shown political short-sightedness by rushing into welcoming the assassination of Hamas’s leader Yahya Al-Sinwar and by concluding that the movement will be weak after his death, and that will open the door to a prisoner return deal, these are expectations or wishful thinking that ignore fundamental realities of the ongoing…

Germany, considered the central power of the European Union, ranks fifth in the world in terms of GDP (PPPindex), and first in Europe (which produces 29.9% domestically of the EU GDP), it is also the largest in the EU population (approximately 85 million people). It leads the European countries in the number of MEPs that influence European politics (96 members out of 720, which equals 13.3%).  Therefore, this means that Germany’s stance on the Al-Aqsa flood represents a significant variable of the international scene, this stance had a large bias in favor of Israel to the extent that only 9% of the Arab…

Two young men in their mid-twenties, residents of the northern suburb of Al-Hashimi in Amman, are well-educated and members of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic Action Front. Hossam Abu Ghazaleh, a renewable energy engineer, is married with children, while Amer Qais, a schoolteacher, holds a degree in Islamic jurisprudence (Shafi’I) from the International Islamic Science University. According to close…

Many analysts from both Arab and Western perspectives have exaggerated the connection between Israel’s aggressive actions in Gaza in the past year, since the Al-Aqsa flood on October 7, 2023, and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s attempts to evade corruption charges in the Israeli judiciary. Even if this explanation holds some truth, it overlooks a more critical question: the political agenda of…

The issues of measuring and defining democracy and categorising regimes remain critical contentions in academic literature and policymaking. The concept of democracy evolved considerably from the Greek city-states until today, and the complexity of political systems only increased as time went on. In this article, I will explore the concept of democracy and how it affects democracy indices and highlight…

None of the experts and researchers generally anticipated that the recent escalation against Hezbollah in Lebanon would lead to the assassination of its Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah. This figure holds considerable weight, symbolism, and influence, making it widely expected that he resides in a secure and fortified location, or that Israel would refrain from escalating to the extent of deciding to…

Italy has recently adopted a unilateral diplomatic approach to normalize its relations with the Assad regime, disregarding the EU’s unified policy and Western sanctions. This move is intended to urge the EU to reevaluate the situation in Syria, while also appeasing the populist right-wing in Italy and Europe in general. Additionally, Italy –optimistically- aims to the repatriation of Syrian refugees.…

The parliamentary elections that were recently held in Jordan raised hopes and fears at the same time. In terms of hopes, there is a great comparison to the elections that took place in 1989 (the elections for the eleventh House of Representatives), which Jordanians considered a true model of integrity and credibility. Jordan has not witnessed a similar turn or…

The 2024 parliamentary elections witnessed heavy surprises represented by the number of seats won by the Islamic Action Front (IAF) at the level of the national and local lists. The modest results of the political parties, especially those that were expected to take on a larger number and be a match for the Islamists. The third is the level of…