Tensions between the United States and Iran continue to rise, as the two geopolitical forces vie for power in Iraq, and elsewhere in the Middle East. Following the killing of Qassem Soleimani on 3 January 2020, US-Iran tensions have been highly contentious, and have impacted international forces in Iraq, as well as put into question the presence of the United States in the country.

Libya’s New Government: A Sign of Hope or Prematurity?
In a landmark moment for the UN-led Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF), discussions in Geneva did indeed turn to select a new interim unity government[1], a government of technocrats, as a short-term solution to establish the necessary conditions for scheduled elections announced[2] for 24 December 2021.

Palestinian Elections: A Key to a Return to Negotiations of a Peace with Israel?
Palestinian NGOs are urging the PA to cancel restrictions on candidates running for PLC elections (e.g. allowing NGO employees to run, lowering minimum age, raising women’s quota, etc.). 69% of Palestinians are under the age of 29, while 24% are between the ages of 18 and 29. Many young Palestinians will cast their votes for the first time, after 15 years since the last elections. Polls show the young generation wants the ’old guard’ to make place for them and the ideas they represent.

Ten Years on, Raqqa’s Residents Wonder Who the Next Ruler of their Battered City Will Be
What began in March 2011 as peaceful protests against President Bashar Al-Assad quickly escalated into a full-blown war that claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. Now, some residents wonder who their next ruler will be, with some fearing that a return of the Assad regime is inevitable.

The Gender, Race, and Intersectionality Issue in the Maghreb
In 1989, Kimberlé Crenshaw borrowed the metaphor of an intersection to explain the interconnectedness of oppressions black women experience, at the intersection of race, gender, and social class. Since then, intersectionality has been widely mobilized in academic, activist, and public policies milieus. However, in the Maghreb, resistance to the prism prevails as intersectionality is timidly penetrating new, non-mainstream forms of feminism. The present paper offers to analyze the main reasons behind the reluctance to considering identities as multi-layered, in the specific case of black Maghrebi women.