Secretary Blinkens Travel to Türkiye, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, U A.E., Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank, Bahrain, and Egypt United States Department of State

Based on last year’s ESCWA GEMS Maturity Index, Qatar ranked second in the Arab region. Qatar, another top-scorer in the region, has seen an even steeper drop, falling from 64 to 58 at its lowest point ever. The country has been in the international spotlight for hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022, drawing criticism for alleged bribery in the award process, inhumane working conditions on building sites and discrimination against minority groups.

They’re also protesting against a system where the same families have dominated government — and reaped huge financial spoils — since the country’s founding. Thus far, the protestors have already gotten meaningful concessions from the government, and are calling for more reforms of the sectarian system that on the one hand has created disenfranchisement and corruption but has also kept the peace among the religiously diverse Christian, Shiite, and Sunni country. Nevertheless, a reassessment and recalibration of Germany’s approach to the Middle East is necessary and overdue. The experience of the last decade has made it abundantly clear that instability in the region has direct implications for Germany. Meanwhile, regional and international players are keen to see more pro-active engagement from Berlin in the region. They hope that Germany can become a ‘more “normal” foreign policy actor at last’ that is prepared to assume an ‘anchor function’ in support of regional stability.

Government

MEI’s Defense and Security program provides rigorous and multidisciplinary analysis of the current and emerging defense and security challenges and opportunities facing the United States and its regional partners. It also works to create a unique, credible, and independent platform for defense and security stakeholders from both the United States and the region to more closely interact, exchange views, and share experiences regarding various matters of national security. The Climate and Water Program seeks to assess and understand the broader impacts of climate change in the region, with emphasis on water resources management, sustainability, and the environment. The program also explores the use of water and environmental policy, climate adaptation and mitigation, and green initiatives to enhance the climate resilience of the Middle East and North Africa. MEI’s Arabian Peninsula Affairs program aims to enhance U.S. understanding of the major issues and opportunities in front of the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council who are key political, security, and economic partners for the United States. It is a hub for analysis of developments within the GCC and the broader region, including Iran, Yemen, and the Gulf and Red Sea littorals.

The current Sisi regime has consolidated its power, but only after severely curtailing pluralism and reconfiguring the economic, political, and social institutions that have distinguished the Egyptian state since its modern inception in the 1950s. Our international conflict resolution dialogues bring together civil society and political leaders to achieve impact through cooperation both in and outside of the region. The North Africa and Sahel Program studies this region’s evolving internal social, political, and economic dynamics and draws attention to its growing geopolitical significance. The program brings the voices and experiences of new and established actors to a global audience and provides a space to build closer ties and promote shared peace and prosperity. MEI’s Egypt Program looks at the country’s security, economic and political developments. It seeks to examine Egypt’s domestic developments and regional role through research, private roundtables and public events.

Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, Australia

President Kais Saied, striving to concentrate power in the hands of the executive, fired dozens of judges under the pretext of an anti-corruption purge and put the judicial system under his authority – ignoring Administrative Court decisions attempting to reverse his actions. The National Anti-Corruption Authority, shut down in 2021, has still not resumed work, leaving whistleblowers with nowhere to turn. The government has also attacked and intimidated civil society organisations and journalists publicly, contributing to social distrust and tensions.

According to the 2022 annual report of Bahrain’s Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA), online platforms were visited 1.8 million times last year, reflecting the confidence of citizens in the country’s online services. A total of 3.7 million e-requests were processed by Bahrain’s digital government portals, cutting 96% of the service costs. Impressively, 89% of all government services offered in these portals were conducted online rather than in person.

It offers case studies and policy-relevant ideas for conflict-affected areas to move forward in a more sustainable manner. Secularism in the Middle East was pioneered by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who, though he himself had some authoritarian tendencies, helped establish the first modern Middle Eastern secular democracy in Turkey. Arab Socialism has also fostered secularism, though sometimes in what has been seen as a less democratic context. Secularism is not the same as freedom of religion, and secular governments have at times denied the rights of Islamists and other religious parties. This is essentially why Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was such a polarizing figure among the Turks.

• Multilateral organisations based in the Gulf states could serve as interesting cooperation partners in terms of education, youth empowerment, and triangular cooperation.
• Deteriorating integrity of government in Lebanon will entrench political corruption.
• Efforts also have been made to increase participation in education by marginalized and/or special populations.
• Our international conflict resolution dialogues bring together civil society and political leaders to achieve impact through cooperation both in and outside of the region.
• After exposing abuses against migrant workers in Qatar, the former employee of the World Cup organising committee was given a prison sentence for alleged bribery and misuse of funds.

Furthermore, all Gulf states have established themselves as reliable providers of humanitarian aid and development assistance. Similar to Germany, such engagement aims to promote regional stability and could result in comprehensive efforts towards project implementation in countries of mutual interest such as Jordan or Iraq. Multilateral organisations based in the Gulf states could serve as interesting cooperation partners in terms of education, youth empowerment, and triangular cooperation. For instance, the German Development Cooperation Agency already of understanding with the Islamic Development Bank in 2017. Additionally, in the World Bank’s 2021 Digital Maturity Report, Saudi Arabia ranked among the top countries in providing digital government services and interaction with citizens. In 2022, Saudi Arabia’s Digital Government Authority (DGA) launched an inclusive government program to provide integrated digital services to the government sector, accelerating sustainable digital government transformation and increasing data sharing among agencies.

Development, Democracy, and Dictatorship

The Threat Hunter Team is a group of security experts within Symantec whose mission is to investigate targeted attacks, drive enhanced protection in Symantec products, and offer analysis that helps customers respond to attacks. On September 4, the attackers executed three different variants of the joper.ps1 script on Web Server 2. They then turned their attention back to Computer 1, where a new variant of the Backdoor.Tokel malware was installed on the computer.

Like in much of the Middle East, initial Arab uprising optimism faded in the face of entrenched authoritarian power structures. To stop the cycle of violence and corruption, leaders across the Middle East and North Africa must reverse the trend of authoritarianism and open space for all people to participate in decision-making. State institutions must exist to combat corruption and provide support for those most in need, rather than siphoning off public resources to consolidate power for the elite few. After years of stagnation, this year’s CPI decrease must be a wake-up call to take on urgent reforms and protect fundamental rights and freedoms across the region. Middle East, 12 October 2023 – Deloitte Middle East announced the launch of the “Future of Government,” a think-tank to support governments to enhance their services and improve the lives of their citizens. The Deloitte initiative brings together the best government and digital transformation experts to re-imagine the future of governments in areas of finance, human resources, procurement, technology, and decision-making.

Country to watch: Jordan

The change in usage began to evolve prior to World War II and tended to be confirmed during that war, when the term Middle East was given to the British military command in Egypt. The three North African countries ofTunisia, Algeria, and Morocco are closely connected in sentiment and foreign policy with the Arab states. In addition, geographic factors often require statesmen and others to take account ofAfghanistan and Pakistan in connection with the affairs of the Middle East.

Many Iraqis and foreign backers reached the same conclusion and forced Maliki out of office in 2014. Gasiorowski contributes an excellent chapter on Iran, but he missed the mark when he predicted that the… After stagnating for five years, Jordan (47) is showing worrying signs with a drop of two points on this year’s CPI amidst the government’s increased restrictions on civic space and the public’s growing mistrust of the government. Using the state of emergency declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state has taken more action against civil society and journalists who criticise its actions.

Traditionally included within the Middle East are Arabia, Asia Minor, East Thrace, Egypt, Iran, the Levant, Mesopotamia, and the Socotra Archipelago. Netanyahu agreed on Wednesday to form a government with Benny Gantz, head of the National Unity party. Gantz, a former defense minister, served as the chief of staff in a Netanyahu-led government during the previous war between Israel and Hamas in 2014. “This joint project aims to protect the historical homeland of these communities by encouraging laws and regulations that protect the endangered wildlife who call the marshes “home”.

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