April 19th, 2013

Assessing the Syrian health crisis: the case of Lebanon

In a piece for The Lancet, co-authored by CDDRL scholar Rajaie Batniji, the authors warn that the failure of the international community to address the crisis in Syria threatens health systems in Lebanon and other neighbouring nations. Read more »

January 7th, 2013

Qatar's involvement in Libya

Lina Khatib comments on Qatari foreign policy with special reference to Libya in a piece published by the World Peace Foundation on the WPF Blog. Read more »

December 7th, 2012

Image politics in the Middle East

Marking the publication of Lina Khatib's new book, Image Politics in the Middle East: The Role of the Visual in Political Struggle (2012), Khatib comments on the centrality of the visual in the politics of the region for the LSE Middle East Center blog. Read more »

June 12th, 2012

War Games Revived in Lebanon

The crisis in Syria has revived sectarian tensions in neighboring Lebanon, fueling internal divisions reminiscent of the period leading up to the 1970's civil war. Lina Khatib, manager of CDDRL's Program on Arab Reform and Democracy, writes in The Guardian about the recent events and underlying tensions that have escalated conflict between Lebanon's Shia and Sunni communities. Khatib argues that a loss of confidence in state institutions and a weakened leadership makes Lebanon vulnerable to escalated civil strife. Read more »

February 9th, 2012

Negotiating Assad's final exit

In an article for The New Republic's online symposium 'What Should the United States Do About Syria,' Larry Diamond argues that multilateral engagement is the best approach to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Read more »

January 30th, 2012

An opportunity to engage: US public diplomacy and the rise of Islamist parties

One year after the Arab Spring, American public diplomacy is still facing the now-established conundrum of linking words and actions. The rise of Islamist political parties as the new leaders in the Arab world is the latest challenge for U.S. public diplomacy, but it is also an opportunity. Read more »

January 17th, 2012

Lebanon, by the Numbers

Lebanon’s peculiar brand of democracy, dysfunctional and widely unpopular, is a perennial source of national vexation, debated over Sunday lunches and in the press. Read more »

November 8th, 2011

The kingdom of paradox

Visiting Scholar Ahmed Benchemsi discusses the seemingly paradoxic relationship between the independent media and the Moroccan government in two pieces for Harvard's Nieman Reports. Read more »

August 26th, 2011

Shaping public diplomacy in the Arab world

Lina Khatib head of the Program on Arab Reform at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, examines the role of public diplomacy in the Arab world in two new pieces. Commenting for Bloomberg.com, Khatib highlights Muammar Qaddafi's strategic partnership with Bashar al-Assad in Syria to perpetuate his propaganda machine. Turning attention to US public diplomacy efforts in the region in a blog post for the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, Khatib characterizes the Obama administration's approach as one where words and action do not equate.

• » Bloomberg.com: "Gaddafi turns to Syria to keep propaganda machine going"
• » USC Public Diplomacy Blog: "The Arab Spring Casts Obama as United States Public Diplomacy Messenger"

July 19th, 2011

Syrian doctors who torture must be banned

In an opinion piece for Al Jazeera, Rajaie Batniji uncovers the role of medical professionals involved in acts of torture. With a lens to the unrest in Syria, Batniji calls for an international body to identify, monitor, and disqualify those complicit in torture and genocide. Read more »

June 30th, 2011

Morocco's monarchy: Destroying hope for democracy?

In anticipation of Morocco's constitutional referendum on July 1, Ahmed Benchemsi argues in a piece for the Guardian that the monarchy's overtures of reform are just a mask for retaining absolute rule. Read more »