Our Coverage of Middle East Policy | Politics

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As the escalation in Middle East hostilities catalyzed by the Hamas massacres of October seventh, 2023, surges towards a regional conflict forward of a US presidential election, we’ve gathered a range of our Policy protection of the story from the previous 12 months and past, starting with our most up-to-date opinion and evaluation. 

As Israel pivots the first focus of its navy marketing campaign from Gaza to Lebanon — an escalation from both aspect of that border lengthy conceptualized by analysts as step one towards a wider battle within the area — Benjamin Netanyahu’s curiosity within the final result of the 2024 US presidential election has shifted from the subtext of this story to the context. Here’s Policy editor Lisa Van Dusen with The Complementary Biases of Benjamin Netanyahu: War, Trump and Autocracy.

Our Middle East Cover Package: Is Peace Possible?

In January 2024, we revealed our closing print concern of Policy earlier than shifting to online-only. That concern, which landed within the wake of the October seventh 2023, murderous Hamas rampage throughout the Negev that launched the Israel-Hamas conflict, was targeted on how that newest escalation had impacted the prospects for a two-state resolution and peace within the area. While a lot has occurred within the area since January, the items present helpful big-picture context and perception, and, in some instances, have confirmed to be remarkably prescient.

Opening our cowl bundle, former diplomat Jeremy Kinsman, who served as ambassador to Russia, to the European Union and to Italy, and as excessive commissioner to the United Kingdom, gave us an summary into how Israelis and Palestinians would possibly transfer ahead in, The Possibilities for Peace.

The late Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, in accepting the Herzl Award from the World Jewish Congress in New York in November, made an eloquent acceptance speech indispensable to our cowl bundle. “Antisemitism, born in ignorance and nurtured in envy,” stated the previous prime minister, “is the stepchild of delusion and evil and is a scourge that must be eradicated.”

In Why, Once Again, Israel Will Survive, McGill historical past professor, US presidential historian Gil Troy, who lives principally in Tel Aviv, conveyed the temper on the bottom within the wake of “Israel’s 9/11”. “Now comes Israel’s unconventional thinkers’ greatest test,” writes Troy, “how not to lose the war you seem to have won by blowing the peace.”

In The Children of Gaza Deserve Peace, Policy Contributing Writer Aftab Ahmed described the horrible loss of life toll amongst Palestinian youngsters produced by Israel’s bombardment, and the place it stood as a take a look at of worldwide humanitarian regulation.

Our common contributors former Privy Council Clerk Kevin Lynch and former White House aide Paul Deegan erred eloquently on the aspect of ethical readability with, Canada’s Moment to Show Leadership on Antisemitism.

And, from Policy Editor Lisa Van Dusen, Israelis, Palestinians and Democratic Peace Theory, exploring how the hijacking of democracy on each side has influenced outcomes.

In different Policy opinion and evaluation

From April 2023, the well timed — particularly looking back — evaluation from Munk School Distinguished Fellow Arif Lalani and former Canadian Diplomat Jim Mitchell, Now is the Time for Canada to Re-think Middle East Policy. “A new Middle East is taking shape,” wrote Lalani and Mitchell. “It’s time for Canada’s Middle East policy to catch up or risk being irrelevant.”

From March 2023, Lisa Van Dusen with a have a look at the political historical past and geopolitical components informing Benjamin Netanyahu’s concentrating on of Israel’s supreme courtroom. “As Tolstoy might have observed about the systematic global war on democracy of the past two decades,” writes Van Dusen, “‘All democracies are alike; each besieged democracy is besieged in its own way.’” Here’s Benjamin Netanyahu and the War on Democracy.

From October 2021, Van Dusen explores Lebanon’s financial and political disaster, which, with Hezbollah now firing missiles into Tel Aviv and Israel reportedly making ready a floor invasion into southern Lebanon, supplies a way of the nation’s pre-existing governance and corruption points as distinct from its bilateral relationship with Israel. Here’s Lebanon’s Chaos: Not Quite Déja-Vu. 

From May 2021, Van Dusen appears to be like again at a Palestinian experiment in de facto statehood that was doomed by its very success. “It required a leap of faith on the part of people trapped in a culture in which violence, resistance, hatred and imprisonment are normalized,” wrote Van Dusen, “to see both their occupiers and themselves differently.” Here’s Netanyahu’s No-State Solution and the Provocations of Peace. 

In associated Policy e book critiques

Our Policy e book reviewers deliver a degree of experience and expertise within the topic space of every e book to their critiques, which makes our Policy Book Reviews evaluation as effectively. 

From Senator Peter Boehm, Policy contributor, profession diplomat, Sherpa for a number of G7s, and chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, our assessment of Martin Indyk’s Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy. Here’s Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and ‘Balanced Dissatisfaction’ Nostalgia.

From McGill University historical past professor and US presidential historian Gil Troy, our assessment of Jim Torczyner’s Rights-Based Community Practice and Academic Activism in a Turbulent World. Here’s Fighting Poverty and Building Peace from Montreal to the Middle East.

From Lisa Van Dusen, former worldwide information editor at UPI in Washington and AP in New York, former worldwide information author for Peter Jennings and former Communications Director for the McGill Middle East program in Civil Society and Peace Building, our assessment of Column McCann’s Apeirogon: A Novel. Here’s The Middle East, A Love Story: Apeirogon Unties the Knot of Israel/Palestine. 

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