Middle East

Although Lebanon receives EU support to provide for Syrian refugees, they are increasingly being criminalized and deported. Less than a week after Commission President Von der Leyen’s visit in May, Lebanon issued new residence regulations that effectively block the pathways to legal residence. These new regulations were followed by deportations to Syria, which the EU does not consider safe for return. Instead of making support conditional on respect for the refugees’ human rights, the EU is turning a blind eye. 

European policy-makers need to rethink their approach to Iran and formulate a new policy that puts people and human security at its core. Such an approach would centre on a consistent human rights perspective and the sustained support for civil society.

Turkish President Erdogan, usually a friend of many and often harsh words, needed almost a week before he took a stand on the Taliban takeover in Kabul.

Turkey and multilateral institutions alike, including the European Union, were already struggling with political and economic crises in the years before the pandemic multiplied the sense of catastrophe. As they seek to pull themselves out of the depths of Covid-19, it is time to set aside the divisions that have long stalled progress for all of them, and seek recovery in cooperation and mutual benefit.

10 years since the start of the Syrian revolution and the demands of the revolutionists are yet to be met. In light of this anniversary, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Middle East Office in Beirut has published a virtual platform, Still Our Right, highlighting the projects supported by the Foundation throughout the years, and to shed light on the goals they hold and the rights they demand.

To mark the occasion, we will be publishing a series of literary essays by authors from the region over the next few weeks. The contributions reflect what the protagonists hoped for and how they look today at what they have achieved, a kind of "look back to the future". They make clear how important the personal confrontations are in order to develop political alternatives.

It’s a decade since democratic protests began in the Middle East and North Africa and still for many activists the fight against authoritarian regimes and in pursuit of dignity and political reform is far from over. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Three stories from Egypt, Syria and Tunisia illustrate how the revolutions in these countries are still a work in progress – in spite of violent repercussions and the all-round terrible toll they have taken.

What happened to the Israeli Peace Camp? Is the two-state solution dead? Where is the Israeli left? This special project introduces an ambitious attempt to answer these big questions by shedding light on some of the key dynamics and developments within Israeli society and especially within the Israeli left

A debate on the US-influence, Covid-19, restricted individual freedoms and the question how the EU should define its role.