The discussion will be held in both Arabic and English, with interpretation available on Zoom only.

You can register to attend by following this link. You will receive a Zoom confirmation email should your registration be successful. Alternatively, you can watch the event live here on our Facebook page.

Since Hamas’ October 7 attacks and the Israeli war on Gaza, the region has gone through major political aftershocks leading to war between Israel and Lebanon and major military confrontations involving Iran, the Houthis and Iraqi militias. This webinar will explore the shifts that have occurred across the Arab region over the past year, focusing on the interaction between domestic shifts, reconfiguration of regional alliances and discuss how these changes have affected the region’s outlook.

Using the imagery of aftershocks, the webinar will discuss the repercussions of the war on the first circle of countries (Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt) and then move to discuss the impact on Yemen, Iraq and the Gulf. Amidst increasing murmurs of Israeli leaders and their American backers seeing an opportunity to reshape a “new Middle East” with a weakened Iran, what space for the region’s own voices and priorities and what alliances are possible?

Webinar Objectives:

• Explore the regional shifts since October 7 and their impact on political alliances.
• Analyze the conflict’s effects on a number of countries that have been directly affected (Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen)
• Assess the potential for the conflict to expand and its implications for regional stability.
• Examine what future is possible, notably whether there is a third way between the Israeli/US approach and Iran’s strategy.

Experts:

• The webinar will be moderated by Dr. Abdulhadi Alajlah, a non-resident fellow with the Arab Reform Initiative on Palestine. Dr. Abdulhadi is a Palestinian social and political scientist and the author of the book Trust in Divided Societies, published by Bloomsbury Academics and I.B. Tauris in the UK. He is also the co-editor of Rebel Governance in the Middle East, a recipient of the 2021 Global South Award from the International Political Science Association, and a co-founder of the Palestine Young Academy.
• Hafsa Halawa: An independent consultant working on political, social, and economic affairs and development across the Middle East, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa. She has held senior research positions at numerous global institutions such as the Middle East Institute in Washington.
• Farea Al-Muslimi: A research fellow at Chatham House and the founder of the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies. His focus is on Yemen and the Gulf countries, with extensive experience analyzing the political dynamics of the region.
• Nadim Houry: Executive Director of the Arab Reform Initiative. He previously held leadership positions at Human Rights Watch and brings a wealth of expertise in Middle Eastern and North African issues.

Date and Time: Monday, October 7, at 4:00 PM Paris / 5:00 PM Cairo.