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Khaleeji Identity in Transition: Modernity & the Comedies of Survival

Khaleeji Identity in Transition: Modernity & the Comedies of Survival

“Dramas of transition” were modern experiments that showcased how Gulf intellectuals and artists at the time dealt and engaged with the early emergence of modernity in their countries. The works are best understood as tragi-comic tales of mock heroic characters, and since the actors and screenwriters were either born or came of age in the era depicted in the dramas, the acting becomes in and of itself an act of remembering.

Naser Albreeky

Essays

Khaleeji Identity in Transition: Modernity & the Comedies of Survival

Khaleeji Identity in Transition: Modernity & the Comedies of Survival

“Dramas of transition” were modern experiments that showcased how Gulf intellectuals and artists at the time dealt and engaged with the early emergence of modernity in their countries. The works are best understood as tragi-comic tales of mock heroic characters, and since the actors and screenwriters were either born or came of age in the era depicted in the dramas, the acting becomes in and of itself an act of remembering.

Naser Albreeky
From Beirut to Kuwait: A History of Arab Cross-Border Movement

From Beirut to Kuwait: A History of Arab Cross-Border Movement

While some common understandings suggest that Arab intra-regional transport
prospered before falling into obsolescence, it is more accurate to say that its state
fluctuates in line with changing circumstances in an ever-dynamic regional landscape. This Essay examines these interconnected and overlapping processes to study cross-border transport modes in a more critical light. In doing so, it attempts to show that Arab mobility is intimately and intricately enmeshed within broader political and historical dynamics.

Rend Beiruti
On Leila Nseir: Beyond Social & Artistic Conventions

On Leila Nseir: Beyond Social & Artistic Conventions

Any attempt to sketch an overview of feminist thought in Syrian art today is indebted to Leila Nseir’s thinking and her revolutionary strength. Nseir devoted her life to art, sacrificing her health in the process. Yet, she was never given the credit she deserved within Syria as one of the founding figures of contemporary Syrian art and her work was never properly documented.

Nour Asalia

Explainers

The Non-Aligned Movement: History, Relevance, & Reform

The Non-Aligned Movement: History, Relevance, & Reform

Established in 1961, the NAM was birthed out of a decolonial group consciousness based on collective coordination for national self-determination against colonialism and imperialism. What factors within its evolution contributed to the hindering of its legitimacy, power, and relevance on a global scale?

Sarah Afaneh
Campaign Funding in US Elections

Campaign Funding in US Elections

The issue of political financing is historically rooted in US presidential elections. Underlying the political struggle toward the presidency is a money race, as contenders fight to gain crucial campaign support and outweigh their opposition ahead of elections in November.

Sarah Afaneh
2024 European Parliament Elections

2024 European Parliament Elections

Every five years and for more than four decades, European citizens head to the polls to elect their representatives in the European Parliament. The upcoming 2024 European Parliament elections, set to take place in June, will mark a pivotal moment for the future of the inter-European political landscape.

Issue Briefs

Rethinking the IMF: Considerations for Economic Reform

Rethinking the IMF: Considerations for Economic Reform

This issue brief examines the governance dynamics of the IMF, looking more closely at its current quota system, which grants disproportionate influence to advanced economies. It also delves into the imposition of one-size-fits-all conditional loans that often harm the economies of the Global South, and puts forward recommendations for the IMF’s reform.

Reports

2024 US Elections: Implications for the Middle East

2024 US Elections: Implications for the Middle East

Fiker Institute & the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for American Studies & Research at the American University in Cairo hosted a joint Policy Roundtable that gathered academics, fellows, & researchers to debate the political, economic, and strategic dimensions of a new American administration in November.