Though it seems repetitive to mention, the Middle East and North Africa are experiencing moments of unprecedented upheaval and acceleration. It is common to hear that the regional order has entered a phase of misalignment with the emergence of new role-players. Authoritarianisms and weakened revolutionary dynamics coexist with rivalries between regional and global powers. Now the destabilizing factors of a global pandemic and widespread misinformation in traditional media and social networks have been added to the mix. This fragmentation of power has extended fault lines in a region which has witnessed the rise of powerful non-state actors. Within this context, Casa Árabe has invited two experts to give us a status update and explain the major geostrategic trends.

Kristina Kausch joined the German Marshall Fund in Brussels in 2016. Ms. Kausch’s research focuses on Europe’s political relations with the Middle East and North Africa, political transformations in the Arab world and geopolitical trends in the Middle East. Prior to that, she worked at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, directed the Middle East Program at FRIDE, and was an expert at the German cooperation agency GIZ. She has had three books published on the region, as well as articles in both academic journals and the written press (The Guardian, El País, Middle East Eye and Süddeutsche Zeitung).

Jesús Núñez Villaverde is a co-director of the Institute of Studies on Conflicts and Humanitarian Action (IECAH). An economist and retired member of the military, he is a specialist on security-related topics, the building of peace and conflict prevention, with a special emphasis on the Arab and Muslim world. He is a professor at the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas, a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) since 1993, and a consultant for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the field of peace building and the prevention of violent conflicts. He also frequently contributes to different media.