• Insight by Clara Marina O'Donnell, 08 January 2009

    'We're fed up with empty gestures', the Israeli prime minister told a high level delegation from the EU. Several foreign ministers and EU officials had come to the Middle East to try to help end the war raging in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, which has killed over 700 Palestinians and 10 Israelis in the twelve days since it started.

  • Insight by Clara Marina O'Donnell, 21 May 2008

    Earlier this month, the Arab Reform Initiative (ARI) presented its first report on the state of democratic reform in the Arab world. ARI is a consortium of a dozen leading Arab research institutes which try to promote peaceful democratic reform across the Middle East (CER and a few other non-Arab think-tanks are associated with the initiative).

  • Bulletin article by Christoph Bertram , 01 April 2008

    For almost six years now the West has tried – and failed – to stop the Iranian nuclear programme. Instead, nuclear enrichment has become a matter of Iranian national pride and sovereignty.

  • Insight by Clara Marina O'Donnell, 08 February 2008

    Events on the ground in Israel and Gaza have taken a new turn for the worse. But the latest crisis could lead to a more constructive approach in solving the Middle East stand-off.

  • Insight by Tomas Valasek, 25 January 2008

    The US caused a small earthquake in the foreign policy circles when it announced, in November 2007, that it believes that Iran is no longer producing nuclear weapons.

  • Insight by Clara Marina O'Donnell, 23 November 2007

    The nearer the Annapolis conference comes, the less it looks likely to deliver peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The weakness of the key actors and the current conditions on the ground in the Palestinian territories offer little reason for optimism.

  • Bulletin article by Charles Grant, Clara Marina O'Donnell, 01 August 2007

    In Britain, senior diplomats are mulling over whether to revise the government’s policy of not talking to Hamas. Until now Britain has staunchly defended the EU policy of opposing talks with Hamas.

  • Insight by Charles Grant, Clara Marina O'Donnell, 11 July 2007

    The conspicuous role of Hamas in the recent release of Alan Johnston was not only good news for the BBC correspondent. Hamas showed that it cares about how it is perceived abroad, that it wants to be considered a credible actor, and that it hopes to end its international isolation.