In July 2021, internal rivalries within the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) saw major dramatic developments when Bafel Talabani ousted his co-leader, Lahur Sheikh Jangi, and declared himself the party's sole leader. Lahur responded by saying that he had been subjected to a conspiracy, accusing outside parties such as the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Turkey of being involved in stripping him of his powers.
EPC | 04 Aug 2021
In a move that had been expected for months, Tunisian President Kais Saied dismissed the prime minister and froze parliament on July 25, 2021, after declaring a "state of imminent danger" as stipulated in the new Tunisian constitution (2014). President Saied’s decisions came in the wake of widespread popular protests in the country on Republic Day and in the midst of an unprecedented wave of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
Ahmed Nadhif | 28 Jul 2021
Syria appears to be on the verge of an unprecedented food crisis during the war years. What makes matters worse is the possibility that this problem will become chronic and entrenched if solutions are not put forward that help in the recovery of the Syrian economy.
EPC | 14 Jul 2021
EPC | 30 Dec 2020
EPC | 27 Jul 2021
EPC | 17 Feb 2021
The global economy was hit by higher uncertainty as global production has dropped by 4.5%, global labor income is estimated to h...
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Despite burdens of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economic system and heavy pressure on the structures of national economies all over the worl...
EPC | 14 Feb 2021
The global health care systems were full of gaps that were not evident before. We have realized the limitation of the capability of our health syst...
The world has seen health crises in the past. The impact of these crises, however, was not like the COVID-19 impact. The health care systems in the...
I think that the process of political transition from the Trump administration to the Biden administration will take some time (maybe 6 months). Th...
The tendency is to see a lot more continuity in the American approach towards the Middle East in terms of relations and style, despite significant...
The Biden administration will be dealing with an evolving Middle East that is different from the one that both administrations of Obama and Trump h...
EPC | 20 Dec 2020
We can argue that most world countries are happy for electing Joe Biden as US President. The four years of President Donald Trump’s era were...
First of all, we cannot ignore that the US is internally divided and suffers from an internal crisis. Dealing with this crisis poses a challenge to...
U.S elections proved that a large segment (47%) of American people is not satisfied with Washington’s policies and economic performance. Pres...
EPC | 14 Sep 2020
The Turkish government lacked transparency in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. The number of cases announced by Ankara was not accurate and lacked...
Turkey’s economy was strongly hit by the Coronavirus crisis particularly in trade, services, transport and tourism sectors. For example, the...
The toughest thing facing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan now is economic recession. It is likely that this recession will last for a long t...
EPC | 06 Sep 2020
The Emirati-Israeli peace treaty was dubbed as a “historical moment” or a “historical breakthrough” because it is the first...
The Emirati-Israeli Peace Treaty came in the context of the geopolitical shifts in the Middle East since the 2000s. These shifts have shown the nee...
The treaty reflects a new spirit in the UAE leadership based on the fact that we, as Arabs, can bring about a change to the current path in the reg...
EPC | 17 Aug 2020
There are several motives for the issuance by the US of the Caesar Act, mainly sending a message to the allies of the Syrian regime that they will...
From the political perspective, the Caesar Act constitutes one of the US foreign policy tools to influence the Syrian crisis and impose its conditi...
Even before the Caesar Act was passed, Syria had reached the point of chaos and collapse due to the deterioration of the economic and living condit...
EPC | 11 Aug 2020
There is no doubt that at the beginning of the coronavirus epidemic crisis, the Iranian regime took wrong decisions, such as insisting on holding t...
The health crisis in Iran has exacerbated as a result of the government’s delay in taking the necessary measures to combat the spread of the...
During the period of the current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iran has shifted from a revolutionary regime to a police state. In the event of Khame...
EPC | 20 Feb 2020
What President Trump is doing is different from former US presidents; he is putting more pressure on Palestinians to accept his vision for a soluti...
We can say that three people in the Trump Administration were responsible for drafting the “Deal of the Century” in its current form in...
In my estimation, the “Deal of the Century” has nothing to do with the priorities of the current U.S administration and it’s an i...
EPC | 05 Nov 2019
Addis Ababa thinks that the Renaissance Dam is a project of economic integration that will benefit the whole region, not only Ethiopia. Despite dif...
I think that the scenario of direct military confrontation between Egypt and Ethiopia is unlikely if the upcoming trilateral talks in Washington fa...
Washington’s call for a meeting between the three parties to the dam crisis in 6 November 2019, came to revive the hopes for reaching an unde...
Iran Strategic Report is designed to provide an impartial and objective reading of the situation in Iran. The importance of this strategic report stems from the political, geographic and social importance of Iran and the impact of its ideological orientations and alliances on regional policies, security and stability in the Gulf region and broader Middle East. Particular importance is attached to the 2020 report given its contribution to the understanding of Iran’s question and drivers of Tehran’s behavior in this potentially decisive year in the life of the Iranian revolution amidst the preparations of the forthcoming presidential elections in June 2021, which will also be pivotal for reasons the reader will find out as she/he reads the report.
EPC | 11 Apr 2021
The United Arab Emirates represents an ideal case to study of a small state’s effective response to strategic challenges and contemporary shifts in the Middle East. Regional and international geopolitical developments in the region since the dawn of the twenty-first century have forced radical changes in UAE foreign policy and power-building.
Dr. Ebtesam al-Ketbi | 22 Mar 2021
Over the past four decades, the issue of relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States have dominated the Iranian political arena. Such is the extent of this preoccupation with America, that some argue it is more influential than all other objective and subjective factors in the politics and economics of the region.
Dr. Ebtesam Al Ketbi | 24 Feb 2021
Dr. Ebtesam al-Ketbi, President of the Emirates Policy Center (EPC), on Sunday received H.E. Lody Embrechts, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Arab Emirates and Mr. Joeri Borgstein, First Secretary at the embassy.
EPC | 11 Jul 2021
Dr. Ebtesam al-Ketbi, President of the Emirates Policy Center (EPC), on Thursday received H.E. Afzaal Mahmood, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the United Arab Emirates.
EPC | 01 Jul 2021
A number of Arab and foreign strategic experts pointed out that Iran has pursued to become a “nuclear threshold” state and exploited Vienna talks - which started after American President Joe Biden’s administration took office - to achieve this goal.
EPC | 29 Jun 2021
EPC | 28 Jun 2021