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From Strategy to Reality: What Will It Take to Disarm Hezbollah?

The question of disarming Hezbollah in Lebanon, long a political taboo, is now back at the heart of both political and diplomatic discussions. This shift comes amid mounting international pressure and a changing balance of power in the region. Although the topic remains deeply divisive within Lebanon’s political class, experts believe there are ...

Bedouins, Not So Nomadic After All

Clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze factions in Syria’s Sweida province have reignited attention on the political and militarized role of these communities. But across the border in Lebanon, another question emerges: Who are the Lebanese Bedouins? The issue takes on renewed urgency amid reports that several of them, notably from Wadi ...

WE4LEAD Drives Real Change for Gender Equality at Universities

Two Years After Its Launch in 2023, Where Does the Euro-Mediterranean Project Women’s Empowerment for Leadership and Equity in Higher Education Institutions (WE4LEAD) Stand? The project’s mission is to increase the representation of women in key academic leadership roles by transforming institutional practices and fostering a genuine culture ...

Unseen and Unspoken: The Enigma of Pregnancy Denial

Some births occur without anticipation, as if the child arrived out of time. Pregnancy denial is neither deception nor performance. It is a psychic reality that takes shape without words, a pregnancy the body conceals and the mind excludes. This clinical enigma raises profound questions about motherhood, the female body, generational transmission ...

From Sweida to Hasbaya: The Druze Soul Under Strain

While Syria’s Sweida province remains on edge following July’s deadly clashes, the reverberations are deeply felt across the border in Hasbaya. In this part of southern Lebanon—as elsewhere in the Druze world—identity transcends borders. The people of Hasbaya have lived this tragedy as their own, with Druze Sheikh al-Aql, Sami Abi ...

The Politics of Frozen Conflicts and Their Antidotes 

Paradoxically enough, the strategic contexts throughout the Middle and Near East extending between Iran and Gaza are in a state of volatility, and none of the security issues at stake have been addressed in a conclusive manner — or were ever meant to be. After the consecutive defeats that have unraveled the strategic and political realms of ...

The Druze of Syria: A Minority Seeking Stability in the Post-Assad Transition

Since July 13, deadly clashes in Syria’s southern province of Sweida have left more than 1,300 people dead, including at least 630 local residents, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The violence erupted after the abduction of a merchant from the Druze community, triggering a wave of bloodshed that underscores the region’s ...

The Fantasized Body: When the Image Erases the Woman (2/2)

In today’s world, the female body is under constant pressure. It must be smooth, toned, youthful, desirable but not vulgar, slim but not unhealthy, maternal yet flawless. On social media, in advertising and in television shows, a single ideal takes hold: a body that is controlled, edited and put on display. The ideal is now algorithmic. It is ...

For Visitors from Abroad: Don’t Bother Trying to Make Sense of Lebanon!

For everyone planning to spend their vacation in Lebanon, here is your survival guide to a country where nothing works, yet somehow everything does. First of all, getting to Lebanon is no small feat. Plane tickets cost so much, you might as well be booking a business-class trip to Mars. Let’s say you sold your house in France or Canada and ...

UNIFIL Mandate Shift Could Ignite Region: Will the US Push Back on Israeli Demands?

One month separates Lebanon from a critical juncture, one of the most sensitive in its modern history. At the end of August, the United Nations Security Council will decide whether to renew the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for another year. The decision could either reaffirm the mission’s role or mark its ...

Barrack to This is Beirut: There Is a Sense of Readiness in Lebanon Towards Normalisation with Israel

As Lebanon teeters on the edge of another potential war, with Hezbollah’s arms drawing the country closer to full-scale conflict with Israel, a more existential question arises: Why does the Lebanese state continue to abdicate its constitutional responsibilities? Why is the government still unwilling, decades after the Taif Agreement, to assert ...

The Female Body: Object of the Gaze, Forbidden Subject (1/2)

The female body is never simply a body. It carries myth and memory. It feeds both fantasy and repression. It often appears where it is least expected, slips through language, escapes definition and resists categorization. From cave paintings to fashion runways, from fairy tales to biology textbooks, the female body has been spoken about, ...

Azerbaijan: The Triumph of Pragmatism over Religious Identity

In the heart of the Caucasus, Azerbaijan stands out for its unconventional geopolitical alignments. Though predominantly Shia in religious composition, this secular post-Soviet republic has positioned itself as one of Israel’s closest allies and a strategic partner to the West, all while maintaining a strained relationship with neighboring ...

Trump Envoy to Inspect Gaza Aid as Pressure Mounts on Israel

President Donald Trump's envoy met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday ahead of a visit to inspect aid distribution in Gaza, as a deadly food crisis drove mounting international pressure for a ceasefire. Steve Witkoff, who has been involved in months of stalled negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, met ...

Lebanon’s Hidden Underwater Mysteries

An entire city, named Saidoun, emerged from the depths: monumental walls, sacred chambers, freshwater wells, marble slabs and massive stone blocks dating back to around 1370 BCE, nearly 4,000 years ago. To this day, this excavation remains one of the most significant breakthroughs in the underwater exploration of southern Lebanon. Yet, since then, ...

Thomas Barrack: When Diplomacy Moves in Circles and Lebanon Follows

Listening to Thomas Barrack, one might think Lebanon is close to redemption or on the edge of a cliff, perhaps both at once. For months now, the American special envoy has issued statements that are sometimes hopeful, sometimes threatening, often confusing, and always repetitive. With every tweet and announcement, the same message comes through: ...

From Empire to Nation

In the Levant, Islam took root in the major Mediterranean coastal cities—Jaffa, Haifa, Acre, Sidon, Beirut, Tripoli, Tartus and Latakia. Surrounded by Christian and Jewish hill communities or overshadowed by dominant Christian mountain ranges, these urban populations never felt isolated. Instead, they saw themselves as fully integrated into the ...

Trump Orders Tariffs on Dozens of Countries in Push To Reshape Global Trade

President Donald Trump unveiled new tariffs Thursday on nearly 70 countries -- including a blistering 35 percent on neighbor Canada -- as he seeks to reshape global trade to benefit the US economy. However, in a minor reprieve that opens the door to further negotiations, the White House said the measures will take effect in a week for most ...

August 4: Families Revive Memory With Olive Trees

When justice falters, memory remains. A memory planted with bare hands into a soil still shaken by anger and silence. For five years, families of August 4, 2020 explosion victims have waited in vain, expecting answers, accountability, and convictions. But waiting led nowhere. So, some have stopped waiting. Not out of vengeance, but to stand their ...

Trump’s Tariffs: Protection or Risky Bet for the US Economy?

Tariffs have once again taken center stage in American trade policy. On Thursday, the White House announced a major overhaul of customs duties, marking a new chapter in President Donald Trump’s protectionist agenda. In an official statement, the White House emphasized that these measures aim to “protect American workers” and to “secure ...

US Deploying Nuclear Submarines in Response to 'Provocative' Russian Comments

US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines Friday in an extraordinary escalation of what had been an online war of words with a Russian official over Ukraine and tariffs. Trump and Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's security council, have been sparring on social media for days. Trump's post ...

Invisible but Unbroken: Women Fighting Iran’s Repression

Repression of women in Iran is not new. Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, their freedoms have been tightly controlled by an institutionalized patriarchal system that monitors every aspect of their lives, such as education, work, movement and expression. The veil, often internationally seen as the symbol of this oppression, is only the most ...

The Grammar of a Bungled Transition 

The interpretation of political events can often lead to misunderstandings and confusion. It is crucial to establish clear communication and guidelines to navigate such complexities effectively. Without these measures, the potential for misinterpretation increases, which can exacerbate tensions and hinder progress. Therefore, fostering an ...

The Fearless Genius Is Gone: Ziad Rahbani Carries Lebanon’s Memory Into the Beyond

Born on January 1, 1956, in Lebanon, Ziad Rahbani embodied the rebellious, artistic and restless soul of his nation. Raised in a musical dynasty, he built his own identity note by note, word by word. At only 17, he composed Sa’alouni el-Nass, a politically charged and deeply emotional work that marked the beginning of a prolific, independent ...

The Old Continent in Turnberry: Strategic Compromise or Keen Submission?

A new trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the United States was reached on Sunday in Turnberry, Scotland, after weeks of tense negotiations. The pact sets a 15% tariff on most European goods exported to the US market, narrowly avoiding a trade war, but leaving a bitter taste in Brussels. While it marks a tariff truce, the deal has ...

Germs, Pollution, Junk Food: Lebanon’s Summer of All Dangers

A Feverish Country, Citizens Out of Breath A morning like any other in Beirut. Unusual lines at the pharmacy, overwhelmed medical offices, worried parents in pediatric waiting rooms. Fever, cough, diarrhea, vomiting… For several weeks, Lebanese citizens have been falling ill. Gastroenteritis, rotavirus, summer flu, COVID and lung infections are ...

Exploring and Excavating Underwater Heritage

Before any underwater excavation begins, one fundamental question must be answered: Should the findings be brought to the surface? “In some cases – particularly when dealing with a submerged city – preserving the site’s integrity means leaving everything untouched,” explains marine biology expert Marcos Hado. “But when valuable ...

Trump and Netanyahu Vow “Alternative Options” After Talks with Hamas Break Down

US President Donald Trump accused Hamas on Friday of not wanting to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza as Israel said it would explore "alternative options" to rescue hostages after negotiations had collapsed. An Israeli official, meanwhile, told AFP air drops of aid would resume soon over the Gaza Strip, where aid groups warned of surging numbers of ...

Ziad Is Gone, the Drama Isn’t

Ziad Rahbani, Lebanon’s most brilliant satirist and musical artist, was finally laid to rest. But instead of a dignified farewell fitting of the man who gave voice to a nation’s contradictions, his funeral devolved into a spectacle, an unintentional parody of the plays he once wrote. Some mocked Dima’s presence, others sneered at Majida’s ...

When Losing a Dog Hurts More Than Losing a Loved One

“It’s only a dog.” This phrase, often said with a hint of condescension, can feel like a harsh blow to those who have just lost their four-legged companion. Yet growing scientific evidence shows that grieving a pet – especially a dog – can be just as intense as, and sometimes even more profound than, mourning a human loved one. The ...