Democracy is not like instant coffee. It needs an enabling environment and a hospitable culture to flourish and grow.
As 2021 goes off to a start, will the world return to normal or to near normal?
Lebanon is probably the only country in the world that is teetering on the brink of total collapse while, at the same time, is desperately resisting...
Lebanon is not the first country to face an economic crisis and will not be the last.
Watching news of the insurrection in Washington and the events that followed, one cannot but draw comparisons and lessons as it applies to the Lebanese...
We learn at an early age that there are no “stupid questions,” but there is one exception which is widely asked in Lebanon: Where is the evidence of corruption?
A decade ago, Turkey summed up its foreign policy as “zero problems with neighbors.” Today, its foreign policy is encumbered with problems.
We are commencing 2021 with new norms of individuals’ lifestyles, societal dynamics, and states’ policies after the most uncertain year that my generation has...
We end 2020 in what qualifies to be an existential moment at Lebanon when the Lebanese are questioning the country’s economic recovery, governance structure,...
Russia and Turkey hold in their hands the fate of the strategically important northern Syrian town of Ain Issa, nominally controlled by the Kurdish-dominated...
A house of cards. A set of lies we have unconsciously accepted. That’s what our certainties seem like during profound crises.
The hanging of Iranian journalist Ruhollah Zam continues to make waves among Iranian exiles in the United States and Europe.
For much of the world, this century has been a period of frustration and disillusion. Many now look to the future not with confidence but with fear.
Viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 mutate all the time – not deliberately or even cunningly, as some apocalyptic recent coverage seems to imply
As governments everywhere are borrowing, spending and regulating on an unprecedented scale, a deeper understanding of economic decision-making is essential...
Lebanon has changed so much since I arrived, and especially over the last 14 months.
There is a lot we have in common as human beings. Everyone enjoys the feeling of returning to a clean home.
Teaser
Future prospects for Lebanon are quite dim. The country, which is in dire need of international financial support, still falls short of meeting the minimum...
While COVID-19 has affected every aspect of our lives, cultural and creative sectors have been among the hardest hit by the pandemic.
What can we expect in 2021? I will consider both the bullish case and the bearish one before I reveal my bias.
Those who were opposed to former President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, mainly in the Middle East, are not thrilled to see President-elect Joe Biden filling...
Mountains are home to a growing number of the hungriest people in the world.
The world is not yet sufficiently alarmed by how much the COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the global economy.
On this day in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was drafted by a group of outstanding...
There is always hope and expectation that things will change.
In the last few weeks, the World Bank Group and the International Development community in Lebanon issued three important reports.