This December, TIMEP looks back on the analyses, commentaries, and explainers that our community loved most in 2021.
TIMEP works with contributors from and in the MENA region to amplify bold ideas from those who know the region best—but you, our readers and supporters, help us to carry those ideas to the global stage where they can change how the world understands the region.
From water scarcity in Egypt to mental health in Lebanon to the weaponization of social media in Iraq, the pieces that caught your eyes this year were diverse, dynamic, and solutions-oriented.
1. Dual Threats: Water Scarcity and Rising Sea Levels in Egypt
The climate crisis is here. Its effects can be felt across the MENA region, including in Egypt, which is nearing “absolute water scarcity,” making cooperation, creativity, & proactive solutions more urgently needed than ever.
2. The Beirut Explosion’s Impact on Mental Health
Lebanon still faces trauma and mental health repercussions as a result of the 2020 Beirut explosion. What has the psychological impact of the blast been, and what has the renewed push for mental health services in Lebanon entailed?
3. ثورات الربيع العربي: أحلام ومآلات التغيير السياسي والاجتماعي لأفراد مجتمع الميم عين (مصر والسودان نموذجا)
“لا شك فيه أنّ ثورات الربيع العربي قد ساهمت مساهمةً كبيرة في تشكيل بني الوعي الجمعي للكثير من فئات المجتمع، خاصةً الشباب والنساء والفئات الأكثر تهميشاً مثل أفراد مجتمع الميم عين، كما علّمتهم/نّ أهمية وضرورة التغيير السياسي والاجتماعي من منظور التقاطعية النسوية للقضايا ووفّرت منصّات أكثر لحرية التعبير وفرصاً أكثر إبداعية للتنظيم.”
4. A Decade On, Libya’s Revolutionary Hopes Are Smoldering Ashes Set to Ignite
Although Libyans have suffered through instability and injustice throughout the past ten years, peaceful calls for justice represent a critical revolutionary spark.
5. Algeria: The Arab Spring’s Late Bloomer?
6. Egypt’s Digital Foreign Policy
As cyberattacks become a more common tool for statecraft, Egypt has shown a willingness to employ “subversive cyber elements” against opponents.
7. Foreign Aid to Lebanon: Goodwill Marred by Smoke and Mirrors
Faced with a multi-pronged crisis, the Lebanese state has sought foreign aid over the past few years. How has this aid been lost to mismanagement and corruption?
8. The Weight of Lebanon’s Unsustainable Subsidies Program
9. Music in Egypt in the Last Decade: Hit and Run with the Authorities
The government has a tight grip on music production in Egypt, but “there exists a crack in this wall that could give Egyptian music the opportunity to flourish and develop.”
10. Hate Speech, Social Media and Political Violence in Iraq: Virtual Civil Society and Upheaval
In Iraq, militia groups have harnessed online platforms to incite violence and launch hate campaigns that threaten the safety of activists, protesters, and journalists.
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