Eyad Abu Shakra

Eyad Abu Shakra

Isn't it Time for Us Arabs to Rationally Think of the Future? 

When a nation’s options are narrowed by dramatic developments, it is left with two choices: gloating or denial... Both affirm that this nation has resigned itself to a life on the margins of history. We Arabs currently constitute a strong majority in West Asia and North Africa. Our…

Us and the Bickering in Washington 

What links the ongoing rift between US President Donald Trump and his “fleeting ally,” billionaire Elon Musk, the visible divergences between US positions and the policies of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, and the looming clouds over the approach of the US and Israel to Iran? This question…

What Is the ‘New Middle East’ ... the Real One This Time 

There is hardly a journalist or political analyst, or even an amateur posing as either, in the Arab world who hasn’t, at some point over the past decades, written or spoken at length about the “New Middle East.” And yet, the Middle East we see today is something altogether different from what we…

From the ‘Past’ of Summits... to the Economy of ‘State Builders’

Let us forget, for a moment, that the president of the United States is the most powerful political leader in the world, and that he can annihilate humanity at the press of a button or obliterate the global economy with an “executive order.” For a moment, let us put that to one side and focus,…

Are We Ready to Accept Our Alternative History? 

Whenever I am feeling nostalgic, I listen to the remarkable late Iraqi poet Lamia Abbas Amara’s poem about Beirut... a city she came to adore after residing there for a time. Beirut loved her back, even more. The poem begins with this beautiful verse: "I focus my eyes in doubt to ask them: …

The Druze Experience… an Opportunity for Everyone to Save Syria

I have been following the rapidly developing events in my beloved Syria over the past four days with a heavy heart, especially concerned by the events unfolding in the south, where my family’s branches stretch across no fewer than ten villages and towns. In my academic journey, I have studied the…

An Obscure Arab Summit Awaits

It would be reckless, very reckless... to speculate that developments in the Arab region between now and the Arab League summit scheduled for May 17 will follow a logical trajectory! Anything could happen, as there are no guardrails or constraints between us and the abyss. The most prominent of…

In the Lebanese Municipal Elections… the Heart of the Coexistence Crisis

While many Lebanese, along with their brothers and neighbors, are focused on major national and regional threats, a considerable segment of the Lebanese population is currently obsessing over a more trivial side story... An issue that may seem insignificant in comparison to the existential threats…

Negotiations in Muscat… Calculations in Tel Aviv

It is an absurdity of Middle Eastern politics that many politicians and analysts are still betting on the complete elimination of Iran’s role in the region. Even more absurd is the expectation that Israel will drag Washington into this "war of elimination." True, this is the most right-wing US…

‘Israeli peace’ is Not a Silver Bullet for The Levant

Yesterday, in Jeddah, Syrian and Lebanese defense ministers Murhaf Abu Qusra and Michel Menassa signed a promising agreement to end lingering border issues between Lebanon and Syria. In truth, neither the new Syrian government nor the current Lebanese authorities contributed to these issues, which…