Mustafa Fahs

Mustafa Fahs

Lebanon and Iran on the Day After the Truce

In the calculus of domestic politics, Tehran claims victory, relying on the premise that the regime did not fall, despite the opacity surrounding its hierarchy and decision-making process. It is as though it has adopted the same logic as the armed groups it created in neighboring countries, through…

Nawaf Salam and His Moderation… Between Two Right Wings

Between two Lebanese right-wing camps, each with its own narrative, its sacred values, its certainties, its salvation and its story about the other, stands Nawaf Salam. They do not merely disagree; they tear up geography and erase history, even as they share the same country, political system, and…

South Lebanon: What Remains of History When Geography is Lost?

South Lebanon (the South of the river, the far South) is steeped in antiquity. For thousands of years, the peoples and tribes who successively settled forged its collective memory, and its written and oral history, leaving their mark on the land and in the collective consciousness itself. It is…

South Lebanon’s Communities: ‘The Arabs of 26?’

The bangs of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburb interrupted an evening discussion about the future of our country after the war. Even so, the barrage of updates about strikes in the south, and the mass evacuation orders that have nearly emptied out the region south of the Litani River,…

Iraq: The 2003 System and the Political Elites’ Crisis 

US President Donald Trump exposed the deep crisis of governance in Iraq with a tweet that threatened the future of the political system and paralyzed the towering figures of Iraqi politics. These partisan elites emerged, under exceptional conditions, as a result of the intersecting interests of…

Iraq… The Post-‘October Uprising’ Generation

The generational clash in Iraq is changing. It is no longer tied to the political class’s struggle for power and spoils. While this class is busy managing a transition, a new generation is forming: the post-“October Uprising” generation. The elite seeks to maintain power and wealth through the…

Iraq: The 2003 Regime Between Two Generations  

The Coordination Framework’s nomination of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to head the government has exposed a major crisis of Shiite politics in Iraq. This crisis cannot be reduced to a struggle for political power, influence, or wealth. Rather, it reflects a deeper conflict that reflects…

Iran: The Contractual Crisis Between State and Society

The existential challenges facing the Iranian regime will end with this wave of protests or their suppression. They would not be overcome if negotiations with Washington succeed and a strike is averted either. Recent developments are the culmination of problems that have been accumulating for years…

Iran: The Supreme Leader, the President, and the Street

It is too early to judge whether Iran’s president can contain the anger on the streets. The protest movement that erupted days ago in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar — triggered by the collapse of the Iranian currency — quickly spread to universities, some state-run industrial facilities, and other cities. …

Iraq between Two Dates

In the 22 years that passed between September 11, 2001, and October 7, 2023, many things changed and much remained the same in Iraq. It continued to occupy a crucial geopolitical position, and the nature of its politics changed. After 9/11, Iraq became the arena for a globalization of regional…