Middle East & North Africa

Research

Conflict and Fragility

Op-ed

The Securitization of Post-2011 Middle East Political Orders

09 Jun 2021 - 12:31
Erwin van Veen
Source: Egyptian army, US national archives
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Guns, Not Reforms
Protests, war, and jihadist revival have created an authoritarian backlash in the Arab states since 2011. This suggests that the next confrontations between ‘street’ and ‘regime’ are likely to be uglier than they were in 2011.

Research

Security and Defence

Reports and papers

World Climate and Security Report 2021

07 Jun 2021 - 15:39
Tom Middendorp
Louise van Schaik
Source: Mount Makalu-Himalayas / European Space Agency
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The Expert Group of the International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS) released its second annual World Climate and Security Report.

Research

Conflict and Fragility

Alerts

New challenges to Israel’s strategies of control

02 Jun 2021 - 18:00
Erwin van Veen
Matteo Colombo
Source: © Shutterstock / cunaplus
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Beyond Sheikh Jarrah
Preventing a repeat of recent violence requires EU countries to put greater pressure on Israel - based on international law - to ensure equal rights for all its citizens and to accept Palestinian sovereignty.
External authors
Abdullatif (Latif) Sleibi - intern at Clingendael’s Conflict Research Unit

Research

Conflict and Fragility

Reports and papers

Factors of instability in the Nineveh Plains

27 May 2021 - 22:59
Source: A member of Iraqi security forces inspects the remains of wall panels and colossal statues of winged bulls, destroyed by Islamic State militants are seen in the Assyrian city of Nimrud, on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, south of Mosul, Iraq, August
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Trapped in a vicious cycle
The Nineveh Plains have long been characterised by ethnoreligious diversity that has triggered waves of marginalisation and sectarian violence far more often than peaceful co-existence over the past decades.
External authors
Alba Di Pietrantonio Pellise - former intern the Clingendael Institute

Research

Conflict and Fragility

Articles

The sticky webs of conflict & political order in the Middle East

18 May 2021 - 12:40
Erwin van Veen
Source: ErikaWittlieb / Pixabay
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This article argues that the dominance of geopolitical analysis of conflict in the Middle East must be complemented by more profound examination of the nature of its political orders and deeper socio-economic trends.

Research

Climate Change

Reports and papers

Towards a Better Understanding of Climate Security Practices

20 Apr 2021 - 11:55
Tobias von Lossow
Louise van Schaik
Jos Meester
+2
Source: Rift valley from the Jordan River, Ian Scott / Flickr
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The Planetary Security Initiative has launched a first report and overview of climate security practices. Climate security research has evolved tremendously over the past 20 years in the direction of how to address security risks related to climate change.
External authors
Anouk Schrijver - former intern at the Planetary Security Initiative
Maxime van der Kroon - former intern at the Planetary Security Initiative

Research

Conflict and Fragility

Reports and papers

The YPG/PYD during the Syrian conflict

19 Apr 2021 - 11:05
Erwin van Veen
Rena Netjes
Source: Kurdish PKK Guerilla © Flickr/Kurdishstruggle
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Henchman, Rebel, Democrat, Terrorist
This analysis sheds new light on the rise and evolution of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the Syrian conflict. They are neither just emergent democrats, terrorists, Assad’s henchmen or rebels, but combine all these elements in a quest for dominance and survival.
External authors
Rena Netjes
Rena Netjes
Research associate Clingendael’s Conflict Research Unit
Matteo Colombo

Matteo Colombo

Research Fellow

Expertise

  • Conflict and Fragility
  • Security and Justice

Regions

  • Middle East & North Africa

Matteo Colombo works as a Research Fellow at Clingendael’s Conflict Research Unit. He is part of its Middle East team focusing on political Islam, the rule of law, and the political economy of Egypt and Libya. He has conducted high-quality confidential research projects for NATO and the World Bank on the security landscape in Iraq, as well as for the Italian Parliament on MENA geopolitics.

My work

10

Publications

Conflict and Fragility

Examining the interplay between elites and social movements in Jordan

25 June 2024 - 15:29
Matteo Colombo
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Conflict and Fragility

Power & potential: The economics of Egyptian construction and ICT

25 May 2023 - 16:55
Matteo Colombo
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Conflict and Fragility

The Egyptian political economy under al-Sisi

06 March 2023 - 11:54
Matteo Colombo
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Conflict and Fragility

Policing the police: Libya & the EU

01 December 2022 - 12:26
Conflict and Fragility

Lost in transition: The Muslim Brotherhood in 2022

20 July 2022 - 10:12
Conflict and Fragility

A stubborn threat: Islamic State in Iraq in early 2022

17 May 2022 - 10:41
Conflict and Fragility

Coercive organisations, war and state development in the Levant

29 March 2022 - 15:49
Conflict and Fragility

New challenges to Israel’s strategies of control

02 June 2021 - 18:00

Podcasts

Conflict and Fragility

Guns, seats, and protests: Political reform in the Middle East

28 February 2022 - 09:42
Erwin van Veen
+1
More podcasts

Events

Conflict and Fragility

Guns, seats and protests: political reform in the Middle East

17 November 2021 - 15:00

Events

Conflict and Fragility

The evolution of EU policy on Syria and its current challenges
22 Mar 2021 16:00 - 17:15
Source: Shutterstock
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Introduction
This virtual conversation serves as side event to the Brussels-V conference.
Organiser
Erwin van Veen
Erwin van Veen
Senior Research Fellow

Location:

The event will be streamed live on YouTube.

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Research

Conflict and Fragility

Policy briefs

‘Designed in Ethiopia’ and ‘Made in China’

08 Feb 2021 - 12:32
Jos Meester
Source: Shutterstock
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Sino-Ethiopian technology collaboration in South-South relations
This policy brief provides an examination of China’s rise in relation to its African partners. It takes into account geopolitical concerns, but homes in on China’s Belt and Road Initiative, its means of expanding into Africa.
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