The Middle Eastern rivals are talking to each other and de-escalating their tension. Economic cooperation and political normalisation seem to form the new narrative of the region. Whether these flurries of diplomatic outreaches represent a new era in the region, if not the emergence of a new or-der, or a mere strategic pause in the regional disputes remain to be seen. However, despite these de-escalatory steps, not only are none of the regional conflicts showing any sign of resolution, from Iraq to Libya and Palestine to Syria, the signs of escalation are on the horizon. How these escalatory dynamics will affect the future of the current regional reset is an open question. Plus, the contest over the domestic political order of the state in the region remains to be an unsettled one. Sources of societal discontent are only worsening. Therefore, the region continues to be fragile and ripe for the politics of protests.

In cooperation with

Panel Discussion

Meliha Benli Altunsik | Professor, Department of International Relations, Middle East Technical University

Wadah Khanfar | President, Al Sharq Forum; Former Director General, Al Jazeera Network

Tariq Yousef | Senior Fellow and Director, Middle East Council on Global Affairs

Chair

Galip Dalay | Senior Associate Fellow, Al Sharq Forum; Doctoral researcher, University of Oxford; Associate Fellow, Chatham House