Review of Peter Schwartzstein, The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence (London: Footnote Press, 2024). Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) –– Although climate change does not directly cause conflict, it makes violence more likely to occur and to be more intense. The effects of climate change act as ‘threat […]
Germany: A Not-So-Green Departing Government, A Future Coalition even Less Ambitious on Climate?
Zwickau/Munich (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) –– When Germans voted in a national election in September 2021, 33% of the population considered that the environment and climate were among the two main problems Germany was facing. In a poll from January 2025, one month before last weekend’s election, only 13% of the population held the […]
14 Years after the Arab Spring Youth Revolution in Egypt, the Problems that provoked it are Even Worse
Rusha Latif, author of Tahrir’s Youth: “The problems and grievances that drove the 2011 Egyptian revolution remain and are much worse today” Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) — Born in the United States to Egyptian parents, Rusha Latif is an independent researcher based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is also the […]
The Center of the World: A Global History of the Persian Gulf
Review of Allen James Fromherz, The Center of the World: A Global History of the Persian Gulf from the Stone Age to the Present (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2024). Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) –– Historically known as the Persian Gulf, the body of water stretching from Iraq on the northwest to […]
How to Lose a War: The Story of America’s Intervention in Afghanistan
Review of Amin Saikal, “How to Lose a War: The Story of America’s Intervention in Afghanistan” (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2024). Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) –– More than three years have passed since US troops left Afghanistan in August 2021, putting an end to an occupation that lasted two […]
The Yemen Model and Failed US Middle East Policy
Review of Alexandra Stark, “The Yemen Model: Why U.S. Policy Has Failed in the Middle East” (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2024). Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) –– Yemen goes through a civil war that does not end, frequent cholera outbreaks, and acute malnutrition among children. These days, however, the southern […]
Eugene Rogan’s The Damascus Events: The 1860 Massacre and the Making of the Modern Middle East
Review of Eugene Rogan, “The Damascus Events: The 1860 Massacre and the Making of the Modern Middle East” (New York: Basic Books, 2024). Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) –– How did Ottoman Damascus descend into violence and looting in July 1860? Why did the Damascene masses fall upon the Christians, leaving around 5,000 […]
Refashioning War through Aid in Palestine – Elastic Empire
Review of Lisa Bhungalia, “Elastic Empire: Refashioning War through Aid in Palestine” (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2023). Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) –– The impact of US military aid on Palestine is there for everyone to see. For decades, Israel has been the largest recipient of US military aid. The list of military […]
Ten Conflicts to Understand the New Middle East
Review of : Christopher Phillips, Battleground: 10 Conflicts That Explain the New Middle East. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2024. Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) –– The title of Christopher Phillips’ latest book, “Battleground: Ten Conflicts that Explain the New Middle East”, might scare off some potential readers. Here comes another […]
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