Edition 1, April
‘State of Play’
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From Syria to North Africa and the Sahel, conflicts rage despite years of intervention by international actors including the United Nations – why is this and what could we be doing differently?
Diplomacy Now is a monthly newsletter produced by the International Center for Dialogue Initiatives (ICDI), a think tank set up by former United Nations under-secretary generals and special envoys from Africa and the Middle East, just over a decade after the Arab Spring. We seek to explore how locally informed and led peace initiatives could be paved and empowered in some of the world’s most seemingly intractable conflicts.
Each month we will bring you informed analysis and writing on conflict and mediation, that you won’t find in the mainstream media, from thematic and regional experts and those living close to the frontlines.
In April’s ‘State of Play’ edition, we offer you insights into five conflicts – Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Iran, the Sahel, Libya, and Yemen. Our authors, ranging from lawyers, scholars, journalists, and experts in the issues and regions they cover, dive into the recent events, the key players, and possibilities for negotiation and peace.
Jamal Benomar
Chair of ICDI
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‘State of Play’ leads with an exclusive look into the almost successful peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in the early stages of the war that were hampered by the withdrawal of troops from around Kyiv and mounting evidence of Russian war crimes.
In his article ‘The Russia-Ukraine War – Is There a Path to a Negotiated Settlement?’ Marc Weller, ICDI’s legal counsel, who is an expert in international peace settlements, explores how Putin’s framing of the war and the West’s early support of Ukraine, and its recent military gains, have created a dynamic in which both sides are refusing to come to the negotiating table.
With the United States and Europe continuing to support Ukraine militarily, could Beijing offer a way forward?
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We then turn to leading scholar on Iran-Saudi relations, Banafsheh Keynoush, and her reflections on the recent Saudi-Iran deal, that ended a seven-year diplomatic stalemate between the region’s two superpowers – in which Beijing also played a significant role. Could the deal mark a new wave of locally driven negotiations in the Middle East?
Keynoush, who was a recent visiting scholar at Princeton University and a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute, and author of Saudi Arabia and Iran: Friends or Foes, offers insight into the ongoing diplomatic relations between two of the region and world’s most complex countries.
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Moving onto the Sahel region, that is reeling after a wave of coups and rising attacks by jihadist groups, Themba Zuri, a researcher on the Sahel, explores the current political dynamics in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali.
With Russia becoming a rising influence in the region, will Burkina Faso follow suit and allow paramilitary groups such as Wagner play a role in combating armed groups? Will both countries continue to privilege military might over dialogue? And why isn’t the Economic Community of West African States doing more to end the conflict?
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Next, we take a hard look at Libya with Younes Abouyoub, who offers an insight into the challenges the divided nation faces in holding democratic elections and establishing state legitimacy in the aftermath of totalitarianism and war.
Abouyoub, who has served on the UN political mission in Libya, and other UN operations, argues that reconciliation is needed if Libya is to escape a “Sisyphean fate – a never-ending cycle of power-sharing agreements and repetitive elections leading to more government formations with no state in sight.”
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Finally, we turn to Yemen, where freelance journalist Shuaib Almosawa, critiques the diplomatic failures to end the conflict and the need for the UN to regain its credibility. Almosawa, takes us through the most recent negotiations facilitated by Oman and talks with Saudi Arabia and ultimately argues “someone needs to keep the foreign ambassadors outside of the room” and that local peacebuilders must be in the driver’s seat.
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We hope you continue to follow Diplomacy Now as we provide you with original analysis and insight from specialists and people living in the countries confronting the conflicts that we are covering. Please subscribe here and contact us for news, tips or feedback.
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