Back up and breathe

Okay, it's been more than a month since I last wrote something meaningful (barring the post about the Third Square movement, whose date of publication wasn't really fortunate), and I am more than sorry for that. Moreover because now that I'm IN the region, I had promised myself I would write even more often. At first I blamed the complete lack of inspiration. Three weeks of intense holidays left behind a sleepy lazy individual who could only think about being active again... in the medium term.

But after four (excessively) relaxing days at the beach, I was ready to engage in a much more meaningful research and write as if there was no tomorrow. I wanted to elaborate on polarization in Egypt, I was looking forward to explaining the current situation in Tunisia, I was very excited to delve into Lebanon's political scenario, I was eager to closely follow the resumption of the MEPP talks, I felt my assumptions on Syria could use more knowledge... And, even though being in Egypt nowadays is harder than I ever thought and leaves no room for focusing, all of this cannot wait anymore, at least not for me. I promise!

Comments

What about Lebanon?

I would never dare to think I have enough knowledge so as to freely talk about this issue and produce a meaningful article, but I will try to write down what I have understood so far (I already had to edit as I misunderstood some facts, thanks Louis!). Lebanon and Syria have always been deeply interconnected. Both countries were part of the Ottoman Empire, both countries were under the dominance of France's colonization, both countries share an extremely complicated ethnic/religious division, and both countries political scenes still depend on the other's. More recently, Syria was a key player in the brokering of the 1989 Taif Accords putting an end to Lebanon's civil war, and its troops (and many authorities) stayed in the country (allegedly guaranteeing the non resumption of violence) until 2005, when the country's population unanimously demanded their retreat. It all started in Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city, next to the country's northern borde

12 things you wanted to know about IS/ISIS

Tracking the events in Iraq - in the whole region, actually - might be a colossal task. Particularly so during the Summer, when it is sometimes even difficult to grasp a single headline. We all are aware about something called ISIS - or IS, as of lately - that seems to be messing around from Lebanon to Iran. A group of bearded man that scares everybody, the only ones able to force Obama to reconsider his mantra of non-intervention and to make Assad look like a harmless puppy. We've read about them, we've seen tons of maps showing their advance, we've heard rumours and conjectures. In case you've missed half of it, there go a few basic things you need to know about them. And yes, they are creepy!

Migrating

Aunque el título pueda referirse a uns de las varias mudanzas a los que me conocéis personalmente estáis acostumbrados, se refiere simplemente a este humilde blog, que tantas alegrias me ha dado. A partir de ahora podréis encontrar todos mis artículos en la página https://discoveringmena.blog Although the title could well refer to one of the rushed and unpredictable decisions those amongst you who know me are by now you used to, 'migrating' refers here to the new site this humble blog - which has given me so much joy - is moving to. From now on you can find all of my articles on the page https://discoveringmena.blog

Discovering MENA and other thoughts

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