Cyber-Geopolitics and the Future of Conflict in the Middle East and North Africa

Expert Workshop

Over the last decade, cyber space has developed into a major theatre for competition and conflict, also in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Cyber geopolitics and digital proxy warfare arguably re-shape regional conflict dynamics and alter power balances between states and non-state actors with asymmetrical military capabilities. Cyberattacks on civilian and military targets, disinformation campaigns and data leakages are daunting challenges with fierce consequences. Yet, governments and security institutions as well as private companies and civil society organizations in the region do not seem prepared in terms of strategies and capabilities to deal with this new dimension of conflict.

Stabilizing the War-Torn Economy in Libya

Policy Recommendations for EU Action

Finding sustainable solutions to stabilise the economy in Libya requires a holistic approach as the key economic issues link into all different aspects of the Libyan conflict. Economic realities cannot be dealt with in isolation from the political process and the highly complex security architecture in the country.

MENA 2030: Scenarios for Security and Defense Cooperation

Mediterranean Advisory Group

The Mediterranean Advisory Group of the KAS Regional Program South Mediterranean met in Cadenabbia, Italy, at the banks of Lake Como for a strategic foresight exercise on the prospects for multilateralism concerning security and defense cooperation in the broader Middle East and North Africa region.

Migration in North Africa: A Perspective from the Region

Dialogue Program

The current trends of irregular migration movements across the Mediterranean and international approaches to migration management were the subject of a dialogue program with the delegation of the Young Group of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the German Bundestag in Tunis.

Scientific writing and methodology training for Libyan academics

In order to strengthen academic capacities in Libya as well as to connect Libyan and Tunisian scholars and researchers, the KAS Regional Program South Mediterranean organized a training in cooperation with the Institute de Recherche sur le Maghreb Contemporain (IRMC), the French Embassy to Libya, the University of Tripoli and the Tripoli Academy of Higher Studies on scientific writing and methodology in human and social sciences.

Strengthening Migration Reporting in Libya

Training of Trainers

The majority of African migration towards Europe for the past few years was channeled through one single country – Libya. Fact-based and conflict-sensitive reporting on irregular migration and the conditions for migrants and refugees in the country requires a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon and its causes and effects as well as the complex legal framework.

Human Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Future Work Directions

Regional Seminar

The Regional Program Political Dialogue South Mediterranean of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung held in cooperation with the Arab Institute for Human Rights a two-day seminar on human rights in the Middle East and North Africa.

Drifting Apart: Transatlantic Relations in the Middle East

Mediterranean Advisory Group

The Mediterranean Advisory Group of the KAS Regional Program South Mediterranean came together in Berlin for an expert meeting on transatlantic relations in the Middle East to discuss US and European approaches towards the region and elaborate on shared interests and new fields for cooperation.

Arab Police Reform: Between Citizens and Security

Conference

Police forces in the Southern Mediterranean region have witnessed a growing deterioration of their conditions and an increasing fragmentation while operating in gradually more volatile environments and being caught up in tensions between their relationship to the state and the population. The relationship between Arab populations and their security forces are an essential vector for stability in the region.

Old Paths, New Riders: Transnational Organized Crime in the Maghreb-Sahel Belt

Workshop

Historically, the Maghreb-Sahel belt has been a hub of transit and trade between Sub-Saharan Africa and the Mediterranean coasts. Today, the absence of national governments both on the political and economic level, coupled with major security issues, gave room for numerous militant groups to take advantage of the prevailing vacuum in the region by sinking into a territory abandoned by the authorities with the support of a neglected local population. In parallel, numerous criminal interests managed to develop in this environment with a set of groups exploiting the opportunities presented by this disorder.