The International Politics Of Sudan’s Transition

Online Seminar

Sudan is in the midst of a once-in-a-generation episode of change. This ethnically diverse country of 42 million people is undergoing a rare political transition after a revolutionary uprising and a military coup last year brought an end to President Omar al-Bashir's 30-year rule. In August 2019, Bashir's generals and the leaders of opposition parties agreed to share power in arrangement meant to lead the country to a new constitutional order and free elections in three years. A peace agreement finalized on 3 October 2020 saw the leaders of armed groups from Sudan's war-torn areas of Darfur, Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan join the transitional institutions. But the economy has collapsed in a spiral of near hyperinflation, and the prospects for further destabilization are rising. Regime change has brought a significant reorientation of Sudan's foreign policy, once fiercely anti-Western and supportive of Islamist groups across the region. Relations with Europe, long fraught as a result of the International Criminal Court Indictment of Omar alBashir for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur, are edging towards full normalization. Sudan has also moved away from its erstwhile allies Qatar and Turkey, largely aligning onto the "Arab Troika" (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt). Under the influence of the UAE, Sudan is now exploring a potential normalization with Israel in exchange for a recission of the United States' longstanding State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation.

The Mediterranean Women Digital Summit

MED Women Shaping the Internet

Mediterranean Women Digital Summit for women empowerment Held every year in Tunis, the Mediterranean Women Digital Summit gathers activists, entrepreneurs as well as academics from countries of the southern Mediterranean region but also from Europe. This platform aims at exploring the opportunities digitalization offers to women empowerment. This year’s edition will focus particularly on the gender imbalance observed on the Internet space, as it is the case in society at large. Through a set of panel discussions and peer consultations, the objective is to construct a reflection process on how social innovations can contribute to make the Internet a more gender-equal place. The target outcome of the Mediterranean Women Digital Summit is to create a network of inspired women and provide them with knowledge and experiences from successful initiatives. With the opportunities brought by the digital sector, those emerging women leaders will be better equipped to contribute with their own innovations to a more sustainable and inclusive development in the Southern Mediterranean

MENA Leadership Academy III: Shaping the Digital Future

Zivilgesellschaftliche Organisationen im digitalen Raum

After 50 young civil society activists from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have completed the first and second MENA Leadership Academies, the Regional Program South Mediterranean of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) is now bringing together the third generation of motivated and committed future leaders after together. The theme for the next two years will be how civil society organizations can successfully accompany the digital transformation process in the region. The first training course will take place in Tunis.

Civil-Military Relations in the Middle East and North Africa

During the latest popular protests the MENA region is witnessing, military apparatuses have been playing a decisive role. While in some countries, the military took the role of defending the political establishment, in other cases, the army played a crucial role in the change of power. In the face of the major re-implication of the military in the political developments of the MENA region, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Regional Program South Mediterranean in cooperation with the Carnegie Middle East Center, organized a conference on the “civil-military relations in the MENA region”.

Tunisian foreign policy put to the test of the new geopolitical situation

In early 2020, Tunisia started a two-year mandate, for the fourth time, as a non-permanent member of the Security Council (UNSC) until 2022.

In addition to this election, Tunisia chaired the Arab League Summit last year and will chair the Francophonie Summit scheduled for December 2020. In view of Tunisia’s significant growing exposure on the international scene, the KAS Regional Program South Mediterranean held a conference to provide food for thought on the opportunities that Tunisia's election to the United Nations Security Council brings.

Paving Legal Pathways for Migration

MED Migration Forum

As migration management has been stuck in “crisis mode” for a long time, it is now urgent to reflect upon longer-term responses. Given the relevance of local institutions in the implementation of migration and integration policies, the question of legal pathways can also only be realistically addressed by involving in the discussions officials and policymakers working at the local level – from origin countries, as well as from transit and receiving communities. For this reason, the Regional Program Political Dialogue South Mediterranean of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) in cooperation with the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) is organizing a forum on legal pathways for migration.

Foreign Aid in the Middle East and North Africa

Shifting Patterns in International Cooperation

This international conference, organized by the Regional Program Political Dialogue South Mediterranean of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) and the Mediterranean Academy for Diplomatic Studies (MEDAC), aims to map the new trends, patterns and priorities of foreign aid assistance as well as their objectives and impacts for the regional development of the MENA.

Seminar of the European Fall Academy

Call for Applications

About thirty young social activists from the central Maghreb will take part at the European Fall Academy that the KAS Regional Program South Mediterranean organizes for the third time at the European Academy of Otzenhausen (Germany).

EU-North Africa Relations: Resetting the Dialogue on Partnership

Panel Discussion

This panel discussion seeks to review how to reset the debate on EU-North Africa relations and how to adjust to the demands and expectations on both sides following a recently edited volume on "The European Union and North Africa: Prospects and Challenges".

The Mediterranean Women Digital Summit

MED Women for Social Innovation

The Mediterranean Women Digital Summit is a yearly platform for outstanding women activists and entrepreneurs leading the digital transformation of their countries’ economies and societies. After a successful first edition, the organizers seek to extend the experience with a second event with a particular attention paid to social innovation. Hosting activists, social entrepreneurs as well as academics from countries of the southern Mediterranean region, the Mediterranean Women Digital Summit aims at providing a platform to explore the opportunities digitalization offers to women empowerment. This year, participants will share innovative ideas that are social both in their means and ends. The objective here is to develop a reflection on how to contribute through social innovations to a more sustainable and inclusive development in the Southern Mediterranean respecting various fields from access to education, to healthcare, or running business. The target outcome of the summit is to create a network of inspired women and enable them with knowledge and experiences from other success stories. With the opportunities that the digital economy offers to them, those leading women will be better equipped to contribute through social innovations to a more sustainable and inclusive development in the Southern Mediterranean.