Coercive Engineered Migration corresponds to an attempt from a challenger to obtain political, economic or military concessions from a target through the instrumentalization of a migration “crisis”. It generally appears as an asymmetric weapon by a weak actor against a stronger one and may, in some cases, be considered as a punishment strategy. Usually the favorite target in this exercise of coercive diplomacy is defined by a democratic mode of governance.

Tensions are escalating in the Middle East, as Iran and the United States have reached the most critical point in their relationship since the hostage crisis in 1979. As promised, Tehran did not let the assassination of General Soleimani go unpunished. After three days of mourning, which were punctuated by numerous threats of retaliation, Iran has finally decided to take its revenge. 

BIC President, Ambassador Marc Otte, welcomes new EU leaders with words of advice on three key issues that will shape an audacious agenda for a stronger and smarter Global Europe, and ensure that the EU demonstrates true leadership in an unpredictable geopolitical arena with emerging actors and new challenges (

Turkey announced its plan to engineer a ‘safe zone’ in northern Syria, an initiative that, according to Turkey, mainly emanates from the country’s discontent from the presence of armed Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) on its southern borders. At their essence, safe zones are employed by states to pursue politically motivated objectives. In the case of northern Syria, Turkey’s ambitions go beyond pushing the Kurds away from its border.

Emerging hydrocarbon discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean unravel political and economic opportunities for the region’s states. The region that is commonly known as the ‘Levantine Basin’ (figure 1) is believed to be floating around excessive amounts of gas reserves. According to an assessment carried out by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 2010,[1] the Levantine Basin holds around 122 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas.

At A Glance:

Following months of protests since al-Bashir’s removal from power, there has been some semblance of hope in Sudan following the signing of a power-sharing agreement in July 2019 between the leaders of the pro-democracy movement and the transitional military council, the latter running the country in the absence of a new President. However, a key missing element of the agreement was how to account for the violence that marred the protest period.

At the peak of the Arab Spring uprisings throughout the Middle East, protesters in Yemen called for the former President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to step down from office. After months of protest, Saleh  agreed to hand over power to the second-incommand, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, and a new constitution was to be formed under his direction in the National Dialogue Conference (NDC), which began in March of 2013.

The role of women in Yemen has transformed throughout the conflict period. For a country that consistently suffers to uphold and promote the rights of women, there are those individuals and groups who prevail. This chapter will explore the changing roles of women in Yemen, and how the perceptions of women in peacebuilding contexts have transformed between the time of the postArab Spring peace negotiations in the National Dialogue council, into the role that women take in today’s conflict.

The humanitarian aid crisis has been at the forefront of the discussion on Yemen in the past two years. Prior to 2017, the humanitarian crisis, that has been seen since the start of the war, was not discussed on an international level. Since the beginning of the coalition blockade in 2015, millions of people’s lives have been at risk, as food, water and medical supplies are diminished or unable to enter into Yemen, or are stuck in the ports.