Recentemente si sono verificati vari episodi di scontro indiretto tra Iran e Israele. Questi semi-scontri mostrano il desiderio di entrambi di non avere uno scontro aperto, tuttavia il numero di incidenti e attacchi sta aumentando prendendo una nuova dimensione con l'incidente nella centrale nucleare iraniana di Natanz.

There are various signs across Arab countries of the potential for political turmoil. Potential uprisings are not much of a surprise anymore, but the current situation should raise political and security concerns across the states in the region. 

More than ten years after the beginning of the Arab Spring uprisings, where underlying issues within Arab countries were bluntly revealed, there has been no real approach to manage change or offer solutions. There is a distinct lack of anticipation of what is needed and almost no proactive measures to get in front of issues. Political reform is necessary and not in the long term, but now. 

For a country like Jordan, this year marks 100 years since the establishment of the country. Jordan has faced various critical moments, difficulties and challenges. There have been promising periods where change was adopted to manage developing situations. In 1989, following the April uprising, the political well was found to solve the underlying issues not just from an economic perspective, but a much wider vision based on political inclusion and improvements to the democratic process. During the last decade we have also seen some attempts to implement constitutional amendments and increase the transparency of politics in the country. 

During these difficult times, countries are facing multidimensional challenges. The crisis is not limited to economic challenges but it is also a crisis of governance, reshaping the concept of role of the state. For a country like Jordan that soon will celebrate a century since its establishment, it is very important to make use of this anniversary to evaluate the achievements, mistakes, challenges, risks and opportunities. It is also critical to think progressively to overcome challenges before they become real risks for Jordan in the coming future. 

Oggi 16 gennaio sono 30 anni dallo scoppio della prima guerra del Golfo, in cui la coalizione internazionale attaccò l’Iraq di Saddam Hussein. L’inizio della guerra e la sua rapida evoluzione non diedero la percezione all’uomo comune di quali sarebbero state le sue conseguenze, nel breve, medio e lungo periodo. Questa guerra in realtà avrebbe cambiato per sempre il volto della regione mediorientale inaugurando una stagione di instabilità che ancora oggi persiste.