This individual is a guest contributor. MEI is not able to assist with contact requests.
Dana El Kurd holds a Ph.D. in government with concentrations in comparative politics and international relations, and has focused her work on authoritarian regimes in the Arab world, state-society relations in these countries, and the impact of international intervention.
She has published in peer-reviewed journals such as PS Political Science & Politics, Journal of Global Security Studies, Middle East Law and Governance, Siyasat Arabiya (an Arabic peer-reviewed journal), Contemporary Arab Affairs, Parameters, and more. Her book titled Polarized and Demobilized: Legacies of Authoritarianism in Palestine was published in 2020 with Oxford University Press.
Read MEI’s weekly briefing featuring expert analysis of key regional developments for the week ahead.
Read MEI’s weekly briefing featuring expert analysis of key regional developments for the week ahead.
When the normalization agreement between the UAE and Israel was announced in August 2020, the response from the heavily policed and surveilled Emirati population was — understandably — muted. Social media accounts tied to government officials, or those thought to be close to the regime, were quickly vocal and aggressive online in support of the new policy, threatening retribution for anyone who might disagree. Opposition to the policy has come from within the Emirati exile community instead.
Look to the people of the region first, then the evolving competition among regional states and global powers, for signs on what to expect.
This essay discusses the marginalization of civil society groups in the Palestinian Territories. It shows that this outcome was not an organic development but a calculated strategy on the part of the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) and its allies, and as a direct result of its authoritarian practices. The essay explores the ways in which the P.A. achieves this control, and explains how such a strategy affects the functioning of civil society over time.
