Africa and Middle East
The division's work is focused on social and political transformation, domestic and regional conflicts, as well as questions relating to external and security policies in Africa and the Middle East.
Head
-
Areas of Expertise
- Iran
- Defence and security policy / Armed forces
- Elites and elite change
- Political systems
-
-
Areas of Expertise
- Southern Africa
- Human rights
- Migration
- Strategic partnerships
- Sustainability governance
Staff
-
Areas of Expertise
- Israel
- Middle East
- Palestinian Territories
- Syria
- Civil wars
- Fragile states
- Middle East conflict
- Political systems
- Regional and interstate conflicts
-
Areas of Expertise
-
-
Areas of Expertise
- North Africa and Middle East
-
Areas of Expertise
- Libya
- Sahel
- Civil wars
- Fragile states
- Regional and interstate conflicts
-
Areas of Expertise
- Ethiopia
- Horn of Africa
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Sudan
- Civil wars
- Conflict prevention
- Peacebuilding
- UN missions
- United Nations Security Council
-
-
-
Areas of Expertise
- Arabian Peninsula
- Kurds in the Middle East
- Middle East
- Jihadism
- Political Islam / Islamism
- Terrorism
-
-
Areas of Expertise
- Sahel
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Civil wars
- Defence and security policy / Armed forces
- Political systems
-
Areas of Expertise
- East Africa
- Ethiopia
- Horn of Africa
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Civil wars
- Fragile states
- Jihadism
- Political systems
- Regional and interstate conflicts
-
Areas of Expertise
- Algeria
- Maghreb / North Africa
- Morocco
- Tunisia
- Arab Spring
- Elites and elite change
- Political Islam / Islamism
- Political systems
Research Support
-
Areas of Expertise
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Areas of Expertise
- North Africa and Middle East
Social Media
Follow us on Bluesky!
SWP Publications
-
International Sudan Conference in Berlin: Time for a change of perspective
Germany is inviting key international and Sudanese actors to Berlin. The conference offers an opportunity to develop a civilian-centred perspective on ending the war in Sudan, says Gerrit Kurtz.
Point of View, 10.04.2026 -
Internationale Sudankonferenz in Berlin: Zeit für einen Perspektivwechsel
Deutschland lädt zentrale internationale und sudanesische Akteure nach Berlin ein. Die Konferenz bietet die Chance, eine zivile Perspektive für ein Ende des Kriegs in Sudan zu entwickeln, meint Gerrit Kurtz.
Kurz gesagt, 08.04.2026 -
A Sustainable Commitment to Peace in an Age of Transient “Deals”
in: With, Without, Against Washington: Redefining Europe’s Relations With the United StatesContribution to a Research Paper 2026/RP 05, 27.03.2026, 81 Pages, pp. 39–42
-
European Middle East Policy: With, Without or Against the US?
in: With, Without, Against Washington: Redefining Europe’s Relations With the United StatesContribution to a Research Paper 2026/RP 05, 27.03.2026, 81 Pages, pp. 31–34
-
With, Without, Against Washington: Redefining Europe’s Relations With the United States
SWP Research Paper 2026/RP 05, 27.03.2026, 81 Pagesdoi:10.18449/2026RP05
-
Europäische Sahel-Politik: Zurück auf Start
SWP-Studie 2026/S 08, 20.03.2026, 32 Pagesdoi:10.18449/2026S08
External publications
-
The Role of Civil Society in Transitional Justice and Peace in Sudan
The devastating war in Sudan centres, by definition, on those waging it: the army, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), armed groups, militias, mercenaries. It seems to relegate civilians to the passive position of victims of the hostilities, of mass atrocities, forced displacement, starvation and gender-based violence. Conventional approaches to ending the war, based on Sudan’s long experience with conflict, tend to be narrow elite bargains that privilege those with guns through power and wealth sharing arrangements. Impunity reigned, either through blanket amnesty or long-delayed implementation ofofficial commitments.
in: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Policy Paper, 09.04.2026 -
L'Europe doit dénoncer la situation de Mohamed Bazoum
Interview in: Deutsche Welle, 01.04.2026 (in Französisch) -
How Mojtaba Khamenei Became the Supreme Leader
And What It Means for Iran’s Domestic and Foreign Policy
in: Iran Analytica, 11.03.2026 -
Nahost-Experte: Iran nutzt Konflikt zwischen USA und Israel
Im Krieg zwischen den USA, Israel und dem Iran, könnte Teheran von unterschiedlichen Interessen seiner Gegner profitieren. Der Nahost-Experte Guido Steinberg von der Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik sagt, dass die USA und Israel in dem Konflikt nicht unbedingt dieselben Ziele verfolgten.
Interview von Laura Koppenhöfer, in: SWR Aktuell, 11.03.2026 -
Wollten die Saudis diesen Krieg?
Saudi-Arabiens Kalkül könnte ein anderes sein, als viele denken. Zwar fliegen Raketen und Drohnen auf Doha, Dubai und auch auf Riad. Doch einiges spricht dafür, dass sich das Königreich vom Irankrieg auch Vorteile erhofft.
in: Qantara.de, 06.03.2026 -
After Khamenei: What Iran, and the World, Face Next
in: Time, 02.03.2026