While Turkey’s vote against additional UN Security Council sanctions on Iran was viewed by some as a sign that Turkey is drifting away from the West, in reality the relationship is much more complicated.
While almost every economy in the Middle East and North Africa region is projected to accelerate in 2011-2012, significant downside risks to this forecast remain.
It is increasingly clear that reform in the Arab world depends less on the structure of formal political processes and institutions than on power relations among factions within Arab nations.
While new outcomes are not expected on Iran and Syria's nuclear programs at the IAEA's last 2010 Board of Governors meeting, a vote on a nuclear fuel bank is likely to pass despite opposition from some developing countries and members of the Non-Aligned Movement.
As tensions in Lebanon run high, the release of the findings of the UN-backed investigation into the assassination of Rafiq Hariri could inflame passions and lead to conflict between Sunni and Shia communities.
While the participation of both domestic monitors and international observers set a precedent for transparency in Jordan’s parliamentary elections, larger problems regarding electoral laws and accurate representation still persist.
As Turkey moves toward national elections in 2011, it remains unclear whether Prime Minister Erdogan’s popularity will further embolden an increasingly assertive foreign policy or if a more democratic Turkey will find ways to reduce friction with the West.
The Obama administration's efforts to convince Israel to agree to a final 90 day moratorium on settlement construction is a gamble that, if unsuccessful, could lead to the collapse of the peace process.
As Arab countries are the first victims of global price fluctuations of food commodities, they have a strong interest in the adoption of international mechanisms to bridge the emerging gap between the demand and supply in international markets.
While the United States remains a major player in the Middle East and North Africa, it will not have much success promoting democracy so long as there are no viable alternatives to existing governments in the region.