‘The Next War in the Middle East’

Today there are civil wars in Syria, Yemen and Libya. Every one of them is also a proxy war between countries and ideologies. This means that conflict in the region is much broader than these civil wars. We also see that the tension between countries and between non-state actors in the Middle East is only increasing. The discourse between Saudi Arabia and Iran or Israel and Iran is hardening. However, these are not the only possible future conflicts. Koert Debeuf will give an overview of where we might expect new wars in the Middle East in the near future and how this will affect Europe.

Koert Debeuf holds a Master in Ancient History from the universities of Leuven and Bologna. He was speechwriter for Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. From 2011 until 2016, he lived in Cairo where he observed first-hand the Arab Revolution. He is Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University and Associate Researcher at Brussels University. His analyses appear in American, European and Middle Eastern media. He is the author of The Arab Revolution. Three Years on the Front Line of the Arab Spring, published in 2014.

Cartoonist:
Juan Zero is a Syrian cartoonist who lives in France. He mostly makes cartoons about the Syrian war, prisoners in Syria and refugees. In his artwork he draws the mentality of extremists in a similar way as dictatorial regimes.