Tensions are high in the Eastern Mediterranean. Against the backdrop of natural gas discoveries and the persistent disputes over drilling rights, the geopolitical landscape of the Mediterranean has been shifting for a decade now. As regional states with shared interests rebalance, and alliances are reshuffled, Turkey’s political and military footprint grows more visible across the […]

Why are least developed countries (LDCs) and conflict zones particularly vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic? Has there been adequate attention given to the needs of war-affected populations and LDCs during this crisis? Why is helping LDCs and war-affected communities particularly important in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic? To answer these questions and to […]

The COVID-19 pandemic created what the World Health Organization has called an ‘infodemic’ – massive amounts of misinformation passing through the airwaves and billions of social media feeds every day. In times like these, people need information to be accurate, cross-checked, and useful, as this can literally save lives. During a virtual meeting of the […]

The unique hydrology of the Kabul River Basin, with both Afghanistan and Pakistan being simultaneously upstream and downstream neighbors, raises the potential for increased conflict and mistrust between the two countries if development of the basin is performed unilaterally. The basin is highly vulnerable and adaptation requires authentic climate and hydrological data. However, majority of […]

In order to expand mutual peace, prosperity and overcome barriers to trade Hollings Center for International Dialogue grantees from Pakistan and Afghanistan launched an Afghanistan-Pakistan Trade Portal (APTP). The Project aimed at supporting and growing bilateral trade and economic links and between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The trade portal web site can be found at: https://afpaktradeportal.org. […]

The Women in Peace Festival was a two-day event organized in Rawalpindi, Islamabad by grantee and previous Hollings Center participant Uzma Yaqoob. The festival is one of several initiatives to come out of the Center’s Afghanistan-Pakistan Partnership program, sponsored in part by the Hollings Center and by the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. The festival […]

Dr. Salih Bıçakcı of Kadir Has University was the speaker at the year-end meeting of the Young Professionals in International Relations network. Dr. Bıçakcı talked about how hyper-connectivity through technology and increased dependence on artificial intelligence (AI) create new paradigms, influencing (mostly unbeknownst to us) decision-making from the personal to the interpersonal all the way […]

The Hollings Center for International Dialogue embarked on a project in 2017 entitled ‘Political Pluralism in the Middle East and North Africa’. To better understand how the next generation in the Middle East and North Africa are thinking about and engaging questions around political pluralism, the project brought together a group of civil society leaders, […]

Understanding Afghanistan has been a critical need over the past two decades and will continue to be important in the coming years. Yet, the necessary scholarship that can provide better understanding of the country remained underdeveloped both within and outside the country for decades. With the exception of a brief open period between 1960 and […]

The Hollings Center supported a photography competition and two exhibitions held in Lahore, Pakistan and Kabul, Afghanistan, entitled Amazing Pakistan : Amazing Afghanistan, through a grant received by the United States Embassy Kabul. The project aimed to build trust, mutual respect, and to promote commonalities between Pakistan and Afghanistan through the medium of photography. Photographers […]