Analyses
Protests in Iran: A Reflection of the Islamic Republic’s Institutional Crisis
Nicola Pedde 22 January 2026
The history of the Islamic Republic of Iran—established in 1979 following the revolution that overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi—is marked by a dense sequence of developments that have progressively altered its political and institutional configuration. These changes, however, have only sporadically been recognized by Western analyses, which have instead tended to perpetuate a more functional and instrumental stereotype based on the image of a monolithic, highly verticalized religious autocracy. While such a characterization was broadly accurate during the first decade of the Islamic Republic, it has undergone a profound transformation since 1989.
  • Seyla Benhabib: “Why I Endorse the Call for an End to this Cruel Cycle of Violence”
    Seyla Benhabib 15 November 2023
    October 7, 2023 is not just a turning point for Israel and the Jewish diaspora; it must be a turning point for the Palestinian struggle. The Palestinian people must free themselves of the scourge of Hamas. The acts of violence by Hamas do not only constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity; they also reveal that Islamic Jihadi ideology, which revels in the imagery of violence, which has overtaken the movement.
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    Habermas on Israel: a Principle of Solidarity
    Research Center Normative Orders 15 November 2023
    Israel’s actions in no way justify anti-Semitic reactions, especially not in Germany. It is intolerable that Jews in Germany are once again exposed to threats to life and limb and have to fear physical violence on the streets. The democratic ethos of the Federal Republic of Germany, which is orientated towards the obligation to respect human dignity, is linked to a political culture for which Jewish life and Israel’s right to exist are central elements worthy of special protection in light of the mass crimes of the Nazi era.
  • The European Far-right is Deflating: Time to Shift the Focus?
    Balša Lubarda 6 November 2023
    Today, the headlines warn us of the “rising far right” and the “increasing influence of the far right on contemporary politics.” Indeed, the far right has been effectively mainstreamed as a set of talking points operating in the contemporary debates on politics and society. Proof is to be found virtually on a daily basis across different political and geographical contexts, ingrained in the statements and policies of the (presumed) center-right but even the left.
  • The Fallacy of Comparing Hamas’ Attack to the Holocaust
    Simone Disegni 6 November 2023
    Almost a month after the Hamas attack on Israel, the Middle East is on the verge of a political, military and social explosion. Europe and the West are not immune; very serious, high-risk lines of tension are slowly reappearing. If this happens, it will be because precise political wills have constructed and disseminated for decades a distorted and poisonous rhetoric to which millions of people are enslaved, often in spite of themselves. So much so that the power of these narratives can easily overwhelm the objectivity of facts, even their relevance.
  • Stuck in Tunisia. Migrant Plight amid EU Pact’s Failure
    Ilaria Romano 30 October 2023
    Tunisia faces challenges managing a surge in refugees and migrants, with 11,000 registered by the UNHCR, making it a major departure point for those heading to Europe. The country lacks proper infrastructure for immigration, providing minimal support to registered migrants. The EU signed a Memorandum of Understanding to address the issue, but obstacles and human rights concerns persist, with Tunisia rejecting the first EU aid installment.
  • The Hamas-Israel Conflict: Three Reminders for the Long Run
    Gaetano Pentassuglia 27 October 2023
    As the level of brutality of the Hamas-Israel conflict further intensifies, and its effects become measured by the scale of defiance of international humanitarian and criminal law, it is vitally important that we retain the intellectual ability to step back from the horrors of the current confrontation and reflect on two fundamentals that must define any conversation on any type of settlement over the long term. One is Israel’s right to exist within secure borders under international law; the other is the equally sacrosanct legal right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
  • Assaf Sharon: Netanyahu was Blind to the Hamas Threat
    Giancarlo Bosetti , Alessandra Tommasi 20 October 2023
    Assaf Sharon, a philosophy professor at the University of Tel Aviv and founder of the Center for the Renewal of Israeli Democracy, discusses the complex interplay between Israeli politics, security challenges, and populism in the wake of recent events. Talking to Reset DOC, he addresses the weakening of democratic values, the credibility of the Israeli government, and the prospects for a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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