As 2023 begins, flux and instability remain the only constants in the Middle East. The Arab world today is filled with broken and partially collapsed polities. Yemen, Libya and Syria are subject to de facto division, and occupation by foreign forces.
BEHIND THE LINES: Is change, for better or for worse, likely in the year ahead? Here are three Middle East arenas to watch carefully in the months ahead.
Arab Protests in Iran: Water Crisis or Systemic Racism?
Portraying Iran as a homogenous country by those groups who are interested in maintaining Persian domination, including the government or the mainstream opposition, would lead to a reductionist understanding of a complex society.
Ahvazi Arabs have been protesting in the majority of the Arab populated cities of Iran since July 15. So far, a number of protesters have been shot to death by Iranian security forces. Most media and analysts portray the protests as riots in response to water shortage and mismanagement. However, the water crisis in Ahvaz is just a trigger that evoked the Ahvazi Arabs to protest against structural grievances and inequalities. All the evidence shows that it is not merely about water mismanagement, indeed, the root cause of the problem is systemic racism against the Arab ethnic minority in Iran of approximately 5 million people. Ignoring the structural problems will not allow us to learn the real causes