National identity remains resilient, but Maliki’s re-election could strain it to breaking point.
![While Syria is arguably beyond the point of no return, Iraq is not there yet, writes Field [AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20145116332845734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)

National identity remains resilient, but Maliki’s re-election could strain it to breaking point.
![While Syria is arguably beyond the point of no return, Iraq is not there yet, writes Field [AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20145116332845734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Palestinian unity was, is and always will be a necessary condition for resolving the conflict.
![Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks in Ramallah [EPA]](/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/201442862639643734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Egypt’s new strongman should think twice about governing alone.
![The on-going turmoil could have a devastating effect on Egypt's already fragile economy [Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/201312912407539734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Political exclusion of Islamists may be popular on the Egyptian street, but it may also threaten the Egyptian state.
!["Uprooting this corrupt system and replacing it with a more inclusive one that provided economic security and dignity for all, was the core demand of the revolutionaries who took to Egypt’s streets in 2011," write the authors [Getty]](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/201311573341332734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)