Heiko Wimmen Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon Beirut, Lebanon Please submit all media inquiries to media@crisisgroup.org or call +32 (0) 2 536 00 71 Crisis Group Role Heiko Wimmen oversees Crisis Group’s Iraq/Syria/Lebanon project. Prior to joining Crisis Group, he was an associate researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin. He has also published with the Carnegie Middle East Center and MERIP, and recently oversaw an edited academic volume on Elite Change and New Social Mobilization in the Arab World. Heiko, who is German, has lived in the region since 1994, mostly in Beirut where he currently resides. Areas of Expertise Domestic politics of Lebanon, Syrian civil war, post-war Iraq Sectarianism and identity politics in the Middle East Divided societies Social movements and political activism Civil society in post-conflict institution building EU policies towards the Arab world Professional Background Fellow and research associate with German Institute for International and Security Affairs 2009-2015 Project manager and deputy director of the Beirut Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, 2004-2009 Professional fellow of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), 2002-2004 Independent Journalist and Broadcast Producer in Beirut, 1996-2002 Languages German English Arabic French In The News 26 Jan 2022 It is in Hezbollah’s interest to have at least the outward appearance of a functioning political system [in Lebanon] where everyone is involved, including the Sunnis. Reuters Heiko Wimmen Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon 27 Dec 2021 I wouldn’t expect that Turkey would like to expand the zone it occupies in the northeast [of Syria]. A move like this will require a difficult conversation with the Russian. Syria Direct Heiko Wimmen Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon 12 Aug 2021 For a large part of the population [in Lebanon], electricity will become a luxury. Driving your car will become a luxury, too. Transportation will become a luxury. CNN Heiko Wimmen Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon 22 Aug 2020 Turkey is also one of the candidates to rebuild Beirut harbour. There is also a section within Lebanese society – amongst Sunni Muslims – who have some sympathy for Turkey’s neo-Ottoman project. Cyprus Mail Heiko Wimmen Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon 13 Aug 2020 The Lebanese state has been hollowed out by decades of corruption and patronage, and this has undermined due process and any sense of accountability. Voice of America Heiko Wimmen Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon 6 Jun 2020 With the US Caesar Act coming into force, doing business with Syria will become even more difficult and risky. Arab News Heiko Wimmen Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon Latest Updates Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa 13 May 2022 Lebanon’s Vicious Cycles Originally published in New Lines Institute Commentary / Middle East & North Africa 14 April 2022 The Impact of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine in the Middle East and North Africa Spikes in prices of grain and fuel, with uncertain political reverberations, are the Ukraine war’s primary effect to date on Middle Eastern and North African countries. But diplomatic and military developments are important, too, as Crisis Group experts explain in this look around the region. Also available in العربية Our Journeys / Middle East & North Africa 24 November 2021 Lebanon: A Journey to the End of the State While warning signs of Lebanon’s economic meltdown have been apparent for some time, as Crisis Group expert Heiko Wimmen writes, it is still shocking just how close things are to falling apart. Podcast / Middle East & North Africa 7 October 2021 Lebanon is Falling Apart In this episode of Hold Your Fire! Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk with Crisis Group expert Heiko Wimmen about Lebanon’s unprecedented economic meltdown and the threat it poses to the country’s politics, society and stability. Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa 11 May 2021 Syria: How to prevent Israel-Iran shadow war spinning out of control As Israeli strikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria continue, there is always a risk that occasional spikes of violence could escalate into a broader confrontation. Originally published in Middle East Eye Load more