Joost Hiltermann Program Director, Middle East and North Africa Brussels Please submit all media inquiries to jhiltermann@crisisgroup.org and media@crisisgroup.org or call +32 (0) 2 536 00 71 Crisis Group Role As MENA Program Director, Joost leads the organisation’s research, analysis, policy prescription and advocacy in and about the region. Previously, he was Crisis Group’s Chief Operating Officer (2013-2014), in which capacity he was responsible for the oversight and management of the organisation’s programs and operations around the world. Prior to that, he was Crisis Group’s Deputy Program Director for the Middle East and North Africa (2007-2012) and Project Director for the Middle East (2002-2007), helping to manage a team of analysts deployed throughout the region. Areas of Expertise Iraq: political transition, constitutional process, the situation of the Kurds, Kirkuk and other disputed territories, oil, relations with neighbouring states Bahrain Yemen Jordan Israel-Palestine Middle East region: security threats, authoritarianism and democratisation, political Islam, sectarianism Professional Background Chief Operating Officer, International Crisis Group (2013-2014) Deputy Program Director, Middle East and North Africa, International Crisis Group (2007-2012) Project Director, Middle East, International Crisis Group (2002-2007) Executive Director, Arms Division of Human Rights Watch (1994-2002) Director of Iraq Documents Project, HRW (1992-1994) Research Coordinator, Al-Haq (Ramallah) (1988-1990) Database Coordinator, Al-Haq (Ramallah) (1985-1988) PhD, Sociology, University of California, Santa Cruz (1988); MA, International Relations, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (1980) He has written for The New York Review of Books, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Financial Times, The National Interest, Middle East Report, and other publications Affiliations Former Board Member, Center for Civilians in Conflict (previously known as CIVIC) Former Advisory Board Member, Arab Regional Office of Open Society Foundations Research Affiliate, MIT Center for International Studies Consultant/Advisor, Dialogue Advisory Group Frequent interviews with major media outlets, including BBC, CNN, The New York Times, Financial Times Two books: A Poisonous Affair: America, Iraq, and the Gassing of Halabja (Cambridge, 2007), and Behind the Intifada: Labor and Women’s Movements in the Occupied Territories (Princeton, 1991) Languages English Dutch Arabic French In The News 28 Apr 2020 What appears to be an unprecedented government-sanctioned Russian media campaign against Bashar al-Assad may reflect frustration in Moscow over Assad's obstinacy at a time when Syria is a lesser priority. The Hour Joost Hiltermann Program Director, Middle East and North Africa 21 Feb 2020 [Turkey has been using Russia] to push back against policies that it doesn’t like from its Western partners. BloombergQuint Joost Hiltermann Program Director, Middle East and North Africa 10 Jan 2020 The Iraqis don’t want either the United States or Iran, but if they have to have one, they would rather have both because they balance each other out. New York Times Joost Hiltermann Program Director, Middle East and North Africa 9 Apr 2019 Haftar is deeply unpopular in many places and given the fragmented state of Libya and the proliferation of armed groups it’s going to be very hard to impose his rule throughout the country. TIME Joost Hiltermann Program Director, Middle East and North Africa 8 Jan 2019 Turkey has only one interest, which is to defeat the YPG. So that is what it is going to do. AFP Joost Hiltermann Program Director, Middle East and North Africa 30 Nov 2018 If the Hodeida offensive resumes and leads to an all-out battle, then millions of people in Yemen will plunge into outright famine. That must be averted. NPR Joost Hiltermann Program Director, Middle East and North Africa Latest Updates Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa 8 June 2018 It’s Time for the European Union to Push Yemen Towards Peace Originally published in IRIN Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa 25 May 2018 The Middle East in Chaos: Of Orders and Borders As Middle Eastern societies start pulling themselves out of conflict, as Iraq seems to be doing today, this is the challenge they must face: to refashion social contracts and establish governing structures able to equitably accommodate a highly diverse population’s needs and peacefully manage territorial disputes with neighbors. Originally published in Al-Sharq Forum Commentary / Middle East & North Africa 18 May 2018 The Iraqi Elections: A Way Out of the Morass? The results of Iraq’s 12 May parliamentary contests are not yet final, but the broad contours are apparent. Efforts to fashion a coalition government will likely involve lengthy bargaining. Crisis Group’s Middle East and North Africa Program Director Joost Hiltermann offers a preliminary analysis. Also available in Français Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa 26 February 2018 Russia a Reluctant Driver in the Syrian War Originally published in Lowy Institute Also available in العربية Commentary / Middle East & North Africa 13 February 2018 Tackling the MENA Region’s Intersecting Conflicts How can the dizzying changes, intersecting crises and multiplying conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa since the 2011 Arab uprisings be best understood, let alone responded to? This long-form commentary by MENA Program Director Joost Hiltermann and our team steps back for a better look and proposes new approaches. Also available in العربية Load more