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 14 Jun 2021 Netanyahu was very eloquent. He didn’t actively seek war, he was cautious. As for Bennett, we don’t yet know. Could he drag Israel into new wars? Foreign Policy Joost Hiltermann Program Director, Middle East and North Africa 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 Latest Updates Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa 7 May 2021 From Diatribes to Dialogue: Why Iran and Saudi Arabia Are Talking Originally published in Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa 7 April 2021 A New Arab Revival: Not to Be – For Now Ten years later, where have the 2011 uprisings left the Arab world? Originally published in Valdai Discussion Club Also available in العربية Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa 20 February 2021 The Arab Uprisings in Retro and Prospect Revolutions can take decades to show their full transformative impact, but in the case of the Middle East and North Africa, the popular uprisings that coursed through the region beginning in late 2010 have failed to fulfil any of their early promises ten years on. Originally published in Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa 18 December 2020 The Arab Spring, Ten Years On What remains of the Arab springs, a decade later? Originally published in Politica Exterior Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa 7 December 2020 How Biden Can Score a Diplomatic Win in the Gulf, With an Assist From Europe Originally published in World Politics Review Load more