About the Project

In Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, conflict and instability endure in contested border regions where local tensions connect with regional and global dynamics. The Asia Foundation, the Rift Valley Institute, and the Carnegie Middle East Center are working together to better understand the causes and impacts of conflict in these border areas and their international dimensions, support more effective policymaking and development programming, and build the capacity of their local partners to leverage research to advocate for peaceful change.

Bulletin

Peripheral Vision: Views from the Borderlands

Peripheral Vision: Views from the Borderlands sheds light on how political, security, and socio-economic developments affect the people living in contested borderlands and, reversely, how border dynamics shape change and transition at the national level. Peripheral Vision is published twice a year, as a timely update of dynamics on the ground, while also highlighting the latest news from the X-Border Local Research Network’s activities.

The X-Border Local Research Network is part of the X-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) program, a component of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and is funded by UK International Development from the UK government.

All work from X-Border Local Research Network

95 Results
commentary
The Centrality of Syria’s Peripheries

In an interview, Kheder Khaddour and Armenak Tokmajyan discuss the country’s borders and why they have remained intact.

· September 27, 2024
paper
Borders Without a Nation: Syria, Outside Powers, and Open-Ended Instability

In Syria’s border regions, changes in demographics, economics, and security mean that an inter-Syrian peace process will require consensus among main regional powers that Syria must remain united, that no one side can be victorious, and that perennial instability threatens the region.

· September 10, 2024
article
How Gulf States Are Reinterpreting National Security Beyond Their Land Borders

Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE have determined that their national security goes beyond their physical borders. It is just as important to shield their airspace, territorial waters, and even maritime trade routes.

· August 1, 2024
Fighters affiliated with Syria's "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham" (HTS) rebel-group display drugs previously seized at a checkpoint they control in Daret Ezza, in the western countryside of the northern Aleppo province, on April 10, 2022
article
Border Traffic: How Syria Uses Captagon to Gain Leverage Over Saudi Arabia

Bashar al-Assad’s regime has used the drug partly as a means of ensuring that Syria is reintegrated into the Arab world, allowing its leadership to reinforce its position after years of isolation and conflict.

· July 9, 2024
video
The Geopolitics of Economic Development in the Middle East

To create an environment more conducive to cooperation and development, U.S. and Chinese efforts should seek the endorsement of neighboring countries and regional organizations. Otherwise, regional and geopolitical rivalries will remain barriers.


· June 3, 2024
video
Tunisia’s Transformation Into a Transit Hub: Illegal Migration and Policy Dilemmas

Several developments have contributed to Tunisia’s transformation into a transit point for African migrants, including its porous borders, inconsistent migration policies, the proliferation of xenophobic attitudes, and deteriorating economic conditions.

· May 21, 2024
paper
Tunisia’s Transformation Into a Transit Hub: Illegal Migration and Policy Dilemmas

Several developments have contributed to Tunisia’s transformation into a transit point for African migrants, including its porous borders, inconsistent migration policies, the proliferation of xenophobic attitudes, and deteriorating economic conditions.

· March 27, 2024
commentary
A Flashpoint Looms in Southern Syria

As the influence of the Assad regime and Russia declines, Iran is emerging as the main actor, which could provoke a major Israeli intervention.

· March 26, 2024
commentary
Borders Have Undermined Syrian Sovereignty

A forthcoming Carnegie paper will argue that to understand Syria’s future, we will have to focus on the country’s peripheries.

· March 22, 2024
article
Why Iranian Entrenchment in Southern Syria Worries Neighboring Countries

The Syrian regime has struggled to govern Syria’s south, while the Ukraine war has weakened Russia’s influence, making both more reliant on Tehran and its allies in the area. However, this may increase the prospects of conflict between Iran and Israel.