The Middle East has been undergoing armed conflicts, both inter-country and civil wars, leading to concerns. According to multiple sources including the British Broadcasting Corporation and Cable News Network, conflicts have been going on in different Middle East countries. There are conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen — though the intensity has reduced in Iraq and Yemen and the overthrow of the Assad regime has probably ended the civil war in Syria — and conflicts are going on in Palestine and Lebanon (between Israel and Hamas and between Israel and Hezbollah respectively). Conflicts have led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of displacement. But it remains unclear whether peace will be established in the Middle East soon.
It is notable that there are geoeconomic and geopolitical, historical grievances-based, religious and other reasons that are responsible for ongoing conflicts and instability in the Middle East. Power struggles, historical grievances, the repression and grievances of opposition parties, religious grievances and territorial issues are some crucial causes of the ongoing conflicts in different Middle East countries. While power struggles have been a major cause of conflicts in Syria and Yemen since 2011, historical and religious grievances between Palestine and Israel since the 1948 Arab War are responsible for the Gaza conflict. Moreover, various geo-economic and geo-political causes that involved different parties within and beyond the region are directly and/or indirectly responsible for the conflicts and their continuation in several middle eastern countries.
But it is not undeniable that steps are absent in ending conflicts and establishing peace in the Middle East. Peace treaty-based and other steps have been taken and mediated by different parties including the United Nations, the Arab League, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, leading to various positive outcomes and some sorts of respite. For instance, several peace agreements were made among different parties such as between the rival groups in Yemen (including the 2022 two-month nationwide truce and the 2024 Special Agreement between the government and the Houthis) and between Israel and Hamas (such as the 2023 Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement). In the latest peace efforts, the Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Deal was reached between Israel and Hezbollah.
But there are various flaws in the peace steps, driven by diverse causes including, but not limited to, the unwillingness of the conflicting parties, leading to the continuation of conflicts or sustenance of the crisis in several countries in the Middle East. There is an inadequate emphasis on the implementation by the peace parties, a lack of effective implementation mechanisms in the treaties or a lack of implementation of peace agreements. Moreover, and importantly, there is a lack of effective peace treaties for the complete resolution of the conflicts. Peace treaties reached by the parties are mostly temporary cessation of the conflicts aiming to create humanitarian aid corridors and exchanges of prisoners.
But given that geopolitical and other challenges are not addressed, peace steps are not strengthened aiming to reach permanent resolutions and the conflicting parties remain unwilling to end the conflicts, it will be difficult to reach lasting peace in the Middle East in the coming years too. Conflicts and chaos can continue in several countries, increasing the possibility of further killings and displacement in the Middle East. While there may remain conflicts between Israel and Palestine, there may remain internal trouble in several countries such as Syria, Yemen and Iraq — impacting the lives of millions of people in the Middle East.
Steps are crucial to address various challenges and restore peace in the Middle East. For this, putting emphasis on peace steps, the good intentions of geopolitical actors and the willingness of the conflicting parties are vital. While putting emphasis on reaching permanent solutions is vital between Israel and Palestine, establishing a transitional government is vital in Yemen and securing a peaceful transition is crucial in Syria. But the greater role of regional countries is also needed and their capacity needs to be developed for lasting peace in the Middle East.
