Publications
Unlikely Companions of Energy Transitions? Opportunities and Challenges of Triangular Cooperation Between the EU, the GCC, and Hydrocarbon-Poor Countries From the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Benjamin Schuetze and Eckart Woertz published an article in the Digest of Middle East Studies. They explore the opportunities and challenges of triangular cooperation (TC) in the renewable energy sector between the European Union (EU), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and select hydrocarbon-poor MENA countries and argue that EU-GCC-MENA TC may enable the expansion of renewables, but it also risks deepening social, economic, and political imbalances.
Power, Panels, Pipelines and People: A Roundtable on Energy Justice in the Arab World
Benjamin Schuetze participated in a three-part roundtable series discussing energy justice in the Arab World at the Arab Council for the Social Sciences (ACSS) conference in Beirut on 15 May 2025, organised by Alaa Shehabi and Muzna Al-Masri, and published with Jadaliyya.Benjamin Schütze comments on academic freedom in taz
Benjamin Schütze published a guest commentary in the taz. His stance: „International law, academic freedom and freedom of assembly are being sacrificed to Germany's reason of state.“Toters, the ‘flexible’ Kafala app: algorithmic management, racialised control and the reserve army of delivery workers in Lebanon
In his commentary, Elia El Khazen examines the parasitic entanglement between digital delivery platforms and existing labour regimes in crisis-ridden, post-pandemic Lebanon. Drawing on labour strikes at the platform Toters, it shows how algorithmic management and the Kafala system are not disrupted but strategically leveraged. In doing so, it exposes the gig economy’s claimed innovation as a repackaging of old forms of labour exploitation.
Power sharing: The politics of European-Tunisian energy cooperation
In his policy report, Wagner argues that while the EU and Tunisia share an interest in advancing Tunisia’s green transition, political tensions under President Kais Saied have complicated progress. So far, Europe has struggled to develop a consistent approach that accounts for Tunisia’s evolving political landscape.
Performing the Jordanian State: Intervention, Aid Dependence and Eternal Reform
Benjamin Schuetze published a chapter in the volume "Power, Resistance, Ideology and the State. Charles Tripp and the Comparative Politics of the Middle East", edited by Toby Dodge, Daniel Neep, and Ali M. Ansari.
Disruptive Geographies and the War on Gaza: Infrastructure and Global Solidarity
Elia El Khazen co-authored an article in "Geopolitics" arguing that the destruction of infrastructure in Gaza and the West Bank plays a central role as a mechanism of governance, dispossession, and colonial reordering. Gaza’s collapse is embedded in a broaderpolitical economy of militarism, where supply chains, defence industries, and financial infrastructures turn dispossession into profit.
More Than Plastic, Copper, and Glass Fibre? Undersea Cables and Promises of Connection between North Africa and the EU
Philipp Wagner wrote together Etienne Höra (Bertelsmann Stiftung) for megatrends spotlight:Their essay argues that large-scale infrastructure projects such as undersea cables between the EU and North Africa do not automatically lead to local development and geo-economic alignment. They call for a more detailed analysis of such projects' political and economic corollaries to avoid negative side effects.
Tensions Over Participation: How Inclusive are Renewable Energy Partnerships Between the EU and Maghreb Countries?
Energy transitions are reshaping global economies, driven by renewable energy projects and international cooperation. Philipp Wagner delves into the decision-making processes behind EU-Maghreb renewable energy partnerships, highlighting the roles of local communities and the complexities of participation and political exclusion.
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