The ARAB FUTURE (AL MUSTAQBAL AL ARABI), No. 569, July 2026

⬛ Studies

⬜ Imperialism and War: From the Civilizing Veil to
Overt Barbarism         Hassan Boukrine       7

https://doi.org/10.65506/260701

Imperialism and war have been the two most prominent features of capitalism since its rise. They are not deviations from the system; rather, they are structural necessities for global capitalist accumulation. This paper argues that violence is the fundamental mechanism through which domination is exercised and reproduced, ensuring the continued transfer of value from the colonies to the imperial center. From the manufactured famines in colonial India to the genocide in Gaza, the underlying logic remains the same: systematic plunder. The contemporary shift from the deceptive discourse of the «rules-based order» to the open display of barbaric force is not accidental; it reflects an empire undergoing a profound structural crisis, one that can no longer sustain the ideological coverings that once concealed its violence.

Keywords: imperialism, economic plunder, value transfer, hegemony, wars, the genocide in Gaza, the Iranian war.

⬜ The Production of Public Space in the Contemporary Arab City:
Representations of Belonging and Symbolic Exclusion

Mohammed Al-Mestari        22

https://doi.org/10.65506/260702

This study analyzes current transformations in the production of urban public space from a critical sociological perspective, examining the relationship between urban improvement, social representations, and symbolic justice. It argues that the disconnect between citizens and their urban environment does not stem from a lack of infrastructure or organization, but rather from the systematic symbolic exclusion of residents as active participants in shaping meaning and representing themselves within the city.

The study seeks to contribute to the renewal of debates on the contemporary city as a field of struggle for recognition. It calls for redefining spatial improvement as a right to participation and representation, rather than as a mere showcase of visual spectacle. Furthermore, it advocates for the construction of a public space that is inhabited as a realm of belonging and participation, rather than displayed as a scene from which the real actors have been excluded.

Keywords: public space, contemporary city, social representations, symbolic exclusion, urban aesthetics, recognition.

⬜ Iran’s Nuclear File and the Anarchy of International Society: Habitus
and the Supreme National Interest    Al-Hussein Shakrani 37

https://doi.org/10.65506/260703

It is difficult to determine a state’s behavior with precision in a highly volatile environment such as the political landscape of the Middle East. The challenge becomes even greater when dealing with Iran, whose conduct is shaped by a habitus characterized by a dynamic interaction between structure and agency, and between society and the individual. This perspective helps explain the dispositions, skills, and acquired capacities of Iranian individuals for sacrifice, interaction, and the generation of strategies and responses to external challenges.

Iran’s international and regional policies, behavior, actions, and responses to pressure are influenced by a complex interplay of factors. Accordingly, this paper argues for the necessity of understanding the internal Iranian habitus that informs decision-makers, particularly in relation to its intersections with the concept of the supreme national interest. This interest is grounded in power, the maximization of material gains, and a constant readiness to engage in warfare within an anarchic international system.

Keywords: habitus, national interest, identity, Iran, nuclear file, anarchy of international society.

⬜ Christian Zionism and the American Position on the Palestinian
Question          Mustapha Bakhouch 56

https://doi.org/10.65506/260704

This study examines the history of contemporary Christian Zionism in the United States and its influence on the American position regarding the Palestinian question. This movement constitutes one of the largest voting blocs within the Republican Party and has become a fundamental pillar of American politics.

In recent years, the Christian Zionist lobby has had a profoundly detrimental impact on the image and credibility of the United States as a mediator in the peace process. It has also contributed to creating a climate of silence and complicity regarding Israeli war crimes and acts of genocide in Palestine. Accordingly, this study engages with the problem of using religion to shape policies and justify decisions that support war crimes, genocide, and impunity from accountability and punishment.

Keywords: Christian Zionism, U.S. foreign policy, Palestinian question, biblical prophecy, the Second Coming of Christ the Savior.

⬜ Determinants of Electoral Engineering in Morocco    Ilham Talbi    75

https://doi.org/10.65506/260705

Since independence, Moroccan political discourse has consistently focused on the crisis surrounding elections, characterized by allegations of fraud, recurring failures, and persistent doubts about electoral outcomes. Moreover, solutions that citizens initially perceive as variables for reform often become enduring constants within the political system.

Political competition, therefore, constitutes the necessary and logical expression of the existence of a political and legal order with a democratic dimension. This study sheds light on the enduring determinants of electoral engineering in Morocco and the role they play in shaping election results. In doing so, it examines the nature of the Moroccan political system, its components, dynamics, and mode of operation, as well as the prevailing political culture. The study also explores the characteristics of the country’s party system.

Keywords: Moroccan political system, electoral engineering, political culture, party system, elections, constants and variables.

⬜ British Colonial Literature on the 1920 Revolution
in Iraq              Khalil Fadl Othman   93

https://doi.org/10.65506/260706

The 1920 Revolution occupies a pivotal place in the emergence of the Iraqi state, as it represented a historic event in which Iraqis from diverse backgrounds united in the struggle for independence. Historical accounts of the revolution found in primary British sources have long been regarded as Orientalist texts that celebrate imperial narratives.

This study demonstrates that these writings are imbued with prejudice and racism toward Arabs, as well as contemptuous attitudes, stereotypes, and negative representations of them. Drawing on the approach of Edward Said in his critique of colonial representations of the Eastern «Other,» the study examines how British colonial accounts of the 1920 Revolution reproduced stereotypes rooted in imperial ideology. It further reveals how these texts sought to undermine the legitimacy of the revolution as a movement of national liberation.

Keywords: Iraq, British occupation, the 1920 Revolution, armed resistance, guerrilla warfare, rebellion, counterinsurgency, discourse analysis, colonialism.

⬜ The Philosophy of History in Ibn Khaldun and
Karl Marx        Noura Jadallah         116

https://doi.org/10.65506/260707

This study explores the concept of the philosophy of history as a field that seeks to answer a fundamental question: Is the movement of history random, or does it follow specific laws and patterns? It approaches historical facts and events through a philosophical lens that seeks to uncover the principles influencing the development of peoples and states, as well as their future trajectories.

The study examines the philosophy of history as conceived by two of its most prominent thinkers, whose names are closely associated with the field: Ibn Khaldun and Karl Marx. It also aims to compare their respective visions of historical development, despite the considerable temporal gap of more than five centuries separating them, as well as the significant differences in the historical contexts in which each lived and worked.

Keywords: philosophy of history, historical movement, historical cycle, social contradictions, Ibn Khaldun, Karl Marx.

⬛ Articles and Opinions

⬜ The Maghreb Between the Unity of Its Peoples and the
Divergence of Its Governments          Abdel Salam Al-Fitouri         130

https://doi.org/10.65506/260708

⬜ Cloud Seeding: Between Feasibility and Sustainability
Prospects        Malika Ismaili Alawi  138

https://doi.org/10.65506/260709

⬛ Books and Reviews

⬜ The Origins of Capitalism: Robert Brenner and Political Marxism
(Alisson and Nicolas Brisset)   Khalid Jaddi  146

https://doi.org/10.65506/260710

⬜ Selected Arabic and Foreign Books and Research
Reports            Gaby El-Khoury         153

Arabic Books: Epic Features in Arabic Poetry Mahmoud Darwish as a Model; Social Life in the Palestinian Society Under the British Occupation 1917–1948; Political Hatred: A Study of Populism Mechanisms and the Moral Crisis from a Social Psychology Perspective; The Battle for Consciousness in Israel’s National Security Strategy

Foreign Books: Open to Work: How to Get Ahead in the Age of AI; Great Power Intervention in Civil Wars: Strategic Denial of Rivals in the Middle East and North Africa; Decolonisation in the 21st Century Rethinking Coloniality, Resistance and Solidarity; The Affective Forces of Ethnic Politics: But Look What They Did to Us!.

Research Reports: «How the Iran War Will Change the Middle East»; «The U.S. Should Not Encourage Syria to Enter Lebanon,» «Trump’s Iran Deal Reopens the Strait: Much Remains to Be Done».

⬛ Conferences

⬜ Seminar: «The Implications of the U.S.–Iranian War on the
Arab Region»   Ashraf Saleh Mohammed Sayed      164