The War in the Middle East: Power and Politics in a Changing Global Order

Watch the replay of the event.

On 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on Iranian targets, prompting further Iranian missile strikes across the region. These developments followed years of escalation, illustrated already in the Summer 2025 conflict, and embedded in both internal and global issues, ranging from the harsh repression of demonstrations by the Iranian regime in early 2026 to the unsuccessful negotiation around the Iranian nuclear program.

Since then, the war has expanded to Lebanon & the Middle East, resulting in humanitarian crises and economic stress. In addition to abruptly challenging the region's power balances, this war is revealing shifts in the Global Order, as illustrated by divergent reactions across Europe and the world.

With: 

• Ángeles Espinosa, former Correspondent for the Persian Gulf, El País 
• Nicole Grajewski, Assistant Professor, Centre de recherches internationales (CERI), Sciences Po
• Nadim Houry, Executive Director, Arab Reform Initiative
• Michel Yakovleff, LTG (ret); PSIA Faculty, Sciences Po

Moderated by Arancha González, PSIA Dean, Sciences Po.