Hugh Lovatt
Policy Fellow
Languages: Arabic, French, Dutch, Spanish
Areas of Expertise: Middle East; Israel/Palestine; Mashreq region; conflict prevention/resolution; Islamic societies; identity politics
Hugh Lovatt is a policy fellow with the Middle East and North Africa programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Since joining ECFR, Lovatt has focused extensively on EU policy towards the Middle East Peace Process (MEPP), domestic Palestinian politics, and Israeli regional policy.
Lovatt co-led a 2016 track-II initiative to draft an updated set of final status parameters, and has worked to advance the concept of EU Differentiation, which was enshrined in UN Security Council Resolution 2334. Lovatt also co-developed an innovative online project mapping Palestinian politics.
His most recent publications include Rethinking Oslo: How Europe can promote peace in Israel-Palestine (July 2017) and Gaza’s fragile calm: The search for lasting stability (November 2018). He is regularly interviewed or quoted in international media, including by AFP, Reuters, Newsweek, France24, and Al Jazeera.
Prior to this, Lovatt worked as a researcher for International Crisis Group and as a Schuman Fellow in the European Parliament focusing on Middle-East policy. He also worked for Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations as an Arabic translator.
Lovatt studied Arabic at the Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies at Exeter University as well as at the Institut Français du Proche-Orient (IFPO) in Damascus. He then went on to earn an MA in Near and Middle Eastern Studies at the London School of Oriental and African Studies, where he majored in Anthropology. Lovatt is Chairman of the Brussels-based European Middle East Project (EuMEP).
Latest from Hugh Lovatt
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The future of Israeli-Palestinian conflict: towards annexation and illiberalism?
Podcast de notre discussion du 19 juin « The future of Israeli-Palestinian conflict: towards annexation and illiberalism? » en présence de Yehuda Shaul, fondateur et directeur de l’ONG Breaking the Silence, et de Hugh Lovatt, chercheur au programme Moyen-Orient et Afrique du Nord (MENA) de l’ECFR.
.png "Pic: U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:President_Trump_visit_to_Israel_May_22-23,_2017_DSC_4027F_(34461668090).jpg - CC0 1.0 - https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/")
Washington’s illusory plan for Israel-Palestine (Commentary)
Hugh Lovatt - 05 June 2019
The United States is set to propose an economic plan for Israel-Palestine, spearheaded by Jared Kushner, on 25 and 26 June in Bahrain, where Gulf Arab states will discuss the troubled Palestinian economy.
The future of Palestine: Youth views on the two-state paradigm (Commentary)
Hugh Lovatt - 28 May 2019
A quarter of a century on from the Oslo Peace Accords, young Palestinian writers share their views on the future of the two-state solution
Video: Video: The Middle East’s new battlelines
ECFR - 03 May 2019
ECFR’s New Battlelines Project maps Iran’s coalition of allies, regional influence and the counter-coalition that has formed to oppose them.
Israel's foreign policy after its snap election (Commentary)
Hugh Lovatt - 04 April 2019
Amidst allegations of fraud and bribery, Israeli PM Netanyahu has called for a snap election on 9 April. In what direction could a new Israeli government take its foreign policy?
Policy Brief
Gaza’s fragile calm: The search for lasting stability
by Hugh Lovatt - 08th November, 2018
ECFR’s two state parameters (Commentary)
Hugh Lovatt - 18 September 2018
ECFR’s two state parameters provide a framework through which the EU can step up its efforts to achieve the just resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a two state solution
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Occupation and Sovereignty: Renewing EU Policy in Israel- Palestine
by Hugh Lovatt - 21st December, 2017
How should the EU respond to the reality of the one-state reality taking hold in Israel-Palestine?
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Rethinking Oslo: How Europe can promote peace in Israel-Palestine
by Omar Dajani & Hugh Lovatt - 26th July, 2017
The Oslo Accords have provided political cover for Israel’s creeping occupation and eroded the possibility of Palestinian self-determination.
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EU differentiation and the push for peace in Israel-Palestine
by Hugh Lovatt - 31st October, 2016
Renewed focus on differentiation one of few hopes for saving the two state solution.
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European Foreign Policy Scorecard 2016
by Dennison et al. - 28th January, 2016
The sixth ECFR Foreign Policy Scorecard highlights the EU's diminishing ability to influence its neighbours, and the neighbourhood's growing impact on the EU.
PDF EPUB Mobi
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Washington’s illusory plan for Israel-Palestine (Commentary)
Hugh Lovatt - 05 June 2019
The United States is set to propose an economic plan for Israel-Palestine, spearheaded by Jared Kushner, on 25 and 26 June in Bahrain, where Gulf Arab states will discuss the troubled Palestinian economy.
The future of Palestine: Youth views on the two-state paradigm (Commentary)
Hugh Lovatt - 28 May 2019
A quarter of a century on from the Oslo Peace Accords, young Palestinian writers share their views on the future of the two-state solution
Israel's foreign policy after its snap election (Commentary)
Hugh Lovatt - 04 April 2019
Amidst allegations of fraud and bribery, Israeli PM Netanyahu has called for a snap election on 9 April. In what direction could a new Israeli government take its foreign policy?
ECFR’s two state parameters (Commentary)
Hugh Lovatt - 18 September 2018
ECFR’s two state parameters provide a framework through which the EU can step up its efforts to achieve the just resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a two state solution
Jerusalem protests: violence in the vacuum (Commentary)
Hugh Lovatt - 15 May 2018
There is still the chance, just, to limit further instability and bloodshed in Israel-Palestine.
EU backed into a corner on Israel-Palestine (Commentary)
Hugh Lovatt - 12 December 2017
Trump’s Jerusalem announcement and Netanyahu’s visit have placed unprecedented strain on Europe’s Israel-Palestine policy.
The long road towards Palestinian re-unification (Commentary)
Hugh Lovatt - 09 October 2017
Even if current steps do not immediately lead to full national reunification, they can still be an important opening that can provide at least partial relief for Gaza and stabilise the Palestinian political scene.
Issa Amro and the EU’s Palestinian Authority problem (Commentary)
Saleh Hijazi & Hugh Lovatt - 07 September 2017
The EU needs to rein in the Palestinian Authority in the face of its crackdown, lest it undermines its own reputation as a defender of human rights.
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The future of Israeli-Palestinian conflict: towards annexation and illiberalism?
Podcast de notre discussion du 19 juin « The future of Israeli-Palestinian conflict: towards annexation and illiberalism? » en présence de Yehuda Shaul, fondateur et directeur de l’ONG Breaking the Silence, et de Hugh Lovatt, chercheur au programme Moyen-Orient et Afrique du Nord (MENA) de l’ECFR.
Video: Video: The Middle East’s new battlelines
ECFR - 03 May 2019
ECFR’s New Battlelines Project maps Iran’s coalition of allies, regional influence and the counter-coalition that has formed to oppose them.
ECFR Clips: Trump's impact on the Middle East
Ruth Citrin speaks with Ellie Geranmayeh, Julien Barnes-Dacey and Hugh Lovatt, about the state of play in the MENA region and the considerations for Europeans after one year in office of US president Donald Trump. The Podcast was recorded on 16 January 2018.
US and Europe clash in the Middle East
Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR Policy Fellows Hugh Lovatt, Ellie Geranmayeh and Julien Barnes-Dacey about reactions to Trump’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the new divergence between Washington and Europe across the Middle East.
Bookshelf:
The Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks
Gaza: Preparing for Dawn by Donald Macintyre
No Knives in the Kitchen of this City: A Novel by Khaled Khalifa
Israël-Palestine : "le manque de volonté politique menace la solution à deux Etats"
Nouveau podcast de notre série sur les présidentielles de 2017 ayant pour objectif de traiter les thèmes d'actualité et de contribuer au débat dans la perspective des élections du printemps prochain.
Entretien en français de Hugh Lovatt, directeur du programme MENA de l'ECFR, par Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, directeur du bureau de Paris de l'ECFR, sur le processus de paix au Proche-Orient.
Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes: Trump's US: Out of the Middle East business?
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR's Middle East and North Africa Progamme Director, Ruth Citrin, and ECFR Policy Fellows, Ellie Geranmayeh and Hugh Lovatt, on the cards that the EU can play if the U.S. walks away from the table.
The podcast was recorded on 13 January 2017.
Bookshelf:
Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See
Naguib Mahfouz, Children of the Alley: A Novel
Aeyal Gross, The Writing on the Wall: Rethinking the International Law of Occupation
Deutsche Asset Management, Backlash against globalization: Déjà vu?
Violence and revolt in Israel/Palestine - the Palestinian perspective
Hugh Lovatt speaks to Fadi Quran, activist, senior campaigner for Avaaz, and according to the Time magazine "the new face of the Middle East".
Violence and revolt in Israel/Palestine - the Israeli perspective
ECFR's Hugh Lovatt and Mattia Toaldo speak to independent journalist and editor Noam Sheizaf, who has previously worked for a number of Israeli news outlets including Ynet.co.il and Maariv, and now writes regularly for +972 Magazine.
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The National
19th September, 2019
Hugh Lovatt is featured on the National's Beyond the Headlines to discuss the Israeli elections
Arab Weekly
03rd August, 2019
Hugh Lovatt, Policy Fellow, ECFR, quoted in an article about the forthcoming Israeli elections.
Le Point
25th June, 2019
Hugh Lovatt is quoted by le Point about Israel's relation with middle East countries.
Foreign Policy
25th June, 2019
Hugh Lovatt and Muriel Asseburg op-ed in Foreign Policy about Trump administration plan to bring peace to the Middle East.
Rzeczpospolita
24th June, 2019
Hugh Lovatt spoke to Rzeczpospolita about the US Middle East peace plan.
Al Jazeera
24th June, 2019
Hugh Lovatt was quoted by Al Jazeera about the US Middle East peace plan.
Euradio
12th June, 2019
Hugh Lovatt was interviewed by Euradio about the state of the Israel-Palestine conflict.