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. His topics of focus include Israel/Palestine, the Mashreq region, and identity politics.
Since joining ECFR, Lovatt has focused extensively on EU policy towards the Middle East Peace Process (MEPP) and domestic Palestinian politics. He co-led a 2016 track-II initiative to draft an updated set of final status parameters. 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). Lovatt also co-developed an innovative online project mapping Palestinian politics. 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.
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.
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
by Hugh Lovatt - 08th November, 2018
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
Web Special
by Julien Barnes-Dacey & Ellie Geranmayeh & Hugh Lovatt - 17th May, 2018
An ECFR guide to the key disputes threatening to spark a wider Middle Eastern war
by Hugh Lovatt - 21st December, 2017
How should the EU respond to the reality of the one-state reality taking hold in Israel-Palestine?
PDF
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.
PDF
by Hugh Lovatt - 31st October, 2016
Renewed focus on differentiation one of few hopes for saving the two state solution.
PDF
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
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?
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
Hugh Lovatt - 15 May 2018
There is still the chance, just, to limit further instability and bloodshed in Israel-Palestine.
Hugh Lovatt - 12 December 2017
Trump’s Jerusalem announcement and Netanyahu’s visit have placed unprecedented strain on Europe’s Israel-Palestine policy.
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.
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.
Hugh Lovatt - 05 May 2017
The EU should welcome Hamas's new political platform and seize the opportunity to engage moderates within the movement.
Hugh Lovatt & Saleh Hijazi - 20 April 2017
The post-Abbas period is poised to be a polarising and confrontational period for Palestinian democracy.
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.
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.
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
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.
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?
Hugh Lovatt speaks to Fadi Quran, activist, senior campaigner for Avaaz, and according to the Time magazine "the new face of the Middle East".
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.
ECFR policy fellows Mattia Toaldo and Hugh Lovatt, authors of the policy brief "EU differentiation and Israeli settlements", believe that the EU needs to act faster and further in ensuring that Israeli settlements in no way benefit from EU-Israel bilateral relations. In the interview they explain the benefits of a differentiation policy.
Hugh Lovatt is quoted by Courrier International about the transfer of the American Embassy to Jerusalem.
Hugh Lovatt is quoted by La Croix regarding the legislative elections in Israel
Hugh Lovatt is quoted by The Times of Israël regarding Palestine's new government.
Hugh Lovatt is quoted by Courrier International regarding Palestine's new government.
Hugh Lovatt quoted by the Arab Weekly on the impact of Netanyahu's reelection for the two-state solution.
Hugh Lovatt is quoted by Sud Ouest regarding the legislative elections in Israel.
Hugh Lovatt is quoted by Courrier International regarding the legislative elections in Israel.
Hugh Lovatt is interviewed by France 24 on Donald Trump's role in the Israeli election.
Email: hugh.lovatt@ecfr.eu