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 has worked to advance the concept of EU Differentiation, which was enshrined in UN Security Council Resolution 2334. Lovatt also 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). He 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. 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.
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
Hugh Lovatt - 15 May 2018
There is still the chance, just, to limit further instability and bloodshed 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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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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by Hugh Lovatt - 31st October, 2016
Renewed focus on differentiation one of few hopes for saving the two state solution.
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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.
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EPUB
Mobi
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.
Hugh Lovatt & Mattia Toaldo - 17 March 2017
Losing the cover of the two state solution could pose serious problems for Benyamin Netanyahu.
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 France 24 regarding current political events in Palestine.
Hugh Lovatt is quoted by L'Orient Le Jour regarding Netanyahu's court case.
Hugh Lovatt is quoted by Le Point regarding the latest developments in Palestine.
Hugh Lovatt is quoted by La Croix regarding the latest developments between Palestine and the United-States.
Hugh Lovatt is quoted by The Times of Israël regarding the latest developments between President Abbas and Hamas.
Hugh Lovatt is quoted in this Arab Weekly piece on US-Palestinian relations a year after Trump's announcement of the 'Deal of the century'.
Hugh Lovatt is quoted in the Gulf News' article on Israel's outreach efforts and their consequences for Palestine.
Hugh Lovatt quoted by France24 on the current Israeli manhunt for Palestinian shooter in the occupied West Bank.
Hugh Lovatt quoted by L'Orient-Le Jour regarding the Khashoggi affair.
Hugh Lovatt mentioned by Al Jazeera in an analysis on the latest conflict in Gaza.
Email: hugh.lovatt@ecfr.eu