Policy Fellow
Middle East; Israel/Palestine; Mashreq region; conflict prevention/resolution; Islamic societies; identity politics
English, Arabic, French
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).
Dans une collection de huit essais, l’ECFR explore la manière dont les politiques européennes peuvent s’adapter aux défis créés par l’effondrement des structures traditionnelles des Etats centraux et la montée en puissance des groupes armés qui agissent de plus en plus comme des sources alternatives de gouvernance à travers une région fracturée
I governi europei e l’UE dovrebbero intavolare un dialogo con quei gruppi armati non statali che, con grande probabilità, eserciteranno un effettivo potere sul campo nella regione MENA nel corso dei prossimi anni
European governments need a deeper engagement strategy to draw these powerful actors into inclusive political processes and power-sharing structures that can help stabilise the region
Victory for Joe Biden is likely to bring three big policy shifts in the region, opening new possibilities and challenges for Europeans
ECFR’s Differentiation Tracker provides a detailed snapshot of European relations with Israel – and the extent to which these comply with UNSCR 2334 and the…
In this special ECFR discussion, MENA Policy Fellow Hugh Lovatt interviews Daniel Seidemann, the Founder of Terrestrial Jerusalem and an Israeli attorney that specialises in…
The Israel-UAE peace deal provides multiple wins for both countries, and for the US. But it could yet deepen the region’s political fault lines.
The eastern Mediterranean is becoming ever more perilous as geopolitical fault lines steadily enmesh the region. These rifts emerge from the Cyprus ‘frozen conflict’, competition for valuable gas fields, and the increasingly entangled wars in Libya and Syria.
West Bank annexation will bring an end to the EU’s cherished two-state solution. International norms and the EU’s own laws will now need to underpin post-annexation relations with Israel.
Urgent intervention can mitigate the worst effects of the pandemic. But the EU should also help Gaza escape its man-made crisis.
Introduction War threatens to engulf Gaza’s fragile calm. In each of the three recent conflicts that have shaken the Gaza Strip, fighting between Palestinian factions…
How should the EU respond to the reality of the one-state reality taking hold in Israel-Palestine?
The Oslo Accords have provided political cover for Israel’s creeping occupation and eroded the possibility of Palestinian self-determination
Renewed focus on differentiation one of few hopes for saving the two state solution
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
The EU needs to act faster and further in ensuring that Israeli settlements in no way benefit from EU-Israel bilateral relations
Victory for Joe Biden is likely to bring three big policy shifts in the region, opening new possibilities and challenges for Europeans
The Israel-UAE peace deal provides multiple wins for both countries, and for the US. But it could yet deepen the region’s political fault lines.
West Bank annexation will bring an end to the EU’s cherished two-state solution. International norms and the EU’s own laws will now need to underpin post-annexation relations with Israel.
Urgent intervention can mitigate the worst effects of the pandemic. But the EU should also help Gaza escape its man-made crisis.
The coronavirus has hit the Middle East and north Africa at a time when the region is already burdened with multiple problems, including a series…
A disinformation campaign against a new UN database aims to legitimise the Israeli settler movement and those who illegally profit from it.
Comparing the US “peace plan” for Israel-Palestine with ECFR’s own work on future parameters illuminates how Donald Trump is departing from longstanding international consensus positions
Although the Trump deal marks a radical break from past American support for a two-state solution, it aligns with ideas put forward by supporters of Israel’s settler movement
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
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
European governments need a deeper engagement strategy to draw these powerful actors into inclusive political processes and power-sharing structures that can help stabilise the region
The eastern Mediterranean is becoming ever more perilous as geopolitical fault lines steadily enmesh the region. These rifts emerge from the Cyprus ‘frozen conflict’, competition for valuable gas fields, and the increasingly entangled wars in Libya and Syria.
Turmoil in the Middle East and north Africa directly affects Europeans. Yet their influence in the region has never been weaker. This project maps Europe’s role across the Middle East and north Africa, making the case that Europeans can do more to leverage their influence in pursuit of core interests
ECFR’s Differentiation Tracker provides a snapshot of third state relations with Israel – and the extent to which these contain a clearly defined territorial definition that explicitly excludes Israeli settlements constructed on occupied territory in line with UNSCR 2334
An ECFR guide to the key disputes threatening to spark a wider Middle Eastern war
This interactive web project charts the constellation of political players as Palestinians approach a period of political change. Over 100 pen portraits reveal new insights into the personalities and power structures that will shape the future of Palestinian politics.
ECFR's innovative project Two State Stress Test provides a health-check on whether developments across seven different areas are serving to strain or sustain a possible two-state outcome for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
ECFR’s New Battlelines Project maps Iran’s coalition of allies, regional influence and the counter-coalition that has formed to oppose them
In this special ECFR discussion, MENA Policy Fellow Hugh Lovatt interviews Daniel Seidemann, the Founder of Terrestrial Jerusalem and an Israeli attorney that specialises in…
When US-President Donal Trump revealed his much-awaited plan for peace for Israel and Palestine it was set to solve one of the world's longest-running conflict
Podcast de notre discussion du 19 juin « The future of Israeli-Palestinian conflict: towards annexation and illiberalism? » en présence de Yehuda Shaul,…
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…
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…
Nouveau podcast de notre série sur les présidentielles de 2017 ayant pour objectif de traiter les thèmes d'actualité et de contribuer au débat…
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,…
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…
ECFR policy fellows Mattia Toaldo and Hugh Lovatt, authors of the policy brief “EU differentiation and Israeli settlements”, believe that the EU needs to…
The Danish newspaper quotes from the Deep Sea Rivals report.
Hugh Lovatt comments on Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic
Hugh Lovatt comments on Trump's Mideast deals.
Hugh Lovatt believes it is rather unrealistic that other countries in the region will quickly follow the rapprochement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
Hugh Lovatt comments on Mike Pompeo's Middle East tour.
