Towards Shared Futures: Reimagining Security, Cooperation and Regional Hope in the Middle East

On Friday evening, Kos & Kaos, in partnership with the Oslo Freedom Forum, welcomed a full house at Røverstaden in Oslo for a conversation that set out to do something rare in the Norwegian debate: look forward.

Moderated by Nils August Andresen, editor of Minerva, the panel brought together Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib of the Atlantic Council and Realign for Palestine, Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute, and Shany Mor of Reichman University and BICOM. Instead of pointing fingers, the evening focused on the actors in the region – their choices, their constraints, and the room they have to act.

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib spoke about Palestinian agency and accountability, and argued that real progress depends on Gaza becoming a successful model of Palestinian self-governance. Shany Mor reflected on missed opportunities for statehood, the lessons of the 2005 disengagement, and why disarming Hamas must come before any next stage in Gaza. Alex Vatanka described an Iranian regime at a crossroads, with an “axis of resistance” that no longer works as intended and a population that has largely turned its back on the regime’s ideology.

The discussion moved through the possible futures for Gaza, the role of an international stabilization force, and whether a credible political horizon could turn a vicious cycle into a virtuous one. Not everyone agreed – and that was the point.

It was an evening of candor, honest disagreement and cautious hope, and a reminder that the future of the Middle East will be shaped by the choices its people make.