Hope Amidst Change: Emerging Leaders Navigating the New Political Landscape in the Middle East

In May 2026, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) convened 30 political leaders representing new and emerging political movements from six countries in the Middle East in Albania for a three-day gathering to discuss the political realities in their countries and explore opportunities for collaboration. Conflict in the region has resulted in significant changes to many countries’ political landscapes as historically influential non-state actors have been weakened. Domestic politics across the region have been impacted by the surrounding conflict, foreign interference, and low public confidence in political and governmental institutions’ ability to respond to various crises. Despite persistent conflict and tumultuous change, reform-minded political groups are assessing the opportunities for political engagement in the near and long-term and are optimistic about working towards a better future. 

The participants in this event included 13 women and 17 men from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen, including senior party figures, current and former members of parliament (MPs), former ministers, and activists representing such reform-minded groups, spanning various political ideologies, ethnic and religious backgrounds, and ages. The diversity of the group and the trust they placed in NDI and in each other created an environment rich with divergent perspectives and opportunities for learning and exchange.

The workshop was facilitated by two experts with hands-on experience developing their own grassroots political movements and advising emergent political organizations in the Middle East and beyond. Participants had the opportunity to build skills and share their experiences through a combination of interactive skills-building sessions, facilitated group discussions, and panels where the participants themselves spoke about their experiences in building partnerships, fostering youth engagement, and capitalizing on political windows of opportunity. 

Common Challenges; Common Opportunities

The workshop highlighted that political parties across the region operate in highly constrained and uneven political environments. While each country faces its own institutional, security, and political challenges, participants repeatedly returned to a shared set of concerns surrounding weak public trust in political parties, limited space for free speech and political expression, the influence of armed actors and foreign powers intervening in domestic politics, and resource limitations when competing against larger and more established parties.

Nonetheless, participants were enthusiastic about the potential to better engage citizens through public consultations and new technologies that leverage AI to connect decision-makers with their constituents. In Lebanon, participants expressed enthusiasm for these tools’ ability to “introduce new rules to the games played by traditional political parties.” 

The role of youth and women emerged as one of the most positive and energizing themes. Many participants shared that they had become politically active at a young age, often through demonstrations, university activism, family political history, or personal experiences of repression. Participants emphasized that youth should not only be mobilized for campaigns or consulted symbolically, but should participate directly in decision-making. As Abdulkader Ba Yazid, a leading political figure in the Yemeni governorate of Hadramawt shared in an interview with NDI following his participation in the event, “my hope for the future…  lies in a strong push from the youth, who are the backbone of any nation.” Mr. Ba Yazid initially expressed skepticism about youth as panelists but later said that the youth panelists had become the teachers, indicating an immediate shift in his willingness to hear from newer voices during the workshop itself. 

Hope for a Better Future

When asked about their primary takeaways from the event, many participants highlighted the value of having frank discussions about the challenges and opportunities facing political parties across the region. Despite the challenges facing their countries, the political leaders attending the event shared their hope that a better future is possible. As Eman Helou, an emerging Palestinian activist said, “democracy means we have the acceptance to listen to each other. And this is not difficult or impossible, as it is portrayed.” Overall, participants expressed their enthusiasm for participating in an event that provided an opportunity to gain concrete skills that they can apply to their work, learn from the diverse experiences of their fellow participants, and find avenues for future collaboration. As Mazen About Zeid, a Lebanese political and social activist who has been building grassroots movements in the South of Lebanon since 2011 shared, “What I am doing individually today, we might do collectively after a month, two, or three months, and the impact will be greater.” In the words of Iraqi women and youth empowerment activist and sitting Member of Parliament, Maha Mahmoud, “cooperation is the foundation of everything.”

While the political contexts represented at the workshop differed considerably, participants left with a renewed sense that principled leadership, constructive dialogue and collaboration across differences remain essential to building more responsive political institutions. By creating opportunities for emerging leaders to learn from one another and build lasting regional networks, NDI is helping equip a new generation of political actors to navigate an evolving political landscape.