I am writing this article on the thirtieth anniversary of the Arab Strategic Report, which I created in 1986. An occasion celebrated by Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, now headed by Diaa Rashwan. There is no doubt that Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, founded by Mohamed Hassanein Heikal in 1968, is a pioneering platform for strategic studies in the Arab world. For the first time in the history of research centers emerged a specialized Arab strategic study center. It appeared at a time when no such studies were conducted except in the traditional sense of political science. It is safe to say, however, that there was a time when the center's progress came to an abrupt end. It was in August of 1975, when I was appointed Director of the Center. I devoted all my time then to reestablish its foundations, according to a new philosophy based on many years of planning and conducting scientific research. The Center then presented dozens of studies on three main axes that I had set for its scientific research including international, regional and domestic issues. Due to accumulated experience in the field of strategic studies, and after bringing together staff research experts, it was time to release the Arab Strategic report in 1985. My motive behind proposing this idea to the council of experts stemmed from the urge to show the world an Arab strategic vision from a national perspective. The expert council spent six months planning the report before reaching a final format. The Arab vision met globally recognized academic standards when compared to any international reports; it actually exceeded them in so far as critical analysis was concerned. The first Arab Strategic Report was released in 1986 to cover the events of 1985. It included three sections encompassing international events as well as Regional Arab and Egyptian ones. I presided over this report for nine years, from 1985 till 1994. My post as editor-in-chief was filled by a number of renowned experts after me. The last report was headed by Amr Hashem Rabie with Mohamed Ezz Al Arab as Managing editor. They both belonged to a younger generation of the senior Al Ahram Center. Publishing this report was the first step in a comprehensive plan to formulate the Arab strategic discourse. The following step was to form what we called ‘The Arab Strategic Conference' based on a scientific collaborative agreement between Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies and the Jordanian University. The Center issued a quarterly print, titled ‘Strategy Brochures', which conformed to incessant innovative developments. These brochures deal with urgent strategic issues. The Center now publishes five specialized periodicals, namely the ‘Egyptian file', ‘Israeli Options', ‘Iranian Options', ‘Egyptian Affairs' and ‘Alternatives'. There is no doubt that the 1986 Strategic Report is considered to be the center's most prominent publication to date. It became a distinctive emblem for the Center, and a recognized scientific reference. I put forth a tradition governing it, as supervisor and Chief Editor. This tradition was to include an 'Analytical Prologue' that discusses and analyzes important strategic issues. It only made sense to start my first edition with a study titled ' Towards an Arab Vision for Strategic Studies'. It was an attempt on my part to highlight the necessity of documenting the Arab Strategic Vision, after determining a comprehensive delineation that encompasses the military, political and economic fields. Successive Analytical Prologues followed after that, the last of which introduced the thirtieth edition of the report, published recently and titled "Cultural Shifts in the Secular Era". The Arab Strategic Report has been the subject of the yearly scientific forum at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, developing into an institution from which many Egyptian and Arab researchers have graduated. This forum was suggested and supervised by Aly El Din Helal. Several renowned Editors in Chief took over the supervision of the Report's content. Publishing its thirtieth edition emphasized our policy of empowering young scientific researchers, begetting an array of the most brilliant Egyptian and Arab strategic analysts. The latest report published for the year 2013-2014, is divided into three main sections in conformity with the methodology adopted from the beginning of presenting three interactive categories, comprising international, Arab regional and local issues. Exclusive reports deal more specifically with international developments, the most obvious of which are the Euro-Asian growth, the confused American foreign policies and the imbalance of the Russian policies when it comes to the East. The Chinese government's solutions for its domestic and international problems, the new systematic methods of the old American policies in South America and the global Economic performance are also topics that were tackled. The 'Arab Regional system' section included in-depth reports covering seven topics: The Arab region systems post-revolutions shift, the obstacles confronting Arab nations, the Arab-Arab alliance trends, the Arab-Regional alliance trends, Israel and the Palestinian issue, Arab economics and the new regional phenomena. Last but not least, in the Arab Republic of Egypt section, we find a deep analytical observation of the country' political, social and cultural scene which most prominent features are the reorganization of the Presidency and the problematic issue of the upcoming parliamentary elections. The systematic weakness of Egypt's political parties, the dispersal of all revolutionary movements since June 30 and the challenges facing the Civil Society in adjusting their media discourse are also among the topics discussed in this edition. I congratulate Al Ahram Center on the thirtieth anniversary of its Strategic Report. I wish all the rising starts of the team led by Diaa Rashwan, the Center's new manager, a roaring success.
