Hamas eyes Malaysia as a possible operations base
Malaysia has emerged as a potential external operations base for Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip if Turkey expels or restricts...
Deteriorating Israeli-Russian relations: A cautionary message for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey
Israel’s rapidly deteriorating relations with Russia contain a message for other Middle Eastern powers: attempting to remain on the sidelines of the conflict in...
Ukraine joins Afghanistan and Yemen in shaping Gulf rivalries
The US withdrawal from Afghanistan was a geopolitical watershed. Its shockwaves continue to reverberate and are magnified by the wars in Ukraine and Yemen.
Coupled...
Contesting Russia requires renewed US engagement in Central Asia
When US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III declared that Washington wanted to see Russia so “weakened" that it would no longer be able...
A Clash of Civilisations: the Russian vs. the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
Russia and the Nordic countries’ pavilions at this year’s Venice Biennale, the world’s most prestigious art exhibition, project two different concepts of civilisation, nationalism,...
Saudi Arabia targets a more Republican Washington
Rather than push for an immediate improvement of strained relations with the United States, Saudi Arabia appears to be looking forward to a time...
Israel’s Ukraine conundrum may have implications for Gulf states
Middle Eastern states see their ability narrow to walk a fine line in the Ukraine conflict. Israel is a case in point as tensions...
Iran capitalises on Central Asian vacuum created by the Ukraine war
Anti-Iranian protests in Afghanistan and the stabbing of three clerics in Iran threaten to cast a shadow over Iranian efforts to capitalise on the...
US-Gulf divergence: Placing risky bets
Russia's invasion of Ukraine spotlights seemingly widening differences between the United States and its closest Middle Eastern allies, sparking eulogies for an era of...
Cooperating with autocrats: When is too much, too much?
Two recent publications have fuelled debate about democratic cooperation with autocratic governments in general, and Saudi Arabia in particular, in the wake of the...