Applying double standards in Ukraine is a risky business
Russia’s suspension from the United Nations Human Rights Council was long overdue, even without the mass killing of innocent civilians in the Ukrainian town...
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...
The 2022 World Cup: Is Qatar Putting its Best Foot Forward?
This is Qatar's year to put its best foot forward.
A major producer of natural gas, the tiny Gulf state is under the magnifying glass...
Always a major Middle Eastern power, Israel now takes centre stage
A straightforward message emerged from this week’s meeting in the Negev desert of the foreign ministers of four Arab countries, Israel and the United...
Autocratic vs. Democratic Islam = UAE vs. Indonesia
Indonesia has emerged as a primary battleground between democratic and autocratic visions of Islam in the 21st century.
The battle pits Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the...
In Saudi Arabia, dance maybe, dissent no
Three scantily dressed samba dancers wearing traditional feather headdresses laid bare the limits of social liberalisation in Saud Arabia when they earlier this year...
The Gulf crisis has lessons for Vladimir Putin. Not all may work in his favour
The Ukraine crisis may constitute a more impactful, historic watershed than the 1989 fall of the Berlin wall in the mind of Singapore Foreign...
Putin hums ‘Georgia on my mind’
What did Russian President Vladimir Putin think when he ordered his troops into Ukraine? Ray Charles' 'Georgia on mind’ must have been humming in...
Ukraine may force Middle Eastern rivals to upgrade their toolkit
Struggling to remain on the sidelines of the 21st century’s watershed war in Ukraine, Middle Eastern nations are discovering that they may be fighting...
Russian societal tensions are mirrored in Putin’s Orthodox church
The Russian Orthodox Church blesses rather than fires weapons. In doing so, it has emerged as a powerful weapon in its own right in...