OPEC production cut papers over cracks in US-Gulf relation but for how long?
A decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers like Russia to temporarily end a price war and cut production...
Stopping COVID-19 in Its Tracks: Science Gets the Upper Hand
Science has knocked religion and traditional healing methods out of the ring in the battle between rival approaches towards getting the coronavirus pandemic under...
Resisting Lockdowns: Bringing Ultra-conservatives into the fold
The Coronavirus pandemic points a finger not only at the colossal global collapse of responsible public health policy but also the importance of balancing...
Global Response to Coronavirus Exposes Governments’ Fault Lines
There’s a message in Pakistani and Egyptian responses to the Coronavirus: neither ultra-conservative science-rejecting worldviews nor self-serving autocratic policies aimed at regime enhancement produced...
China manoeuvres to protect its interests while keeping its hands clean
The question is not if, but when the long-standing American defence umbrella in the Gulf, the world’s most militarised and volatile region, will be...
Playing for Higher Stakes: Saudi Arabia Gambles on Oil War with Russia
Saudi Arabia’s
oil spat with Russia throws a spanner into the works of the Kingdom’s
long-standing effort to hedge its bets, a strategy that has taken...
Coronavirus: The Middle East’s lessons not learnt and missed opportunities
There is little indication that Middle Eastern rulers are learning the
lessons of the Coronavirus’ devastating effect.
Nor is there any suggestion that they are willing...
Biden, Sanders, or Trump: US Policy Towards the Gulf Will Change Regardless
The fight in this week’s Democratic primaries may have
been about who confronts Donald J. Trump in November’s US presidential
election, Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden....
The Long-term Political Fallout of Coronavirus
As the coronavirus spreads, so does its
likely political fallout.
For authoritarians and autocrats, the
fallout is likely to be a mixed bag.
Some will benefit from invasive...
Eastern Mediterranean: A microcosm of regional and global battles
The Eastern Mediterranean has become a flash-point for the meshing of
geopolitics, the struggle for regional hegemony, battles for control of
resources, religious soft power rivalry,...