2018 World Cup potentially set to become latest Middle Eastern battlefield
A possible Saudi-Iranian clash on the soccer pitch promises to be a highlight of this month’s World Cup in Russia.
It would add significant drama...
Politicizing Education: Israel and Myanmar set worrisome precedent
Israel and Myanmar, two countries with troubled human rights records and disputed histories of dealing with ethnic and national rights, have set a worrisome...
Mahathir’s reforms could put Saudi Arabia and the UAE on the spot
Newly elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Mahathir is adopting policies that could reshape the Southeast nation’s relations with powerful Gulf states.
A series of anti-corruption...
How much solidarity with Iran can the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization afford?
A planned China and Russia-led show of support for Iran at next month’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit is likely to be primarily symbolic...
2018 World Cup offers Chechnya opportunity to play Middle Eastern politics
When strongman Ramzan Kadyrov last month opened The Local, a United Arab Emirates-funded luxury hotel in the Chechen capital of Grozny and prepared to...
Middle Eastern culture wars: The battle of the palates
Nothing in a swath of land stretching from the Atlantic coast of Africa to China is undisputed.
Food is often emblematic of disputes over identity,...
Dodging UN and US designations: Hafez Saeed maintains utility for Pakistan and China
A recent upsurge in insurgent activity in Kashmir likely explains Pakistani and Chinese reluctance to crackdown on internationally designated militant Hafez Saeed and the...
What to do with Pakistani militant Hafez Saeed? Pakistan and China grope for ambiguity
Recent remarks by several senior Pakistani officials suggest that Pakistan and China are groping with how to deal with globally designated Pakistani militant Hafez...
The battle for the Iranian nuclear deal: China approaches a watershed
Conventional wisdom has it that China stands to benefit from the US withdrawal from the 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran, particularly if major...
Ex-Pakistani Prime Minister puts Pakistani military and China on the spot
Ousted Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif kicked up a storm when he earlier this month seemingly admitted that Pakistan had supported militants who attacked...