Middle East & Africa
Reducing Middle East tensions? Saudi-UAE moves hint at willingness to engage with Iran
Recent moves by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates suggest that the two Gulf states may be looking for ways to reduce tensions...
The Gulf crisis produces snail-pace social change and a dangerous arms race
A two-month old crisis pitting Qatar against an alliance led by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia is proving to be a double-edged...
Gulf media wars produce losers, no winners
Feuding Gulf states that have pumped millions of dollars into public diplomacy appear to have done better in damaging the reputations of their detractors...
The Gulf crisis: Qatar’s 2022 World Cup moves into the firing line
A French investigation into possible corruption in business deals related to Qatar’s winning of World Cup hosting rights moved the 2022 tournament a step...
Africa and the World Bank: Why it’s Not Too Late
African countries are in a developmental conundrum; they have seen economic reversals in the wake (and arguably because) of the World Bank and yet...
Playing with Fire: Trump’s Iran policy risks cloning North Korea
As US President Donald J. Trump gropes with a set of bad options for responding to North Korea’s rapidly expanding nuclear and ballistic missiles...
Playing both sides against the middle: Saudi engages with Iraqi Shiites
Saudi Arabia, with the Islamic State on the ropes in Iraq, is forging ties to Iraqi Shiite leaders and offering to help fund reconstruction...
Strife in Jerusalem: Fears of popular revolts bring Israel and Arabs together
A web of formal and informal Israeli-Arab relations and common fears of renewed popular uprisings that could threaten regimes and benefit Islamist groups like...
The Gulf crisis: A lesson in reputation management
Lurking below the surface of the Gulf crisis, are rival, yet troubled, attempts by Qatar and its detractors to use sports to boost soft...
The Gulf crisis: Small states battle it out
Buried in the Gulf crisis is a major development likely to reshape international relations as well as power dynamics in the Middle East: the...