More: UAE
Qatari Wahhabism vs. Saudi Wahhabism and the perils of top-down change
A multi-domed, sand-coloured, architectural marvel, Doha’s biggest and national mosque, symbolizes Qatar’s complex and troubled relationship with Saudi Arabia. Its naming six years ago...
Egyptian President Al-Sisi steps up repression to cover policy failure
Egyptian general-turned-president Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi would likely be the first to admit that an iron fist is no guarantee for retaining power. Not because...
Qatari opposition: A failed Quartet project
The stand-off between Qatar and the Saudi-led Arab bloc has entered its fifth month bringing to the surface some Qatari exile opposition figures. Despite...
Trouble in sport’s paradise: Can Qatar overcome the diplomatic crisis?
The crisis in the Gulf that pits Qatar against a UAE-Saudi-led alliance is Qatar's least problem when it comes to the 2022 World Cup....
Saudi-UAE push to mobilize tribes against Qatari emir
Nearly six months into the Gulf crisis, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are attempting to mobilize tribal opposition as well as little...
Gulf crisis: Soccer trumps politics
A target of massive Saudi investment, the Maldives severed diplomatic relations with Qatar hours after a Saudi-UAE-led alliance of largely financially dependent states declared...
Activists and Gulf crisis turn Qatar into potential model of social change
Potential Qatari moves to become the first Gulf state to effectively abolish the region’s onerous kafala or labour sponsorship system, denounced as a form...
Gulf crisis broadens definitions of food security
Food security has taken on a new dimension almost five months into the Gulf crisis that pits a UAE-Saudi alliance against Qatar and for...
Battling for independence: Small states stake their claim
The Gulf crisis that pits a United Arab Emirates-Saudi-led alliance against Qatar has emerged about more than a regional spat. It is part of...
Playing with Fire: Israel and its problematic friends solidify ties
Remarks at United Hebrew Congregation, Singapore, 3 October 2017 There are no nice guys in the Middle East, a region that is in the...