If Saudi Arabia and the UAE are primarily focused on competing with each other, they will both prefer to foster regional stability in order to encourage investment, potentially curbing impulses to behave aggressively towards each other or their neighbours. Read More Here
While in many ways Raisi is a stereotypical conservative politician who puts ideology before any economic concern, all signs indicate that he will be unable to treat the economy as an afterthought during his tenure. Read More Here
It was never in doubt… really. Hard-line Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi was elected president of Iran, trouncing a field handpicked by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In fact Raisi, who will replace the more moderate Hassan Rouhani, is a top contender to become Iran’s next supreme leader. Read More Here
The centre-right partners of the new government are in tune with his ideology and with his foreign and defence policies. Presumably, if Netanyahu cedes his leadership of the Likud, or if his party colleagues muster the courage to unseat him, many in the new government would negotiate a partnership with the Likud. Read More Here
After 12 years, Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself in the opposition. However, questions over the new government’s fragility remain. The same applies to Netanyahu, who is unlikely to merely disappear into irrelevance, even though he will have to balance his aspirations for a return and his legal issues simultaneously. Read More Here
As a key player in the recent Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire and with its diplomats more active than they have been in years, Egypt is back as a major influencer in Middle Eastern affairs. From Gaza to Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean to the Horn of Africa, Cairo is now key in a host of contentious disputes that […]
A consensus is forming that the election will be gerrymandered by the powers that be. In reality, they are applying Western norms of democracy, although the 1979 Iranian revolution created a unique political system devolving upon the unassailable supremacy of the concept of velayit-e-faqih (guardianship of the jurists in power), but renewable through free elections on the […]
As the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas takes effect — whether it will hold remains to be seen — attention will turn to the gains and losses of either side, the demands of each in reaching a new modus vivendi, and prospects for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict more generally. Read Here | The National Interest
In the nearly two decades of Erdogan’s rule, Turkey has grown less interested than it once was in belonging to the transatlantic club or pursuing European Union membership. Instead, the government has been keen to reposition the country as a regional hegemon. Read Here | Foreign Affairs
The current spasm of violence between Hamas and Israel is following a familiar, tragic pattern that reflects a broken status quo. Devising a viable solution will not be easy, but it is possible with a long-term process based on four principles Read Here | Project Syndicate
