The Arab Spring has been, in turns, exhilarating and excruciating. It has also been expensive—even for relatively peaceful Middle Eastern countries. Three Gulf countries sent a $12 billion aid package to Egypt in July, the latest in a regional spending spree that has also benefited the troubled countries of Yemen and Tunisia. Read Here – […]
President Barack Obama’s case for intervening in Syria is legally weak, internationally divisive and morally hollow Read Here – The Hindu
Middle East supporters of the Sunni-dominated rebel forces led by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey are exasperated with the hesitation of Western countries but are holding out in expectation that attacks will eventually occur. Read Here – The Jerusalem Post
Imagine a government dominated by paranoia, convinced of conspiracies around every corner. That, in short, was the most defining aspect of the Muslim Brotherhood’s year in power in Egypt. Though the country’s first democratically elected government was overthrown in a military coup in July, the Brotherhood made its fair share of critical mistakes. Read Here […]
Egypt‘s army-backed interim prime minister defends the government’s decision to order the crushing of camps of supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi, saying the authorities had no choice but to act. Read Here – AlJazeera
More important in my view is the belief expressed by almost half a dozen activists in the course of a week of conversations that the revolutionary movement was never going to be able to defeat both the Brotherhood and the military in a struggle for Egypt’s future. And so to have the army hand such […]
Throughout the Arab world, a struggle between two major historical forces, religion and secularism, is now unfolding. It is the type of battle between Caesar and God that took Europe centuries to resolve. The future of the Arab Middle East will be decided in the fight between Syria’s Sunni insurgents, supported throughout the region by […]
As a religion synonymous with compassion and defined by non-violence, Buddhism has always been seen as a gentle way of life. It is for this reason that developments in Burma and Sri Lanka appear all the more mystifying. Read Here – The Diplomat
With bitter fighting continuing to afflict large tracts of Syria, where more than 7,000 people have lost their lives in just over a month, predicting the outcome of the country’s brutal civil war may appear somewhat premature. And yet, for all the sacrifices made by rebel fighters during the past two years, the likelihood that […]
Arab societies are often regarded as bad places for women and girls. According to many observers, Arabic and Islamic culture can combine to foster attitudes that are inhospitable to gender equality. The results of a survey experiment we are conducting may challenge common assumptions. Women do face special difficulties in Arab lands, which are reflected in […]
looking beyond borders 