There is a consensus among commentators that the visit of the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to Egypt – complete with red carpet and kiss on both cheeks from President Mohammed Morsi – does not amount to a breakthrough. The view of US think-tanks is that it does not amount to very much at all, and […]
Chokri Belaid knew that his life was at risk. The secretary general of Tunisia‘s Unified Democratic Nationalist Party, and a key member of the secular opposition front, had been receiving death threats for months. When he was killed yesterday outside his home in Tunis, however, the fear was that it was the country that was […]
When Rahul Gandhi was formally anointed this week to the number two position in India‘s Congress Party, his installation as vice president was accompanied by the usual shenanigans among party operatives. Nine years after the grandson of Indira Gandhi – and the son of Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi – entered politics, the highest decision-making body […]
A salient feature of Iran’s foreign policy is its ability to build influence where least expected. With the ascent to power of Sunni Islamists throughout the region, and Iran‘s support of the military campaign in Syria, many have argued that Iran’s regional standing is in decline. But the opposite assessment needs to be taken seriously. […]
As one of the most strategically important regions of the world, the Middle East is often in flux. The year 2012, however, has been an especially dramatic year. Looking back, in my last column of the year, it is clear that there are flashes – of news, of violence, of surprise – that catch our attention. […]
When the Corruption Perception Index 2012 was published last week, the Saudi Twittersphere wasn’t very thrilled. Transparency International‘s annual study of perceptions about corruption among public-sector officials showed that Saudi Arabia had fallen nine places, and ranked number 66 out of 174. This provoked a storm of discussion on Twitter. Read Here – The National
A casual observer of the Arab world will most likely have concluded that the experiment in adapting political Islam to democracy has already failed. Almost two years ago, as the Arab revolutions began in Tunisia, it seemed a foregone conclusion that political pluralism on a western model would take the place of the ageing autocrats […]
It is quite clear to any thinking person that the Tory Party is now a corpse. Any idea that David Cameron could or would revive it must have died at the Rotherham by-election. This astonishing result must surely be the most humiliating treatment of a major political party in modern history. The ‘Conservative’ candidate came fifth. […]
Dubai’s chief of police, General Dahi Khalfan al-Tamim, claims that the Muslim Brotherhood is “a small group that has strayed from the true path.” He also says that the revolution in Egypt “would not have been possible without Iran’s support and is the prelude to a new Sykes-Picot agreement” (1). And that Mohammed Morsi’s election in […]
The recent NIMBY movement against a PX chemical plant in the Chinese city of Ningbo ultimately followed the same trajectory as did protests in Shifang and Qidong in July, 2012. After a tense confrontation between citizens and the government and violent but ineffective intervention by SWAT agents, the government backed down on October 28 by […]
looking beyond borders 