Gulf states test the boundaries of their agency
By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. More than three years after burying…
Shiites, not Jews, emerge as a touchstone of Saudi moderation
By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. Saudi Arabia has removed anti-Semitic and…
Culture wars bubble under Arab surfaces
By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. Religious conservatives and nationalists in the…
Are Muslim religious conservatism and political Islam making a comeback?
By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. Little did Elianu Hia know that…
Sudan in meltdown
by Neville Teller On May 6 delegates from the two military groups slogging it out for control of Sudan met for pre-negotiation talks in Jeddah, each side represented by a…
Sudan tests the limits of Middle Eastern de-escalation.
By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. With Saudi-hosted talks to end Sudan…
Cementing ties with Iran’s neighbours
by Neville Teller On 19 and 20 April Israel’s foreign minister, Eli Cohen, visited two of Iran’s close neighbours in central Asia. Facing each other across the Caspian…
Middle Eastern rivalries are alive and kicking despite de-escalation
By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. Middle Eastern battlegrounds are alive and…
Lebanon is in trouble
by Neville Teller Lebanon is in the midst of a long-standing political impasse. It has a caretaker government and no head of state. In addition,…
Is Central Asia and the Caucasus the Indo-Pacific’s next stop?
By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. America to the rescue. In a…