Lebanon’s make or break election
by Neville Teller Lebanon is preparing to go to the polls on May 15. Many observers believe that this parliamentary election promises to be one of the most significant in…
Contesting Russia requires renewed US engagement in Central Asia
By James M. Dorsey When US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III declared that Washington wanted to see Russia so “weakened” that it would no longer be able to invade…
A Clash of Civilisations: the Russian vs. the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
By James M. Dorsey Russia and the Nordic countries’ pavilions at this year’s Venice Biennale, the world’s most prestigious art exhibition, project two different concepts of civilisation, nationalism, and sovereignty…
When will the Saudi-Israeli connection go public?
by Neville Teller Israel and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic relations with each other – a situation that normally means hostility between nations. Yet on March 3, 2022, Saudi’s Crown…
Saudi Arabia targets a more Republican Washington
By James M. Dorsey Rather than push for an immediate improvement of strained relations with the United States, Saudi Arabia appears to be looking forward to a time when US…
Hope at last for Yemen
by Neville Teller The two-month truce between the combatants in the Yemen civil war, brokered by the UN on April 2, has been swiftly followed by dramatic action calculated…
Israel’s Ukraine conundrum may have implications for Gulf states
By James M. Dorsey Middle Eastern states see their ability narrow to walk a fine line in the Ukraine conflict. Israel is a case in point as tensions with Iran…
Iran capitalises on Central Asian vacuum created by the Ukraine war
By James M. Dorsey Anti-Iranian protests in Afghanistan and the stabbing of three clerics in Iran threaten to cast a shadow over Iranian efforts to capitalise on the fallout in…
Lebanon’s dilemma
by Neville Teller The good news is that a two-month truce between the warring parties in Yemen, brokered by the UN, went into effect on April 2. At last there…
Cooperating with autocrats: When is too much, too much?
By James M. Dorsey Two recent publications have fuelled debate about democratic cooperation with autocratic governments in general, and Saudi Arabia in particular, in the wake of the Ukraine war.…