Absent much stronger U.S. and European pressure on their Saudi allies, Yemen’s latest ceasefire threatens to collapse — which could mean a return to massive civilian bombardments.
One Last Chance for Peace in Yemen
read more
qatar
Iran Deal: Is Obama Channeling Nixon?
The nuclear deal with Iran, like Nixon’s opening to China in 1972, has the potential to be a geopolitical game changer — if it can get through Congress first.
How Will the Gulf Cooperation Council React to a U.S.-Iran Nuclear Deal?
The Gulf Cooperation Council needs to work together on a game plan for negotiating with Iran.
Bluster and Blowback in Beirut
Although Hezbollah looks increasingly likely to weather Syria’s civil war, blowback from hardline Sunnis at home may prove a longer-term challenge.
Tunisia: Washington’s Grip Tightens
Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda party. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.Cross-posted from Open Democracy. Part One Two years ago it was a Tunisian uprising that triggered the events in Egypt which brought down Hosni Mubarek. Now it is the Egyptian mass...
Egypt: The Deck Reshuffled (Pt. 2)
Read Part 1. While media in the United States has focused on the Egyptian uprising that triggered a military-led coup in which the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) led government was dissolved, hardly any media reports here have considered the regional implications of the...
Syria and the Dogs of War
“Blood and destruction,” “dreadful objects,” and “pity choked” was the Bard’s searing characterization of what war visits upon the living. It is a description that increasingly parallels the ongoing war in Syria, which is likely to worsen unless the protagonists step back and search for a diplomatic solution to the 17-month-old civil war.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar: Dueling Monarchies
The demise of secular autocratic regimes in the Middle East and North Africa has heralded a renaissance for Islamist parties in the region, igniting a rivalry for the hearts and minds of the Sunni world between the Gulf powers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Although neither country is a bastion of democracy at home, Qatar has proven much more amenable than Saudi Arabia to bolstering democratic Islamist movements abroad.
Is Qatar’s Foreign Policy Sustainable?
Qatar, home to only 225,000 natives and 1.7 million foreign workers, has emerged as an influential regional actor in recent years. Emir Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has ruled Qatar since 1995, when he replaced his father in a bloodless palace coup, and has pursued an ambitious foreign policy for his statelet. Natural resource wealth, ownership of Al Jazeera, and a carefully constructed web of foreign alliances have allowed Doha to project itself throughout the Middle East.