Gulf media wars produce losers, no winners
James M. Dorsey | Feuding Gulf states that have pumped millions of dollars into public diplomacy appear to have done better in damaging the reputations...
The Gulf crisis: Qatar’s 2022 World Cup moves into the firing line
James M. Dorsey | A French investigation into possible corruption in business deals related to Qatar’s winning of World Cup hosting rights moved the 2022 tournament a...
Tehran takes exceptions to new sanctions
News Analysis | Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has vowed to end his country's isolation in his second term. He was sworn in today just a...
Playing with Fire: Trump’s Iran policy risks cloning North Korea
James M. Dorsey | As US President Donald J. Trump gropes with a set of bad options for responding to North Korea’s rapidly expanding nuclear...
Playing both sides against the middle: Saudi Arabia engages with Iraqi Shiites
James M. Dorsey | Saudi Arabia, with the Islamic State on the ropes in Iraq, is forging ties to Iraqi Shiite leaders and offering to...
The Twists And Turns Of Indian-Iranian Military Aid To Iraq
Andrew Korybko | Both Great Powers are intensifying their military relations with the war-torn state in the wake of Daesh’s decisive defeat in Mosul, with news...
Saudi Silliness: Fracas with Qatar and Sectarian Injunction
Adnan Qaiser | In my paper in spring 2017: ‘Radical Islamism: Understanding Extremist Narrative and Mindset,’ I had postulated that all Middle East’s ills lie...
It is check and mate for Israel in Golan Heights
M K Bhadrakumar | Israel has suffered a big setback in the Syrian conflict with the deployment of Russian military police in the safe zone...
Plot thickens in great game over post-ISIS Iraq and Syria
M K Bhadrakumar | The post-ISIS future of Iraq and Syria has been a topic of animated discussion among American think tankers, the assumption being...
The Gulf crisis: Small states battle it out (SSRN Working Paper Part 1)
James M. Dorsey | Abstract Buried in the Gulf crisis is a major development likely to reshape international relations as well as power dynamics in the...
US moves against Iran raise spectre of wider regional conflict
James M. Dorsey | US President Donald J. Trump. in a step that could embolden Saudi Arabia to move ahead with plans to destabilize Iran,...
China takes a leap of faith in the Middle East
M K Bhadrakumar | Like a deer caught in the headlight on the median of the highway at night, South Block stands paralyzed as the...