The Lebanon-Israel maritime deal: A masterstroke from Hezbollah?
Hezbollah’s approach to Lebanon’s historic maritime deal with Israel is canny because it can be interpreted in two ways. As the Lebanese government rubs its hands in anticipation of potential lucrative hydrocarbon […]
Muqtada’s Retirement from Iraqi Politics Shows the Power of the Maraji
On 29 August 2022, Muqtada Al-Sadr, Iraq’s Shi’ite-nationalist leader, announced his permanent retirement from Iraqi politics. One of the major factors that led to this announcement was the decision by […]
Lebanon’s New Lawmakers and the Potential of Parliamentary Friendship Groups
In May 2022, Lebanon held parliamentary elections with a turnout of 49.2 per cent, including the votes of Lebanese expatriates living abroad[i]—a 0.5 per cent drop since 2018. Yet the […]
Regime Legitimation in Syria: How the West Is Falling for Bashar al-Assad’s Propaganda
“Assad or no one”; “Assad or we burn the country.” This slogan, first uttered by militiamen at the onset of the Syrian Civil War, reflects Bashar al-Assad’s relation to power: […]
The UAE and Qatar’s Thawing Relationship
In recent years, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been on a diplomatic spree, re-normalising relations with a host of countries in the region, including Syria, Iran and Turkey, as […]
Book Review: “Sultan Qaboos and Modern Oman, 1970-2020” by Allen James Fromherz and Abdulrahman al-Salimi, eds.
In 2020, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) lost two heads of state, Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Sa’id al-Sa’id. Owing to their prominent roles in […]
Domestic Political Chaos Is Not the Only Thing Happening in Iraq
It appears that calm has returned to Iraq after the reported intervention of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the country’s chief and widely respected Shia cleric. In recent weeks, violence had occurred […]
Why Iran Doubts Joe Biden’s Jerusalem Declaration
The Jerusalem Declaration on the US-Israel Strategic Partnership commits the United States and its top Middle East allies “to use all elements of their national power to prevent Iran from obtaining a […]
Book Review – “Street-Level Governing: Negotiating the State in Urban Turkey” by Elise Massicard
Elise Massicard, Street-Level Governing: Negotiating the State in Urban Turkey (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2022) During the last century, Turkey has seen the abolition of the Caliphate in 1924, the […]
Can Lebanon and Israel avoid war by solving their maritime border dispute?
Lebanon and Israel are stuck in indirect negotiations over where the lines should be drawn with respect to their maritime borders and the scope of each state’s rights to explore […]
