Oman: a Peaceful Oasis in a Flaming region
In a fractious, unstable region rife with conflicts, one country appears to be unscathed. It is telling that Oman emerged not only intact from the ramifications of the Arab Spring, but also shied away from the tense polarisation that has hijacked [...]
Rivalry Between Saudi Arabia and Iran Not About the Victim but the Aggressor
By Hakim Khatib
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran have been increasing recently. Although the narrative developed to describe the execution of a Saudi Shiite cleric, Nimr Al-Nimr, as a sectarian dimension of the Kingdom’s policies towards [...]
Saudi Political Intolerance
By Hakim Khatib
Beheadings in public, including a prominent Saudi Shiite cleric, prompted reactions not only inside Saudi Arabia but also in Iran, Iraq and most recently in Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia’s death wedding in January 2016 signals the [...]
What is the Syrian War about?
By Hakim Khatib
After five years of the Syrian war, we can recognize “four” conflicting parties on the ground – Assad, ISIS, rebel groups and the Kurds. Each one of these conflicting parties has regional and international [...]