Contradictions in Trump’s National Security Strategy

Contradictions in Trump’s National Security Strategy

By Ivan Eland. For all his revolutionary talk on the campaign trail, Donald Trump, as presidents have before him, has been co-opted by the U.S. foreign policy establishment to run pretty much the same national security strategy [...]
Betting on the wrong horse? US and Iranian hardliners spin anti-government protests

Betting on the wrong horse? US and Iranian hardliners spin anti-government protests

  By James M. Dorsey.   An Iranian woman disguises herself as a male soccer fan By James M. Dorsey In supporting recent anti-government protests in Iran, both Iranian hardliners and the US State Department may want to be careful what [...]
Indo-China Border Tensions—No End Yet?

Indo-China Border Tensions—No End Yet?

  By Syed Qamar Rizvi.   A recently held fierce border standoff between China and India in Bhutan’s Doklam region —albeit temporarily resolved– seems yet to pave the way for the brewing confrontation between Beijing and New [...]
Trump’s Foreign Policy: Trajectory of Diversions & Dissensions?

Trump’s Foreign Policy: Trajectory of Diversions & Dissensions?

By Syed Qamar Rizvi.   US President’s Donald Trump’s exclusive adventurism with regard to the US’ ventured foreign policy orientations, its goals and objectives pose a big question: Will America under Trump’s administration recollect [...]
Playing with Fire: Israel and its problematic friends solidify ties

Playing with Fire: Israel and its problematic friends solidify ties

By James Dorsey.   Remarks at United Hebrew Congregation, Singapore, 3 October 2017 There are no nice guys in the Middle East, a region that is in the sixth year of transition. It’s a transition that is likely to take up to a quarter [...]
Germans’ Political Race: Merkel’s Win Amid Triumphs & Challenges

Germans’ Political Race: Merkel’s Win Amid Triumphs & Challenges

  By Syed Qamar Rizvi.   As was expected, Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel once again endorsed her victory– in the currently held election-2017– thereby astutely making a history of coming to power through her fourth [...]
Rebooting Peace in the Korean Peninsula?

Rebooting Peace in the Korean Peninsula?

By Syed Qamar Rizvi.   Today, Washington seems more prone to reckoning the resonance of realism than idealism in the Korean peninsula as reflected by the tune and diplomatic postures of the Trump’s administration regarding the US-North [...]
US Afghan Strategy: Flaws & Evolving Challenges?

US Afghan Strategy: Flaws & Evolving Challenges?

  By Qamar Syed Rizvi.   President Trump on last Monday unveiled his much-anticipated agenda for Afghanistan, a plan heavy on broad goals and light on details. But seen realistically, the Trump administration has added troubles to [...]
Fire and Fury? A Korean Peninsula Crisis Briefing

Fire and Fury? A Korean Peninsula Crisis Briefing

  By Julian French.   “A bluff taken seriously is more useful than a serious threat interpreted as a bluff”. Dr Henry Kissinger Headline: In spite of some modest easing of rhetoric overnight by the Supreme Leader of the Democratic [...]
Islamic State’s propaganda capabilities have been weakened, not defeated

Islamic State’s propaganda capabilities have been weakened, not defeated

  By Pramod Raj Sedhain.   Islamic State’s self-proclaimed ‘Caliphate’ has seen a series of setbacks in its core areas in Iraq and Syria. Despite heading towards a crumbling stage, the Islamic State (IS) has been able to preserve [...]
Public Policy: Integration or Catalyst to Institutional Oppression?

Public Policy: Integration or Catalyst to Institutional Oppression?

By Jon Kofas.   Abstract In this brief essay, I examine how public policy as a commodity under a business model, in which the state operating in accordance with neoliberal policies has evolved toward a more authoritarian orientation in [...]
All the UAE’s men: Gulf crisis opens door to power shift in Palestine

All the UAE’s men: Gulf crisis opens door to power shift in Palestine

James M. Dorsey.    Mohammed Dahlan By James M. Dorsey With attention in the Middle East focussed on the Gulf crisis, the United Arab Emirates is elsewhere seeking to reshape the region in ways that could alter its power dynamics. The [...]
Trump’s Pakistan Policy: Challenges & Strategies

Trump’s Pakistan Policy: Challenges & Strategies

By Syed Qamar Rizvi.   It seems very much inconvenient at the part of Islamabad that despite Pakistan’s indefatigable role in the US-waged war on terrorism for the past sixteen years, Washington yet blames Islamabad for the ongoing [...]
Gulf Crisis Set To Escalate

Gulf Crisis Set To Escalate

  By James M. Dorsey.       The Gulf crisis that pits Saudi Arabia and the UAE against Qatar is set to escalate with Doha certain to ignore Monday’s deadline that it complies with demands that would undermine Qatari sovereignty [...]
Twilight Of The American Century And Chinese Ascendancy

Twilight Of The American Century And Chinese Ascendancy

By Jon Kofas.     Abstract The more evidence we have that the American century of international hegemony is waning because of an increasingly weaker economy, the more scholars and analysts of international political economy insist that [...]
US-India-Japan Naval Trajectory & Australia?

US-India-Japan Naval Trajectory & Australia?

By Syed Qamar Rizvi.   After making a pitch for an observer status during this year’s Malabar trilateral naval exercises  that were scheduled to be held in June, Australia had indicated that it is keen for a logistics support agreement [...]
The longer the Gulf crisis lasts, the higher the stakes get

The longer the Gulf crisis lasts, the higher the stakes get

  By James M. Dorsey. A Qatari LNG vessel / Source: Nakhilat   Saudi Arabia and the UAE appear to be contemplating engineering a military coup in Qatar with the stakes in the Gulf crisis so high that a negotiated solution may prove [...]
Regional power play in Afghanistan and India’s policy options

Regional power play in Afghanistan and India’s policy options

By Shanthie Mariet D’Souza.  – Abstract A regional power realignment is taking place in Afghanistan. As countries jockey for influence in shaping the end-game in Afghanistan, India seems to be a lone bystander being sidelined even [...]
President Trump and the Thorny Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

President Trump and the Thorny Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

By Raphael Cohen-Almagor.   We do not know much about Trump’s views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. During his controversial presidential campaign he made a number of statements that suggest: Trump is a friend of Israel. Trump [...]
The Price: The end of Iraqi and Syrian Woes and the Vanishing of ISIS

The Price: The end of Iraqi and Syrian Woes and the Vanishing of ISIS

By Fadi El Husseini.   When entangled elements make it hard to reach sound analyses, conspiracy theories appear to be a good tool to explain the unexplained. This applies perfectly to the situation in the Middle East. Many observers are [...]