Middle East

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Program(s): Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies , Prevention and Peacebuilding

Topic(s): Arab Awakening, Fragile States

Staff

Bruce Jones

Richard Gowan

Emily O'Brien

WPS Sidhu

The United States, India and Iran: Managing a Delicate Balance

The India-U.S. relationship is presently stronger than at anytime in their history. The twin summits – less than six months apart – in September 2014 and January 2015 between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have repaired, revived and revitalized the strategic partnership. Yet there remain several hurdles to deepening the relationship, notably, geopolitical differences over Iran, Russia, Syria and India’s membership of various nuclear and missile export control regimes.

Publication Date: Feb 23, 2016

Author(s) / Contributor(s): WPS Sidhu

Region/Country: Middle East, United States, South Asia, India

Topic(s): Global Governance, India, South Asia

Bin Laden's Backers Want to Destroy Islamic State in Afghanistan

The Afghan militant group that sheltered Osama bin Laden before the Sept. 11 attacks is closing the door to the Islamic State.

The Taliban is giving up on holding talks with the group and will prevent it from gaining a foothold in Afghanistan, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said by e-mail. He accused the media and intelligence agencies of inflating the Islamic State’s strength.

Publication Date: Feb 03, 2016

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Barnett Rubin

Region/Country: Middle East, Syria, South Asia, Afghanistan

Program(s): Afghanistan-Pakistan Regional Project

Topic(s): Afghanistan, Fragile States, Humanitarian Crises, South Asia, Transnational Threats

Xi Jinping’s strategic Middle East gambit

The Chinese president’s visit to Iran (after summits in Saudi Arabia and Egypt) is of strategic significance

Publication Date: Feb 01, 2016

Author(s) / Contributor(s): WPS Sidhu

Region/Country: China, Middle East, South Asia, India, Pakistan

Topic(s): India, Pakistan, South Asia

Saudi Arabia: Facing Unprecedented Choices for Survival

Oil prices are plummeting -- and Saudi Arabia could devolve into chaos as a result.

Publication Date: Jan 25, 2016

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Ryan Rappa

Region/Country: Middle East

Topic(s): Resource Scarcity

Seven Big Crisis Management Questions for a Disorderly World in 2016

International conflict management is not necessarily a rewarding occupation for people who have neat and orderly minds. Well-made plans tend to fall apart in fast-moving crises. As I noted in a chapter in a book on the Security Council published earlier this year, the recent history of United Nations peace operations is basically a story of “one damn thing after another.” U.N.

Publication Date: Dec 28, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Richard Gowan

Region/Country: Europe, Middle East, Libya, United States, Sub-Saharan Africa

Program(s): Prevention and Peacebuilding

Topic(s): Global Governance, International Security, United Nations

Avoiding a cop out in Paris

Three of the most exciting initiatives have emerged on the sidelines of the official deliberations, and Indians have played a prominent role in all of them

Publication Date: Dec 07, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): WPS Sidhu

Region/Country: Europe, Middle East, South Asia, India

Topic(s): Crises, Transnational Threats

The new wave of global terrorism

The recent series of dastardly and heinous attacks in places as dispersed as Baghdad, Beirut, Bamako, Kabul and Paris by myriad terrorist outfits ranging from the Taliban to Islamic State and al-Qaeda hold several important lessons for international efforts to counter terrorism.

Publication Date: Nov 23, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): WPS Sidhu

Region/Country: Europe, Middle East, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa

Topic(s): Crises, International Security, Transnational Threats

The Mediterranean crisis and the UN

Last week had no shortage of shocking images to illustrate our collective paralysis in the face of the Mediterranean refugee crisis. A three year old boy dead on a beach, waves lapping around his shoes. Thousands of forcibly displaced people marching through the heart of Europe watched by silent onlookers. Borders going back up in Schengen under the guise of traffic control and migrant searches.

Publication Date: Sep 08, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Sarah Cliffe

Region/Country: Europe, Middle East, Syria

Topic(s): Fragile States, Humanitarian Crises, International Security, United Nations

Program(s): Prevention and Peacebuilding

Iran Talks, Greece Crisis Open Make-or-Break Week for West

Welcome to what could turn out to be the most important, and potentially the most destructive, week in international diplomacy since the end of the Cold War.

Read the full World Politics Review article Iran Talks, Greece Crisis Open Make-or-Break Week for West

Publication Date: Jun 29, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Richard Gowan

Region/Country: Europe, Middle East

Program(s): Prevention and Peacebuilding

Syria’s refugees: a global responsibility

Unless the Syrian refugee emergency is treated as a truly global responsibility, we can't expect hard-pressed countries to maintain the generosity they have demonstrated since the crisis erupted.

Read the full Open Democracy article Syria’s refugees: a global responsibility

Publication Date: Jun 29, 2015

Author(s) / Contributor(s): Richard Gowan

Region/Country: Middle East, Syria

Program(s): Prevention and Peacebuilding

Topic(s): Crises, Fragile States