Analysis

Dr. Shehab Al-Makahleh By any conventional standard, the road that led the United States into war with Iran was anything but strategic. It was opaque, erratic, and at times deeply contradictory. Public statements by Donald Trump oscillated between confidence and confusion, leaving allies, adversaries, and even his own …

Until this month, Democrats have been focused and unified in their messaging about the economy. However, U. S. President Donald Trump’s recent threats against Iran and controversial self-portrayals on social media, including attacks on the pope, have shifted the dynamics. Approximately 40% of House Democrats, totaling 84, have …

Filippo Buffa Every few years, the same obituary is written again. America is finished, we are told. It has lost its nerve, exhausted itself in the Middle East, divided itself at home, and opened the door to a Chinese century. It is a powerful story, and like many …

Two of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main rivals, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, announced they will unite in the upcoming election to challenge his coalition government, mainly focusing on domestic issues like military conscription for the ultra-Orthodox. On broader issues such as Iran, Gaza, and Lebanon, their …

The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll paints a stark picture: the approval rating of Donald Trump has fallen to 34%, the lowest point of his current term. What began in January 2025 with a relatively solid 47% approval has eroded steadily, revealing not just political volatility, but a deeper crisis …

Hasnat Iqbal Diplomacy today is not solely conducted behind closed doors at summits or in the formalities of state visits. Abstract The emergence of digital technologies has reshaped how the states engage, exert influence and project voice internationally. Digital public diplomacy and nation branding have therefore emerged within …

In the quiet coastal waters of the Taiwan Strait last week, a Japanese destroyer, the JS Ikazuchi, performed a maneuver that was less about navigation and more about necro-politics. For fourteen grueling hours, the vessel lingered in the sensitive waterway, timed precisely to coincide with the anniversary of …

There is something telling about a smile in Washington. Not the ceremonial kind that accompanies routine diplomacy, but the carefully staged image of acceptance—the kind that signals a transaction already agreed upon behind closed doors. Reports of meetings between associates of Ahmed al-Sharaa and members of the United States Congress suggest more …

Hadi Elis For much of the past two decades, Turkish politics has been structured around internal antagonisms. The governing project of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan relied on mobilising domestic fault lines—most notably tensions with Kurdish movements and the secularist establishment—to consolidate power and reconfigure the republic’s ideological orientation. Today, however, that …