Middle East

Hosein Mortada Amid the relentless wars and upheavals shaking the Middle East, a pressing question resurfaces: are today’s conflicts—particularly in Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, and Yemen—the product of isolated local struggles, or are they fragments of a broader landscape shaped by complex international calculations? In this context, Michael Brant’s …

Dr. Ju Hyung Kim For much of the post-Cold War era, defense procurement in the Middle East followed a relatively familiar pattern. The US offered advanced weapon systems and security guarantees, while European countries supplied niche capabilities, and Russia and China filled the vacuum when Western sales were …

The Trump-Netanyahu summit in Washington in the final days of 2025 was not merely a courtesy visit for the region but the announcement of a new geopolitical design. While thanking Netanyahu for the “Israel Peace Prize”he received, Trump signaled that he was preparing the region for a new …

Yemen’s civil war has escalated after a separatist movement backed by the United Arab Emirates gained ground in the south, causing rifts within the Saudi-led coalition that was formed to combat the Iran-aligned Houthi group. The conflict began in late 2014 when the Houthi movement, known as Ansar …

Iran’s policy toward Iraq since the 2003 US invasion has been shaped far more by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps than by Iran’s civilian diplomats. Under Khamenei’s rule the IRGC became the regime’s powerhouse. Mohsen Sazegara, an exiled Iranian dissident who helped found the IRGC, describes the Guard …

Joe Boueiz Lebanon’s stability and the disarmament of Hezbollah will depend on the longevity and eventual resolution of the Gaza ceasefire. In his 2010 book, Beware of Small States: Lebanon, Battleground of the Middle East, David Hirst described Lebanon as the Middle East’s “battleground,” where regional and global …

Ahmed Charai The rhetoric of international law all too often serves to buttress lawless regimes that undermine US interests. The international system is confronting a profound moral and strategic crisis. For decades, the principle of state sovereignty—originally conceived to protect nations from external domination—has been systematically distorted into …

By Hosein Mortada Israel’s announcement recognizing “Somaliland” has sparked deep regional—and wider international—concern. This is not merely because the move involves a self-declared entity lacking international recognition, but because it directly touches one of the world’s most sensitive geopolitical theaters: the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa. …

The idea of a “Global South” has returned to the forefront of strategic discourse, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. With the growing influence of BRICS, G77, ASEAN, the African Union, and CELAC, a multipolar world appears to be taking shape. Yet …