First off, Russia has assumed the key role of setting the region’s agenda, and it’s Moscow, no other country, that’s affecting the most tangible change in the Middle East region. This development didn’t come out of nowhere, as despite the surprised reaction of many observers, Russia had been …

Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya After shooting down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M tactical bomber jet operating in Syrian airspace, in early December 2015 the Turkish government sent a heavily armed battalion to the Zilkan military base in Iraq. This move ignited tensions between Ankara and the Iraqi federal government, which …

n a recent article in the National Interest, Paul Pillar addresses Iran’s ballistic missile program under the title: “Get Over It: Iran will have Missiles.” In other words, he suggests that we resign ourselves to what he regards as Iran’s legitimate ballistic missile program, which he argues is …

The contrast is striking. The United States, especially during this political season, talks to itself about the hard choice between sustaining its global footprint and “nation building at home.” China’s leadership, meanwhile, has launched ambitious programs in both areas, enlarging its global footprint and re-orientating the emphasis of …

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties (NYT) with Iran in the regional fallout triggered by the Saudi execution of Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric. Nimr was one of forty-seven prisoners executed (BBC) across the country on Saturday. The severing of ties comes after protesters stormed the …

Rule number one if you are trying to win a debate: never admit your own thesis is a “fantasy.” And yet, this is the grim position that John Glaser finds himself in, stating that “there is something fantastical about my policy preferences.” Fictional foreign policy ‘fantasy’s’ like Glaser’s, …

Kemal Kirkuki’s headquarters overlooks a pastoral scene northwest of Kirkuk. Decked out in traditional Kurdish clothes he had just finished a meeting. An orderly brought tea. Across one wall of his office is a giant map of the current area of operations for his peshmerga units. The peshmerga …

Saudi Arabia announced Sunday it would cut diplomatic ties with Iran. According to the Al Arabiya news channel, Riyadh announced cutting ties with Tehran and decided to evict Iranian diplomatic mission from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said at a news conference that Iran’s diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia had been given 48 …

The political space for nonviolent, Islam-inflected politics has become narrower and more treacherous in the last year. Squeezed by repression on one side and radical violence on the other, nonviolent political Islamists were increasingly silenced or eliminated in 2015. Moderate parties were sidelines in Egypt, Algeria, Jordan and …