Americas

By Dan Steinbock  Following October 7, 2023, the Hamas-led offensive has been portrayed as “Israel’s 9/11,” which came out of the blue. That’s not supported by facts. The Netanyahu cabinet knew about the attack, in advance. In his fiery speech to the UN General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister …

Neither courting Washington, diversifying security partnerships nor maintaining discreet channels with Tehran can fully shield the Gulf from the consequences of war. As the conflict with Iran continues, the six Gulf Cooperation Council states—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—find themselves facing an increasingly …

At first glance, Israel’s current political scene may look like the familiar turbulence that precedes a Knesset election. As voting day approaches on October 27, political rhetoric intensifies, parties sharpen their attacks, and campaigns increasingly appeal to some of the most sensitive instincts among voters. Fear, security, national …

Dr. Shehab Al-Makahleh The U.S.–Iran confrontation has entered a phase in which military power alone is no longer sufficient to determine the course—or the end—of the war. After months of strikes, economic pressure, and disruption to shipping in the Gulf, the conflict is increasingly revolving around a different …

By James Eliott When Jordan’s King Abdullah II takes the podium at the United Nations General Assembly, his address is rarely a routine exercise in diplomatic positioning. It is better understood as an attempt to reorder the international conversation around the Middle East—to move the debate beyond the …

By Dr. Shehab Al Makahleh The most consequential question surrounding Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington is not whether Donald Trump and Xi can announce another trade arrangement. It is whether the two leaders can prevent two separate geopolitical crises—one unfolding in the Middle East and the …

In the corridors of the United Nations General Assembly, a quiet but consequential shift is underway in how Washington approaches one of the Middle East’s most intractable security dilemmas: the disarmament of Iraq’s armed factions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on …

By Dr. Shehab Al Makahleh There was something unusually revealing about King Abdullah II’s address to the United Nations General Assembly this week. At a time when the international system is being overwhelmed by wars, competing crises, strategic rivalries, and an ever-shortening public attention span, the Jordanian monarch …

Stefan Lehne Radical-right parties are expected to do well in upcoming elections in four of the EU’s biggest member states. If successful, they could prevent the union from addressing key challenges ahead. The fragmentation of Europe’s political scene and the rise of the radical right have changed the EU’s governance in significant ways. So far, the …