Middle East

Hadi Elis Since his election as prime minister in 2002, Recep Tayyip Erdogan — now president of Turkey — has worked relentlessly to expand the role of Islam in every corner of political life. What Western observers once called a drift toward Islamic conservatism has become a systematic …

Dimitra Staikou From the glitzy announcement of Vision 2030 in 2016 to the cascade of regional crises between 2023 and 2026, Saudi Arabia has worked hard to sell itself as the Arab world’s great success story. A kingdom moving beyond oil dependence and religious conservatism to become a …

Across South Asia, concerns over press freedom, political influence, and media credibility are drawing increasing international scrutiny. From Bangladesh and Pakistan to India, journalists and independent media organisations face mounting political, economic, and legal pressures that are reshaping how information is produced and consumed. Recent international assessments point …

Sana Khan South Asia’s geopolitical landscape is increasingly shaped not only by shifting alliances, but by an intensifying struggle over narrative power who gets to define influence, leadership, and diplomatic success in the international system. India has spent the past decade projecting itself as an emerging global power, …

Dr. Mustafa Al-Tal The fear that your country’s geography might become obsolete – in the third installment of the “Engineering Fear” series, we move from the Strait of Hormuz and the streets of Amman to the Eastern Mediterranean, asking: Are corridors and legislation becoming deadlier than missiles?   …

Shehab Al-Makahleh In a region where alliances shift like desert sands and crises erupt with the force of a sudden sandstorm, the role of Jordan is too often underestimated, misunderstood, or worse—taken for granted—despite the fact that, time and again, it has proven to be the steady hand on …

Hadi Elis Turkey’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) is facing one of the most consequential crises in its modern history—one that could lead not only to internal fragmentation, but potentially to its institutional dismantling under mounting pressure from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s increasingly authoritarian system. Founded by Mustafa Kemal …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted in closed-door discussions that he is facing difficulty influencing US President Donald Trump’s position on Iran, Israeli media said Sunday. The reported development came as negotiations between Washington and Tehran appear to be moving closer toward an agreement aimed at ending the …

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday welcomed progress toward a possible agreement between the US and Iran, stressing the need for a deal that would reduce tensions and prevent further escalation in the region. “I welcome the progress towards an agreement between the US and …