Geopolitics

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 …

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 …

Peter Harris Many analysts believe that the international system is sliding towards multipolarity, a world in which no single great power is in a position to dominate its peers. But among those who subscribe to this view, there is some debate over just how the coming multipolar order …

Philosopher John McMurtry was asked to “co-operate with Ayatollah Khamenei in the Supreme Leader’s letter to the Youth in Europe and North America”.  The questions posed by  a designated US enemy opened a new world standpoint on the US-led world disorder and the taboo depths of  shared crises as …

Zalmay Khalilzad If history is any indication, even the most promising news from Iraq must be celebrated with caution. But the liberation of the heart of Ramadi, if consolidated, can offer lessons for long-term strategic successes in Iraq and for broader campaign against ISIS. While the outcome in …

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing an unnamed source close to the Obama administration, that Washington was preparing fresh sanctions against firms and individuals in Iran, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates over alleged links to Iran’s nuclear program. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has ordered the …

Iraqi commandos and U.S. airstrikes drove the terror army from much of the city. But that war plan could backfire the next time around. Pentagon officials hailed the U.S.-trained Iraqi army this week for retaking much of the western Iraq city of Ramadi from the self-proclaimed Islamic State. …