Geopolitics

SCOTT CAMPBELL IRAN is to get access to billions of pounds in frozen assets after trade sanctions imposed by the EU and US were lifted on Saturday. The country emerged from years of economic isolation when world powers halted the restrictions in return for Tehran curbing its nuclear …

The mass sexual assaults and robberies during New Year celebrations in Cologne dramatically affected the way the United States views Angela Merkel and Germany, journalist Gero Schliess wrote for Deutsche Welle.  “In the last few years, many in the Unites States have looked across the Atlantic with admiration and respect,” DW’s …

REBECCA PERRING THE European Union faces being destroyed under the growing threat of terrorism, which has sparked the influx of migrants into Europe, the European Parliament’s President has warned. Martin Schulz, the German president of the European Parliament, fears the 28-member bloc will crumble under the to political …

The Chinese government has published its first Arab Policy Paper, which calls for greater political, economic and security cooperation with the region that is Beijing’s main supplier of petroleum and seventh largest trading partner.  The document, released ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first visit to Egypt, paints cooperation in broad …

It is assumed in many European capitals that Moscow is more focused on the outcome of the proposed transitional process in Syria than it is on the future of Assad. This sounds logical. Mr. Putin said several times that what is important is to prevent the collapse of …

Another additional flare in the Middle East crisis is evolving rapidly-the escalation between Saudi Arabia and Iran after the execution of a Shia cleric and 46 other Al Qaeda terrorists. The crisis which followed the executions is but the last reminder that the general regional crisis is indeed …

2016, bound to be a crisis year, is Barack Obama’s last year in office. It is also the year that will shape the security strategy for the next president. The civil war in Syria and the terrorist threat from the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq will test …

Olivier Decottignies and Soner Cagaptay Having a permanent military foothold in the Gulf will put Turkey in an elite group of powers, but more presence also means more exposure, whether to Saudi-Iranian tensions or other local crises. In December, Ankara announced that it will establish a new military …

David Schenker, Sarah Feuer, Vish Sakthivel, and John P. Entelis This series of articles sheds light on regional actors outside the tired authoritarian-versus-Islamist narrative and provides suggestions for how best to cultivate and preserve this limited resource during this critical time of transition. Concern about the political direction …