Geopolitics

Jeremy Friedman At its core, the proposed nuclear deal with Iran is a bet on the future direction of the Iranian regime. Two former Secretaries of State, Henry Kissinger and George Schultz, argued in a recent critical piece in the Wall Street Journal that the central claim of …

“Innumerable analysts have predicted that the twenty-first century will belong to China, yet it seems worth considering whether the current millennium will not belong at least equally to India.” Christopher Whalen Back in August of last year, TNI described why India’s economic prospects are brighter than those of …

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman’s bold steps to consolidate power might trigger backlash from his rivals.  New steps taken by King Salman bin Abdel Aziz al-Saud might lead to a possible political storm in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Intelligence Review IHS Jane’s 360 reported. The reason to expect political disorder within Saudi governing circles …

By SOMINI SENGUPTA Wearing pinstripes and a pince-nez, Staffan de Mistura, the United Nations envoy for Syria, arrived at the Security Council one Tuesday afternoon in February and announced that President Bashar al-Assad had agreed to halt airstrikes over Aleppo. Would the rebels, Mr. de Mistura suggested, agree …

By HUSSEIN IBISH When, at its March summit meeting, the Arab League announced that it intended to create a unified command for a joint Arab military force, eyes rolled. Given how divided the Arab states are, and how poorly most historical efforts at Arab military coordination have fared, this …

Robert Fisk It amazes me that all these warriors of the air don’t regularly crash into each other. Let me try to get this right. The Saudis are bombing Yemen because they fear the Shia Houthis are working for the Iranians. The Saudis are also bombing Isis in …

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev will come to Moscow on May 8-9, attending Victory Day celebrations in the Russian capital as part of his first foreign visit after re-election, the president’s press service announced in a Monday statement. Nazarbayev will also participate in an informal meeting of CIS leaders, as well as a …

Patrick Megahan and Oren Adaki The Saudi-led international coalition operating in Yemen announced last Tuesday it had ended the first phase of its nearly month-long campaign in the country. Though the coalition fell short of its stated goal of returning Yemen’s internationally recognized government to power, it insists that in …

VERDA ÖZER On the one hand, violence is re-erupting in Bosnia. On the other hand, Albania and Serbia seem to be at odds. And Serbia still doesn’t accept Kosovo’s independence. What is happening in the Balkans? Are we on the brink of a new war in Bosnia and …