Category: Middle East

Empire Strikes Back: Imperialism as the Final Frontier of the United States

The United States has long been losing global power to China, as Beijing challenges Western dominance by leveraging strategic pressure points such as Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran. Imperialism becomes the final frontier of a falling hegemon, a move arising out of diplomatic insecurity, not power. As such, it can be concluded that such interventions globally sends a single message across nations, about the uncertain fate of the global order. … Continue readingEmpire Strikes Back: Imperialism as the Final Frontier of the United States

Burning books, bombing campuses: the logic of intellectual destruction

Across time and across continents, powerful states and regimes have suppressed and extracted knowledge to maintain control. Whether through the destruction of universities, the silencing of dissenting scholars, or the recruitment of talent from less resourced nations, these strategies have shaped global power structures for centuries. … Continue readingBurning books, bombing campuses: the logic of intellectual destruction

Protector or puppeteer: Israel’s weaponisation of sects and sovereignty in Syria

After 13 brutal years of war, the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December, following a flash offensive by Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), a breakaway faction of Al Qaeda, felt like a long-awaited victory for many Syrians.

The authoritarian state that had ruled through fear, censorship, and brutality had finally fallen. Relief bloomed, and along with it, hope for a new beginning, not dictated by differences but by unity. But, that moment of relief was short-lived. … Continue readingProtector or puppeteer: Israel’s weaponisation of sects and sovereignty in Syria

The Restarting of History and the Decline of the Liberal Democratic Order

In 1989, American political scientist and philosopher Francis Fukuyama wrote a now famous essay titled, ‘The End of History.’

36 years on from that monumental declaration, we find ourselves facing a world in which liberalism, the dominant global ideology, faces fatigue. The dream of a world of western democracy seems increasingly challenged and the history of global development seems far from settled. … Continue readingThe Restarting of History and the Decline of the Liberal Democratic Order

Eurovision 2025: the crossroads of culture and conflict

Austria’s JJ may have won Eurovision 2025, but the contest’s spotlight now shines on deeper tensions. With rising criticism over Israel’s inclusion, public protests, and broadcaster defiance, the event that’s hailed as non-political, strictly neutral now finds itself at the centre of global debate. As the EBU faces pressure from contestants, financial backers and viewers, questions grow louder about the future of neutrality, fairness, and cultural diplomacy on Europe’s biggest stage. … Continue readingEurovision 2025: the crossroads of culture and conflict

Living Through History: How the Middle East is Being Reshaped in 2025

The Middle East has long been a geopolitical hotbed – a land of shifting alliances, ancient rivalries, and religious divisions, where empires have risen and fallen, leaving behind a legacy of both culture and conflict.

But in recent years, something remarkable has begun to unfold: historic changes that are quietly, yet significantly, reshaping the region and its alliances. Understanding these changes is critical, because the future of the Middle East could look very different from its past. On a grander level, this can impact the global landscape. … Continue readingLiving Through History: How the Middle East is Being Reshaped in 2025

Understanding Arab Investment In The Sporting World

The Qatar FIFA World Cup, the LIV-PGA golf merger, the UAE’s global investment in soccer, plus the vast swathes of top-level athletes heading to the Saudi Pro League are just some examples of emerging Arab investment in sport. In response to this investment there has been global criticism – ugly spats between former footballers, online abuse and public condemnation aimed at anybody implicated from athletes, and coaches to entire organisations (ie: FIFA). This criticism has contended that these states are seeking to distract the rest of the world from their poor human rights records, in a phenomenon known as sport-washing.  … Continue readingUnderstanding Arab Investment In The Sporting World

THE WORST IS YET TO COME IF WE DON’T ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY – AN UPDATE ON DISPLACEMENT CRISES AND ATTITUDES TO MIGRATION ACROSS THE WORLD

At the close of 2020,the UNHCR predicted that the number of displaced persons would, for the first time in history, reach 82.4 million people. The twenty-first century has seen many factors that have contributed to the number of peoples displaced; a global pandemic, climate change, economic crises, a surge in nationalist foreign policies, harsher border policies and domestic as well as interstate conflict. Many people have been left uprooted and unable to stay in their own homes, sometimes even their own country. … Continue readingTHE WORST IS YET TO COME IF WE DON’T ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY – AN UPDATE ON DISPLACEMENT CRISES AND ATTITUDES TO MIGRATION ACROSS THE WORLD

2021 – THE SEQUEL | WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2022

As we enter another year, it is imperative that we reflect on previous significant events in order to anticipate what the coming twelve months may bring. While much of 2021 has been overshadowed by COVID-19, the emergence of the Delta and Omicron variants, and the rollout of various vaccines, significant geopolitical rumblings have brewed and will continue to rumble well into 2022. The following issues may define the upcoming year in international affairs and even have impacts into 2023 and beyond.
… Continue reading2021 – THE SEQUEL | WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2022

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