Category: Middle East

Intervention vs Isolation: Paradoxical Logic in Trumpian Foreign Policy?

Predicted to be an isolationist president, Trump has since demonstrated the unpredictability of his foreign policy directions. Is Trump pivoting to a more interventionist approach from what was promised, or has he always been aiming to retain a large military presence? If so, how can we identify a pattern in this seemingly abstract picture? … Continue readingIntervention vs Isolation: Paradoxical Logic in Trumpian Foreign Policy?

“Habibi, don’t come to Dubai”: Investigating Modern Day Slavery in the UAE

From Dubai Bling to Dubai Chocolate, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has dominated entertainment media and tourism since the discovery of oil in the late 1960s, launching them as a key player in the global trade hierarchy due to soft power influences. However, the UAE’s ‘elite’ status is one upheld by modern slavery systems under the guise of cheap labour. For as tall as the buildings are, equally as long are the shadows they cast; ones of oppressiveness, human rights abuses and exploitation. … Continue reading“Habibi, don’t come to Dubai”: Investigating Modern Day Slavery in the UAE

Saving Women, Selling War: Feminist Foreign Policy as a Tool of Imperial Power

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invoked the rights of Iranian women to rally international support for military action against Tehran, it brought people a sense of deja vu. The language was familiar — the appeal to women’s dignity, the implicit promise of liberation — but so was the source: a long tradition of Western imperialism that historically used the rhetoric of saving women to legitimise war.  … Continue readingSaving Women, Selling War: Feminist Foreign Policy as a Tool of Imperial Power

The Limits of International Law: from Srebrenica to Gaza

With every major human rights violation, war, or humanitarian catastrophe, we see the invocation of international law. From Rwanda to Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Iraq and, most recently, Gaza, the language is familiar and repeats itself.
The question, then, is not whether international law exists, but whether its failure lies in inherent weakness or in its selective implementation. … Continue readingThe Limits of International Law: from Srebrenica to Gaza

The Islamic Republic of Iran and Western Empire: The 80 Year Obsession Over Oil and Regime Change

At 9:45am IRST on 28 February, Iranians starting their workday were met with US-Israeli attacks, targeting key civil and military infrastructure. A history of Western aggression, sanctions, and regime change make this chapter in Iran’s history no surprise; however, with the US-led decline of the rules-based order, and a far more concerted effort by Iran to threaten the global oil trade, it remains to be seen how the world will rear from the newest iteration of an 80 year long rivalry between Iran and Western ambitions. … Continue readingThe Islamic Republic of Iran and Western Empire: The 80 Year Obsession Over Oil and Regime Change

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