The Middle East’s new battle lines

while Saudi Arabia and Israel view Iran as an existential threat that they must confront, Ankara sees Tehran as a regional rival and neighbor with which it should compete and, at times, cooperate

On former battlefield, Kuwaiti investor plans date palm groves, ostrich and deer reserve

We hope to have 100,000 (trees) in the next five to six years

What Democracies Can Learn From Malaysia

Sometimes the real promise of the system is simply the power to remove leaders.

Why Orwell’s 1984 could be about Now

Audiences around the world are re-reading George Orwells 1984, which is a handbook for difficult times

The Exceptionalism of American Higher Education

American universities and colleges emerged as dominant players in the global ecology of higher education, a dominance that continues to this day

Legal protection of the right to a society free of corruption

Study in light of international conventions

Preventing an AI Apocalypse

The view that AI-driven machines will outsmart humanity, take over the world, and kill us all

The Man Who Could Shape Iraq's Future

Moqtada al-Sadr, who once led part of the insurgency against U.S. troops in Iraq, may pick the next prime minister.

Saudi defense spending soars, but not to America's benefit

How to Become an Elastic Thinker and Problem Solver

Why your mind should be like a rubber band.

Managing the Risks of a Rising Dollar

Some may view the US dollar’s appreciation as consistent with a longer-term rebalancing of the global economy. But, as Argentina’s recent request for IMF financing starkly demonstrates

Annabaa 2nd. Annual conf. on legislative reform

Legislative Reform the Way for Sound Government and Combating Corruption

Incidents of Anti-Shiism in April, 2018

With 673 incidents of anti-Shiism during the month of April, Shia repression is on the rise. The reduction in February and March from January’s equivalent 673 incidents was too good to be true, as this month concluded with 128 deaths, 180 injuries, 236 ar

How Iran Will Respond to New Sanctions

Even before US President Donald Trump began threatening to re-impose sanctions on Iran, foreign investors looking to do business there were wary. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani failed to get his pro-market agenda off the ground

How Press Freedom Is Won

On World Press Freedom Day, attention will naturally turn to the myriad ways that journalism, a key component of any well-functioning democracy, is under attack.

Why Democracy Doesn’t Deliver

Endless elections, unqualified leaders, uninformed voters, and short-term thinking are impeding economic growth.

Iran Nuclear Deal: What Merkel Fears Might Happen if Trump Walks Away

Trump decision to revisit the deal and to pressure the allies to help fix it

Trump and Macron See the World Very Differently

That has big implications for everyone else.

Yemen wedding party bombed by Saudi coalition, killing at least 20

Witnesses say dozens more injured, and many others possibly killed, in attack on Hajja, northwest Yemen

Mullahs rig the price of moolah in Iran

Iran looks ascendant in the Middle East, but its regime is messing up its own economy

Automation and American Leadership

In an era of rapid technological change, it is widely assumed that disruptions to labor markets are inevitable

What is sustainable finance?

Environmental, social and governance issues are now a major factor in investment

How Syria Came to This

A story of ethnic and sectarian conflict, international connivance, and above all civilian suffering

Facebook and the Future of Online Privacy

The EU has taken the lead in responding to abuse by the likes of Facebook, thanks to its new privacy standards and proposed greater taxation of peddlers of online personal data

Saudi Arabia wants to dump nuclear waste on the Qatari border to make its archenemy an island

The two nations have been locked in a crisis since the imposition of a Saudi led diplomatic blockade on Qatar

Crime and No Punishment for the Iraq War

It is unlikely that former US President George W. Bush or any member of his administration will ever stand trial for initiating a war of aggression in Iraq

A Saudi Silicon Valley? No easy feat, experts say

In a country where dissenting social media users are jailed and bloggers are flogged, creating Silicon Valley-like environment may be difficult

Trump Can’t Afford to Forget About Iraq

Having won the war, will the United States end up yet again squandering the peace?