Saudi Arabia and Israel put a high US price tag on diplomatic relations
Like Israel, Saudi Arabia wants a formalised security agreement, even if that accord may not target Iran as explicitly as Israel’s request does.
21 August 2023, 03:00 AM
21 August 2023, 03:00 AM
Playing games in Nato, Turkey eyes its role in a new world order
Nato’s spat over Turkish opposition to Swedish and Finnish membership is about more than expanding the North Atlantic military alliance.
28 May 2022, 18:00 PM
28 May 2022, 18:00 PM
S Arabia targets a more Republican Washington
Rather than push for an immediate improvement of strained relations with the United States, Saudi Arabia appears to be looking forward to a
24 April 2022, 18:00 PM
24 April 2022, 18:00 PM
Russian societal tensions are mirrored in Putin’s Orthodox church
The Russian Orthodox Church blesses rather than fire weapons. In doing so, it has emerged as a powerful weapon in its own right in President Vladimir Putin’s civilisationalist arsenal.
8 March 2022, 18:00 PM
8 March 2022, 18:00 PM
Saudi, Emirati religious moderation yet to inspire others
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have drawn praise for social reforms that have domestically reduced the role of religion in public life.
12 January 2022, 18:00 PM
12 January 2022, 18:00 PM
Christmas finally arrives in Saudi Arabia
Long banned, Christmas has finally—at least tacitly—arrived in Saudi Arabia; just don’t use the name in marketing or be ostentatious about your tree.
28 December 2021, 18:00 PM
28 December 2021, 18:00 PM
A new world: The Middle East tries cooperation alongside competition
Just in case there were any doubts, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu demonstrated with his visit to Lebanon last week that improved relations between Middle-Eastern rivals would not bury hatchets.
23 November 2021, 18:00 PM
23 November 2021, 18:00 PM
Reducing Middle East tensions can lessen sectarianism and open doors for women
Two separate developments involving improved relations between Sunni and Shia Muslims and women’s sporting rights demonstrate major shifts in how rivalry for the leadership of the Muslim world and competition to define Islam in the 21st century are playing out in a world where the Middle Eastern states can no longer depend on the United States coming to their defence.
11 October 2021, 18:00 PM
11 October 2021, 18:00 PM
Gulf crisis set to escalate
The Gulf crisis that pits Saudi Arabia and the UAE against Qatar is set to escalate with Doha certain to ignore Monday's deadline that it complies...
2 July 2017, 18:00 PM
The Gulf crisis: Grappling for a face-saving solution
A two-week old conflict in the Gulf goes to the core of key issues in international relations that hamper the fight against political violence and govern diplomatic relations: the absence of an agreed definition of terrorism that allows autocrats to abuse efforts to counter extremism by repressing non-violent critics and the ability of small states to chart their own course and punch above their weight.
20 June 2017, 18:00 PM
The longer the Gulf crisis lasts, the higher the stakes get
Saudi Arabia and the UAE appear to be contemplating and engineering some drastic action in Qatar with the stakes in the Gulf crisis so high that a negotiated solution may prove difficult, if not impossible.
14 June 2017, 18:00 PM