The emergence of Al-Qaeda as a global terrorist organization carrying out devastating strikes across the USA, Europe, Middle East and Africa shed a spotlight on terrorism, and by extension on radicalism. The attention has intensified with the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), its atrocities and the regional surge in Read More >
Lebanon
The particular role of religion in Islamic State
Religion, specifically Islam, is central to the identity of Islamic State (IS). It was on the basis of religious doctrine that IS separated from Al Qaeda. It is on the basis of his belonging to the same tribe as the Prophet Muhammed that Al-Baghdadi has legitimised his claims of leadership of the Muslim ummah. Moreover Read More >
The American Tradition of Orderly Political Transition
In the early morning hours of Wednesday, November 9, Donald J. Trump crossed the necessary threshold of 270 electoral votes and became the President-elect of the United States of America. At noon on Friday, 20 January 2017, Mr. Trump will take the oath administered by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on the west Read More >
The Islamic State’s Problem With Women
ZURICH – It is telling that women feature heavily in the Islamic State’s rise and fall. While ISIS’s craven massacre of Yazidi women in Iraq and Syria helped put it on the map, its gradual downfall is coming partly at the hands of Kurdish women fighting against it on the front lines. It is easy Read More >
Iran-Asia Energy Partnership
Few countries in the world can match Iran’s geo-economic and geo-political significance in the global energy markets. The country holds the world’s largest proven natural gas reserve (18.2 percent) and fourth oil reserves (9.3 percent). It is a founding member of both the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum Read More >
China is Diving into the Gulf, But For How Long?
It’s getting harder for Beijing to sell the story of non-interference in affairs of sovereign states.Like most other major global powers that have preceded it, China is becoming entangled in the Middle East. A friendlier region to its interests than its own neighborhood in East Asia, China found in the Middle East an attractive zone Read More >
Countering Violent Extremism In The MENA Region
According to the Soufan Group’s latest report, between 27,000 and 31,000 foreign fighters (FFs) had travelled to Syria and Iraq as of December 2015. More than half (16,000) come from the MENA region. Five years after the Arab uprisings, these figures contrast with the commitments made by the governments in the region to establish a Read More >
Islamic State and the Coming Global Confrontation – Book Review
This book analyzes the origins and organizational structure of Islamic State (IS), examining its military triumphs and success in securing new recruits via social media. From its base in Iraq and Syria, IS has spread globally with 17 regional affiliates from Indonesia to Nigeria and sleeper cells in at least 60 countries, capable of atrocities Read More >
Inside The Hearts and Minds of Arab Youth
The 8th Annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey 2016 was conducted by international polling firm PSB to explore attitudes among Arab youth in 16 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. PSB conducted 3,500 face-to-face interviews from January 11 to February 22, 2016 with Arab men and women in the age group of 18 Read More >