NESA Professor David DesRoches discusses the basics of the Patriot and THAAD missile defense systems and explains why some systems are not effective against cruise missiles and drones. The video also covers technological advancements to the Iranian missile arsenal and explains why Saudi forces are the most effective at interception. The views presented in this Read More >
Saudi Arabia
How does Coronavirus Affect Stability in the Middle East?
Sam Marrero, NESA Center The validity of coronavirus data coming out of Middle Eastern countries may be uncertain, but most Middle Eastern countries – save Iran and Turkey – appear to avoiding a catastrophe of causalities. Take for example, Egypt, an under-resourced country of almost 100 million, which as of May 8th 2020 reported a Read More >
The Global Collapse of Oil Prices – What Lies Ahead?
NESA Professor Dr. Gawdat Bahgat writes about the plummeting price of oil which, on April 20th, fell into negative territory for the first time in history. Sellers paid customers to take unwanted oil, highlighting the industry’s disarray and raising several important questions: why this extreme volatility? How will the United States respond as the world’s largest Read More >
Impact of the Coronavirus on Arab Gulf States
بالعربية Pусский Dave DesRoches, NESA Center The novel coronavirus is a traumatic event for the Arab states of the Gulf, surpassing even the security challenges posed by the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the events following the 9/11 attacks in the United States. The Arab Gulf states are all export economies that are reliant Read More >
Geopolitics of Oil
بالعربية Pусский Dr. Gawdat Bahgat, NESA Center Last week, Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States led a multinational coalition in major oil production cuts, the largest in world’s history, after a drop in demand due to the Coronavirus crisis and a Saudi-Russian feud devastated oil prices. Twenty three countries committed to withhold collectively 9.7 Read More >
Oil Price War: It Takes Three to Tango
Dr. Gawdat Bahgat, NESA Center In the last several weeks, people all over the world have understandably been occupied by the Covid-19 outbreak. The virus has spread globally and has already infected more than a million people. In addition to worrying about their own health, people are worried about their well-being, employment status, and prospects Read More >
The Coronavirus – What Can It Teach Us?
باللغة العربية Dr. Gawdat Bahgat, NESA Center, 30 March 2020 The Coronavirus has been proven to be one of the worst catastrophic experiences the world has seen in recent times, having spread to almost every country. People from different socio-economic backgrounds, religious, ethnic and sectarian groups have been infected. It is too soon to try Read More >
Coronavirus and the Arab Gulf States: Modernization Delayed?
باللغة العربية en français David Des Roches, NESA Center, 29 March 2020 In a pandemic, there are three sources of societal damage. The first is damage from the disease; the second is damage from any panic which may accompany the disease, the third is economic damage due to the disease and the measures taken to Read More >
The Changing Security Dynamics of the Persian Gulf
The contradictory trends of the ‘post-Arab Spring’ landscape form both the backdrop to, and the focus of, this volume on the changing security dynamics of the Persian Gulf, defined as the six GCC states plus Iraq and Iran. https://bit.ly/2rIPmBY
The Arab Gulf States and the West: Perceptions and Realities – Opportunities and Perils
This book examines the changing image of the Arab Gulf States in the West. It addresses the question of perception in international relations and how the Arab States of the Gulf have pursued various endeavors to project themselves into Western imagination. https://bit.ly/2SavYNb