Tanks, but No Tanks
“If they don’t pay,” President Donald Trump warned of NATO allies, “I’m not going to defend them.” Currently, his official position is that the United States would reconsider its defense commitments i...
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In Kuwait, 24-year-old Fatima mourns the loss of her university education. Despite earning a 96 percent on her high school exams, a score that would normally guarantee a medical career, her status as...
From Dubai to Space: The Strategy Behind the UAE’s Tech Modernization Efforts
On July 19, 2020, the United Arab Emirates Space Association (UAESA) launched a rocket named Hope into space in celebration of the country’s 50th anniversary. Hope went into orbit around Mars to trans...
This is no Hunger Games: How Famine Can Bring Israelis and Gazans Together
Gazans have turned to the mallow weed called khubeza for sustenance amidst the precarious and pervasive hunger of the Israel-Hamas war, just as Israelis relied on khubeza during the siege of Jerusalem...
Spotlight
A New Line in the Sand
Saudi Arabia’s new megacity has more to do with geopolitical maneuvering than reducing excess.
The Key to Jerusalem is Jerusalem
The basis of a confederation solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict would be the right for Israelis and Palestinians to live in the other state as permanent residents, which has been the status for...
The Greatest Rivalry in Sports: How Extreme Soccer Fans Combat the State
Ultra soccer fans have become deeply influential due to their unpredictable violence, which can be harnessed against the state when ultras face existential political threats to their survival.
Justice versus Neutrality: The Politicization of Humanitarian Aid in the Middle East
Whether issued directly by governments or NGOs, Western humanitarian aid to the Middle East has been unable to uphold the standards of neutrality which have long been framed as central to its effectiv...
Subtweets of Iron: Israeli Hasbara During the War on Gaza
Israeli information warfare following October 7 has contributed to further dehumanization and violence against Palestinians and their supporters in the West.
Sportswashing: The Struggle for Ethical Ownership
English Premier League soccer club Newcastle United was once a titan in English soccer, especially in the 1990s. However, it also experienced a long period of bad performances, which ultimately saw it...
GCC-China Crude Ties: Xi Jinping’s Not-So-Secret Weapon to Assert Influence
In the shadow of the Iran-Saudi pact brokered by China, Bruna da Silva Melo examines how petroleum is at the heart of Beijing’s rising influence in the Gulf—and its looming consequences on U.S. curren...
China’s New Middle East
What Saudi-Iranian detente means for great power competition
Middle East Archive
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A Spreading STIgma
In an anonymous statement to the United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), an Egyptian woman described in painful detail her family’s reaction to her contracting HIV: They ostracized her, bea...
Game Changer: How Sports are Part of Saudi Arabia’s Bigger Plan
Saudi Arabia has made an aggressive move into the sports world. If it pays off, the country stands to gain a great deal of power.
Soccer Offers a Shot at a Bigger Goal
Expanding opportunities for women’s soccer in the Middle East can serve as a powerful tool to improve women’s rights in the region.
How Israel’s Ultranationalist Religious Far-Right Benefited from the Country’s Divide
Israel’s radical, religious right can be traced back to increasing polarization and will likely lead to drastic political, legal, and social changes.
Iran is at a tipping point, but it’s about much more than modesty laws
In the wake of Masha Amini’s death, Iran has seen persistent nationwide protests. These demonstrations are motivated by much more than police violence. Economic instability and political frustration c...
The Line: Ushering in the Future or a Smokescreen for Repression?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has unveiled a futuristic, climate-friendly city called The Line as the centerpiece of Saudi Arabia’s modernization agenda, but the flashy proposal may simply be a way...
