Sweeping new regulations restricting social media in Pakistan put freedom of expression and the media at the heart of the struggle to counter both civilizationalist and authoritarian aspects of an emerging new world order. The regulations, adopted without public debate, position US social media companies like Facebook and Twitter at the...
The rush to buy English football clubs is, at least in part, the latest round in the Gulf crisis. The bitter rift between Qatar and its Saudi and Emirati-led detractors could spill onto the pitches of English football. A flurry of reports suggest that the Gulf rivals are seeking to...
Today’s protesters have a leg up on their counterparts from the Arab Spring of 2011. Momentous developments across North and East Africa suggest the long-drawn-out process of political transition in the region — as well as the Middle East — is still in its infancy. So too does popular discontent...
In the Middle East, frontlines and tactics may be shifting, but US and Gulf geopolitical goals have not. Donald Trump’s threat to “devastate” the Turkish economy if Ankara attacks Syrian Kurds serves his broader goal of letting regional forces fight for common goals, like countering Iranian influence in Syria. President...
The latest arena for the Qatar crisis is over in the Palestinian Territories. Dug in for the long haul in its dispute with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Qatar is emerging as a key player in preventing tension between Israel and Hamas from spinning out of control. Doha’s...
Regional players in the Middle East are looking for the next Palestinian leader in a bid to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A possible long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is proving to be much more than an effort to end escalating violence that threatens to spark yet another war in the...
Imran Khan, the incoming prime minister, is about to find out just how complicated the job can be. Criticism over Pakistani efforts to combat money laundering and terrorism financing is likely to complicate incoming Prime Minister Imran Khan’s goal of tackling the country’s financial crisis. Addressing the comments by the...
China does not acknowledge the existence of re-education camps, but the UN says it has credible reports that 1 million Uighurs are being held. In response to international criticism, China has come closer to admitting that it has brutally cracked down on the strategic northwestern province of Xinjiang, in what...
Pakistan has a new prime minister-in-waiting, Imran Khan. Does China see him as a friend? Imran Khan’s ability to chart his own course, as well as his relationship with Pakistan’s powerful military, is likely to be tested the moment he walks into the prime minister’s office. Pakistan’s most fundamental problems...
None of what is known about the murky world of Russian hackers is conclusive, let alone produces a smoking gun. But what role does the Gulf play? The covert Qatari-Emirati cyberwar that helped spark the Qatar crisis may have just gotten murkier with the indictment of 12 Russian agents by US Special...
