The Ghost in the Machine
It was almost inevitable that Iran would announce its withdrawal from the new inspection arrangement on Thursday. The decision came just hours after the Interna...
Category: Middle East
Our Middle East North Africa desk (MENA) covers the region of the Mediterranean from Morocco up to and including Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Dirty Air: Sportswashing in Formula 1
“It’s lights out and away we go!” With those words, the crowd went wild as the twenty Formula 1 drivers began the first of their 57 laps around the Bahrain Inte...
The Illegality of Law: Iran’s 2025 ‘Untrue Content’ Law under Articles 19 and 17 of the ICCPR
After the Arab Spring, digital power and censorship in the Middle East surged to the forefront of the global political agenda. Once anticipated as tools of libe...
Sectarianism over Reform: Why Iraqi Elections Will Struggle to Enact Change
On November 11th, Iraqi citizens will elect a new Council of Representatives, the 329-seat unicameral legislature of Iraq, with every seat up for election. Fewe...
Media Diplomacy: How Public Communication Shapes Modern Conflict
In a Kyiv bomb shelter, a wartime president addresses his people via a smartphone. In London, thousands march with foreign flags, chanting in solidarity with a ...
Behind Closed Doors: How the Law, Economy, and Global Neglect Trap Migrant Women Workers in the Gulf
The millions of migrant women who serve as domestic workers in the Persian Gulf are an invisible backbone of the region’s prosperity. They cook, clean, and care...
#OpISIS: Hacktivism and the New Era of Counterterrorism
The year is 2015. Following the November Paris Attacks—in which 129 individuals were killed by ISIS, and even more were left wounded—online “hacktivist” group A...
PMFs as Ineffective, Unethical Counterinsurgents: The Case of Blackwater in Iraq
Introduction Private Military Firms (PMFs) are an emerging branch of actors in postmodern military conflict. While the use of ‘mercenaries’ goes back cent...
The Palestine Authority at a Political Crossroads
On January 21st, 2025, Israel Defense Forces launched a major military raid on Jenin in the occupied West Bank entitled “Operation Iron Wall”. The Israeli milit...
A New Order? The Changing Balance of Power in the Middle East Pt. III
Part 3: Saudi Arabia’s Ascendancy: Balancing Power, Partnerships, and Global Influence Saudi Arabia is emerging as one of the most consequential actors in the M...