Showing results for "Shoura Council"

Time to update missile defense systems

  • The increased capabilities of non-state actors are of growing concern to conventional military forces. Given the Middle East’s own particular security complex, the changing nature of conflict is bringing long-standing military equipment under scrutiny. The Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept...
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The unrestrained power of Silicon Valley

  • As Mark Zuckerberg continues his “listening tour” to meet with leaders and constituents across the US, there is increasing speculation that he may have the presidency in his sights. The multibillionaire founder of Facebook represents the increasing power of Silicon Valley over the global economy....
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The UK and the Gulf

  • When the UK’s chief political agent for the Gulf informed Bahrain’s hakim of the impending British withdrawal, his response was reportedly: “Why, who asked you to leave?” Such was the legacy of cooperation between London and the region that the speedy departure of British forces was a political...
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The real cost of lockdown

  • The IMF has estimated the cost to the global economy of the pandemic to have been $28 trillion this year, while successive lockdowns are thought to have reduced economic activity in concerned economies by up to 33 percent. The effects of the pandemic on business and trade, though unprecedente...
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The Ottoman collapse and the modern Middle East

  • It is the business of the counterfactual historian to yearn for the former Ottoman Empire when reflecting on the recent incessant regional instability. However, the fact that the empire was in free fall from 1798 onward makes a mockery of this view. Nevertheless, from Libya to Yemen, and Syria ...
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Russia’s pragmatic plans for the Middle East

  • Last December, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the Hmeimim air base in Syria and triumphantly announced mission accomplished for Russian forces combatting Daesh. During the accompanying photo opportunity, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu ushered Syrian President...
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Russian economy haunts Putin

  • Vladimir Putin’s electoral appeal has always been the guarantee of stability. This resonated with the masses following the post-Soviet upheaval, but this March the President faces a different challenge. With real wages in their third year of decline, Russians seek socio-economic change. The fast...
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Mugabe could have resigned an African icon

  • “Iwe nene tine basa” (“you and I have work to do”) was the independence slogan the nonagenarian former president of Zimbabwe called out amid last weekend’s silent coup. In many respects, the old cry was indicative of the chasm that had developed between president and people: On one side a...
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London’s role in preserving Middle Eastern art

  • Twice a year, once in October and once in April, those interested in Islamic antiquities converge in London to take part in Islamic Art Week. During the week, a series of events, lectures and high-profile auctions characterize London’s central role in the market of Middle Eastern art. The choice...
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Cyber attacks are a symptom of Western weakness

  • With an economy the size of Italy’s and some very serious economic problems, Moscow’s hard power has seen better days. But repeated attacks by state-sponsored online combatants are having a more profound impact on the stability of Western democracies than any Cold War-era politburo did....
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