The U.S. has a powerful set of overlapping interests with Asian partners when engaging with the Middle East. With Asian economies all looking to the Gulf as a stable and long-term supplier of oil and gas, a nexus of shared U.S.-Middle East-Asian interest is coalescing around the security of supply. Continue Reading
As the three-year old conflict in Syria continues to worsen and spread into neighboring states, international peace-making efforts have taken on added urgency as post-occupation dynamics in Iraq unravel and threaten a new regional conflagration. On January 12, the Friends… Continue Reading
Egypt today stands at a critical juncture as violence escalates between supporters of the ousted Muslim Brotherhood and the security services. Reports that former President Hosni Mubarak may soon be released from imprisonment demonstrate how the “Arab Spring” has come full circle in the Arab world’s most populous state. Just as the uprising that ousted Mubarak from power galvanized demonstrators across the region, so the reinstatement of military rule sends a clear message about the embedded power of counter-revolutionary forces to resist the pressures that swept the region in 2011. Caught in the middle are the “old guard” of powerbrokers in the United States and the European Union, unsure of how to respond even as newer actors seize the initiative to reshape regional politics. Continue Reading
In the second of a seven-part Baker Institute Viewpoints series, we evaluate the impact that a new wave of civil unrest will have on international politics.
The continuing political turmoil in Egypt brings into sharp relief the relative stability in the Persian Gulf states as they prepare to play a key role in extending financial assistance to Egypt’s new rulers. The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have survived the regional upheaval more or less intact and face a far less pessimistic situation, at least in the short term. Continue Reading
On June 24, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, ended weeks of speculation by announcing that he was to step down and pass power to his son, 33-year-old Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. Although the formal handover marks the… Continue Reading