James M. Dorsey

·2 days ago

Gulf states test the boundaries of their agency

By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. More than three years after burying the war hatchet, erstwhile Gulf rivals are moving in separate ways as they maneuver big power…

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·May 28

Shiites, not Jews, emerge as a touchstone of Saudi moderation

By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. Saudi Arabia has removed anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli references from Islamic studies schoolbooks, according to an Israeli textbook watchdog. The watchdog, the Institute…

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·May 23

Culture wars bubble under Arab surfaces

By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. Religious conservatives and nationalists in the Muslim world and beyond have the wind in their sails. …

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·May 19

Are Muslim religious conservatism and political Islam making a comeback?

By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. Little did Elianu Hia know that a video he posted on Facebook in early 2021 would shape Indonesian policy and turn his…

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6 min read

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·May 14

Sudan tests the limits of Middle Eastern de-escalation.

By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. With Saudi-hosted talks to end Sudan fighting producing minimal results and Arab states supporting rival forces, de-escalation in the Middle East faces…

Sudan

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Sudan

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·May 11

Middle Eastern rivalries are alive and kicking despite de-escalation

By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. Middle Eastern battlegrounds are alive and kicking even though rivals seek to balance contentious relations. Take efforts by the United Arab Emirates…

7 min read

7 min read

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·May 9

Is Central Asia and the Caucasus the Indo-Pacific’s next stop?

By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, and Spreaker. America to the rescue. In a twist of irony, that may be Central Asia’s only alternative, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine…

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6 min read

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·May 4

Syrian President Al-Assad plays a strong hand in diplomatic poker.

By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Spreaker, and Podbean. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has put restoration of control of all of Syria at the core of efforts to manage multiple…

Syria

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Syria

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·Apr 30

Shaping a 21st-century world order: The nation-state vs the civilizational state

By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click here. A podcast version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Spreaker, and Podbean. US President Joe Biden positions the Ukraine war as a battle between autocracy and democracy. That reduces what is at stake…

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