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Turmoil in Eastern Saudi Arabia
The January 2 execution of Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, a popular Shi’ite cleric from Awamiya in eastern Saudi Arabia, set off angry protests worldwide. From Michigan to London, and from Bahrain to...
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The Asymmetry of Asymmetry in the Saudi-Iranian Rivalry
As the power contest between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran intensifies, an important factor is Iran’s advantage in the area of asymmetric warfare, particularly with...
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Hadi Should Look Southward for Legitimacy—Not North
In March 2015, Yemeni President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi was forced to flee the southern city of Aden as Houthi rebels descended on his presidential palace. Since then, he and his government have touted...
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The Gulf Arab States Versus Hezbollah
In recent weeks, Lebanon has become a brighter flashpoint in the intensifying geopolitical rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Since the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and subsequently the League...
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The Potential Impact of Iranian Politics on Future Iran-GCC Relations
The results of Iran’s February 26, 2016, parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections could prove to be an important turning point in the history of the Islamic Republic. Coming on the heels of the...
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Can Saudi Arabia’s Aid Policy Pay Off?
In November 2015, Saudi Arabia pledged over $2 billion of aid to Sudan for its support to Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen and, more recently, the kingdom suspended over $3 billion of military aid to...
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Saudi Arabia’s Delusion
Saudi Arabia is banking on using the low oil price environment to advance major economic reforms. At Davos earlier this year, Khalid al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s then-health minister and now oil minister,...
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Bahrain and ASEAN’s Maturing Partnership
Throughout the twenty-first century, the inroads made by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries into Southeast Asia have come under increasing scrutiny. Bahrain – unlike the other GCC members –...
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Commercial and Financial Risks of the Value Added Tax
In an effort to mitigate budgetary shortfalls due to plummeting oil prices, members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plan to implement the new Value Added Tax (VAT) on January 1, 2018 (and to...
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Can Saudi Arabia Count on Pakistan’s Support for Sunni Alliance against...
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s announcement last December of a Riyadh-led Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT) received a positive response from Western policymakers....
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Real Interest Rates, Oil, and Inflation: Implications for Saudi Arabia and...
The recent decision by the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, to support monetary policies that effectively deliver negative real rates of return on U.K. gilts, coupled with Janet Yellen’s...
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The Struggle for a Democratic Bahrain
On February 1, 2015, the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom of Bahrain made a brief interlude onto the world stage after the launch of a new Arab television news station appeared to have failed before it even...
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Saudi Arabia has Unrealistic Goals in Yemen
On March 26, 2015, a Saudi Arabian-led military coalition — composed of ten Sunni Muslim states, including all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members except Oman — launched “Operation Decisive Storm”...
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Pakistan’s ‘Ambivalence’ in Yemen
Aitzaz Ahsan, a prominent member of Pakistan’s opposition, once famously wrote, “We [Pakistan] are, and very much remain, a South Asian Muslim country: sharing aspirations and history with India – due...
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Iran’s Low Cost Gambit in Yemen
Similar to the ongoing crises in Iraq and Syria, the conflict in Yemen has effectively devolved into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Although the theater in Syria is complicated and...
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Saudi Executions: Rhetoric Versus Reality
Since 2011, when the Arab Spring erupted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the ruling family has faced a host of challenges to its legitimacy. Some of this opposition has manifested in the form of...
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The Saudi-Led Sunni Alliance: A Dangerous Stunt?
Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), the kingdom’s Defense Minister, held a rare late-night press conference on December 15, 2015, for Saudi journalists only. He announced the...
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Worsening Crisis in Saudi-Iranian Relations Further Destabilizes the Middle East
The escalating crisis in Saudi Arabian-Iranian relations is going to impact many countries in numerous ways. For years Saudi Arabia and Iran’s geopolitical rivalry has fuelled bloodshed in many...
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The Struggle for a Democratic Bahrain
On February 1, 2015, the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom of Bahrain made a brief interlude onto the world stage after the launch of a new Arab television news station appeared to have failed before it even...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Saudi Arabia has Unrealistic Goals in Yemen
On March 26, 2015, a Saudi Arabian-led military coalition — composed of ten Sunni Muslim states, including all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members except Oman — launched “Operation Decisive Storm”...
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