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...
View ArticleIran’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...
View ArticleSaudi 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...
View ArticleThe 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...
View ArticleWorsening 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 corners...
View ArticleThe 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...
View ArticleCan 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...
View ArticleSaudi 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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