Country: Saudi Arabia

rss-iconSubscribe to feed
A woman in a headscarf holds up a large photo of Jamal Khashoggi with the words "Justice for Jamal" during a demonstration denouncing the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in Paris, France, 25 October 2018 (image: imago/IP3press/A. Morissard)

Saudi Arabia and the Khashoggi murder

Still no justice

Far from a pariah state after the assassination of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia features ever more prominently on the world stage. How do Saudi activists keep fighting when the world is looking away? By Cathrin SchaerMore

A year to the day: The infamous murder of Jamal KhashoggiThe killing of Khashoggi: Letting Mohammed bin Salman off the hookThe Khashoggi aftermath: The inconvenient truth about Saudi ArabiaTrump, MbS and the aftermath: Did the global order die with Khashoggi?
American President Joe Biden (left) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bump fists in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 15 July 2022 (image: Bandar Al Galoud/Reuters)

Saudi-Israeli relations

US-Saudi defence pact tied to Israel deal, Palestinian demands put aside

Saudi Arabia is seeking binding assurances of US protection in the event of an attack in return for normalisation with Israel – even if Israel does not agree to make major concessions to the Palestinians. Although such a deal could reshape the Middle East, it would mean that the Palestinian demand for statehood would take a back seat once againMore

Qantara dossier: US policy in the Middle East Iran-Saudi deal: The Islamic Republic's dilemma Saudi-Iran rapprochement: A revolutionary resolution for the Middle East?
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Ryan Gosling, left, and Margot Robbie in a scene from "Barbie" (image: Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Human rights and Islamism in the Gulf

This Barbie can't go to Kuwait

The recent ban of the Barbie film is part of a growing crackdown on feminism and freedom of expression in Kuwait. Hind Al Ansari argues that instead of tightening controls, the government should focus on developing spaces for open dialogueMore

Gulf region: Women’s empowerment not all it seemsWomen's liberation in the Gulf: Arab women – fighting for their rights for 60 yearsEmancipation in the MENA region: The patriarchy is crumbling
China rolls out red carpet for Assad (image: Huang Zongzhi/Xinhua/picture alliance)

Bashar al-Assad in China

Will Xi Jinping help to end Syria's isolation?

Largely isolated since Syria's civil war began in 2011, President Bashar Assad will return home from a trip to China with a new "strategic partnership" in the works. Fu Yue reportsMore

Assad's rehabilitation: At the expense of the Syrian peopleChina, the Arabs’ preferred partner? Mr. Xi goes to RiyadhChina in the Middle East: Beijing's new charm offensive
Iraqi prime minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani (image: AFP)

Connecting the Gulf with Turkey

Iraq's Transport Corridors – no place for Kurdistan?

Excluding Kurdistan from a new infrastructure project in Iraq, designed to connect the Gulf with Turkey via road and rail, is purely political – despite the economic unfeasibility argument. Commentary by Sardar AzizMore

Iraqʹs wrangle over natural resources: The battle for Kurdish oilMiddle East oil states: Surging energy prices likely to de-rail reforms?The uncertain future of Kurdish autonomy: What next for Iraqʹs Kurds?
Three men standing behind a table holding documents (image: picture alliance/dpa/Saudi Press Agency)

Iran-Saudi deal

The Islamic Republic's dilemma

Iran's deal last spring with Saudi Arabia, brokered by China, highlighted the emergence of an unstable equilibrium in the Islamic Republic's foreign policy. Amin Naeni and Ali Fathollah-Nejad explore the inherent tensionsMore

Saudi-Iran rapprochement: A revolutionary resolution for the Middle East?Iran-China 25-year cooperation programme: The Islamic Republic's timely vaccine against U.S. pressure?China, the Arabs’ preferred partner? Mr. Xi goes to Riyadh
A prepared dish of Good Meat's cultivated chicken is shown at the Eat Just office in Alameda, Calif., Wednesday, June 14, 2023. The Agriculture Department issued final approvals Wednesday, June 21 to California firms Upside Foods and Good Meat to sell the products, known as “lab grown” or “cultivated” meat (image: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Halal Food

Financial Times: How to make lab-grown meat halal

Meat grown in a lab could be considered halal, according to advice from Islamic scholars in Saudi Arabia to a U.S. food start-up, as the industry starts to explore certification for products to fit religious dietary rules.More

Eating insects in Europe: What is kosher, what is halal?The Jewish-Muslim butcher's shop: The art of tolerant coexistenceRitual Islamic food production: "The Halal trend is unstoppable"
Demonstrators in Barcelona support those imprisoned in Morocco's Rif region for speaking out against the government (image: Paco Freire/ZUMA/picture alliance)

Transnational repression

Why a friendlier Middle East is more dangerous for activists

Authoritarian governments often harass and hinder their critics, even if those people are outside the country. As former enemies become friends in the Middle East, will they cooperate to shut down opposition voices? By Cathrin SchaerMore

Growing repression in Morocco: Creating an atmosphere of fearPolitical activism in the Gulf: The UAEʹs policy of zero toleranceRepression in Sisi's Egypt: Egyptian media workers – systematically intimidatedErdogan′s Turkey: The repression goes on
President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan walk past the honor guards during an official welcoming ceremony at Al Watan Palace in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (image: TUR Presidency/Murat Cetinmuhurdar/AA/picture alliance)

Turkey's realpolitik in the Gulf

Dropping long-held convictions to seek deeper ties

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to the Gulf states in July was his most productive so far, signing defence cooperation and other deals worth billions of dollars. But is a strategic partnership really possible while Turkey and the UAE continue to back conflicting sides in various regional crises? By Leyla EgeliMore

Turkey: Erdogan's search for partners in the Middle EastGrowing Arab dissatisfaction with the West: The Arab world tilts eastwardsNot-so-splendid isolation: Erdogan's geopolitical nightmare
In this photo taken on 3 March 2022, Ethiopian refugees are seen at a migrant camp in the Khor Maksar district in Aden, Yemen (image: Saleh Obaidi, AFP)

Saudi Arabia

Saudi border guards killed hundreds of migrants, says HRW report

“They Fired on Us Like Rain”: between March 2022 and June 2023, Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants attempting to cross the border from YemenMore

HRW report: "They Fired on Us Like Rain"Migrant workers in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon: Exploited, locked up, abandonedOmitted from the United Nations' list of shame: Yemen's dead and injured children haunt Saudi-led war
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Volodymyr Zelensky (image: picture-alliance/dpa)

Ukraine conference in Saudi Arabia

Diplomatic success for the Crown Prince

A meeting in Saudi Arabia about a war in Europe? The conference in Jeddah shows how much the world is changing. Analysis by Karim El-Gawhary from CairoMore

Iran-Saudi rapprochement: Cooperation rather than confrontation? China, the Arabs’ preferred partner? Mr. Xi goes to RiyadhChina in the Middle East: Beijing's new charm offensive
People protest in Iraq over unpaid salaries (image: Feriq Ferec/AA/picture alliance)

Arab states in crisis

In search of a miracle cure

Given the political, economic and social challenges in Arab countries, fragmented individual measures are no longer enough. What is needed is comprehensive, far-reaching reform. Essay by Marwan MuasherMore

Arab states in crisis: The ruling classes' dereliction of dutyThe Middle East's "Axis of Failure": Arab autocrats – ruining their own statesAuthoritarianism and underdevelopment in the Islamic world: Islamic clerics and statesmen in an unholy alliance
A man walks in the desert in Saudi Arabia, 23 October 2022 (photo: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images)

Climate change in MENA

Is the Middle East prepared for extreme heatwaves?

Experts say that as intense heat becomes more frequent, the Middle East will see a rise in heat-related deaths. Despite gaps in public health planning, this region could teach the world a lot about extreme heat. By Cathrin SchaerMore

Heatwave in Egypt: "Not only the prices are going up, the temperatures are too"Climate change in Morocco: Dry winters and scorching springsInternational disputes about water: On a knife-edge between peace and conflict
Deputy Emir of Mecca Prince Badr bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz (centre) welcoming Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (left) in Jeddah on the eve of the Arab League Summit, 18 May 2023 (photo: SPA/AFP)

Assad's rehabilitation

Enforce sanctions instead of normalising the Assad regime

The Arab League's decision to bring Syria back into the fold after 12 years in isolation shocked Syrians the world over. Rebekka Rexhausen examines what led to this development and argues that the West must adhere to a human rights-centred foreign policy to address authoritarianism in SyriaMore

Assad's rehabilitation: At the expense of the Syrian peopleWhat to do with Assad? Taming Syria’s rogue manPalestinians quit Arab League role in protestEarthquake politics: Syria – do EU, US sanctions stop aid deliveries?
Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) is welcomed by Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman at the Palace of Yamamah in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 8 December 2022

Growing Arab dissatisfaction with the West

The Arab world tilts eastwards

Arab public opinion is shifting on the topic of great power competition in the Middle East, with implications for the future of the region. By Walid Al-SheikhMore

20 years Iraq War: Farewell to the old world orderVladmir Putin's war in Ukraine: Why the public support in the Arab world?Russia's interventions in Ukraine and Syria: What drives Putin is evident from SyriaUkraine war: Iran – at Putin's beck and call?
Wall projection of Vision 2030 logo (image: Karim Sahib/AFP via Getty Images)

MbS and Vision 2030

Saudi Arabiaˈs great transformation

With Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is attempting to move away from economic dependence on hydrocarbons. Given the vast resources that the kingdom is deploying, the enthusiasm shown by young Saudis and the speed at which reforms are moving forward, the strategy could ultimately benefit the entire Middle East. By Rabah Arezki and Tarik M. YousefMore

'The Line' in Saudi Arabia: Mohammed bin Salman's febrile dreamReform in Saudi Arabia: Progress or megalomania?Gulf States: Saudi economic policy: How much reform?

Pages