Gulf Region

Country: Gulf Region

Bidoons demonstrate for Kuwaiti citizenship (photo: Getty Images/AFP/Y. Al Zayyat)

Disenfranchised in the Gulf

The Bedoons – Kuwait's stateless minority

For more than 50 years, the Bedoons have been living in Kuwait without citizenship status. Now, it seems this problematic situation is finally being addressed. There may be light at the end of the tunnel. By Dina ElbasnalyMore

Interview with Rola Dashti, member of the Kuwaiti parliament: "Kuwait is a democracy"Interview with Mohamed Al Rumaihi: "Kuwaiti women are pioneers of reform"Book review: "The Bamboo Stalk" by Saud Alsanousi: A life uprooted and replanted

Symbolic image of the Israeli air force, showing an F-35 fighter jet (photo: picture-alliance/AP Images/A. Shalite)

Israeli attacks on bases in Iraq

Is war with Iran on the horizon?

So far, Iraq has always been neutral in the face of a possible war between Iran and the USA. But recent Israeli air raids on Iranian bases in Iraq reveal a different reality: Tehran's rulers apparently can no longer count on the neutrality of its neighbouring country, writes Ali SadrzadehMore

Economic crisis in Iraq: Trump's Iran embargo impacts Iraqis US politics in Syria: Trump, Syria – and the threat of regional conflagration Geopolitics in the Middle East: End the Arab-Iranian tug-of-war

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the White House on 24.06.2019 tightening sanctions against Iran (photo: picture-alliance/AP)

U.S. policy on Iran

Trump's fake "stability" premise

The United States justifies its policy of "maximum pressure" on Iran by accusing the nation of "destabilising" the region. But neither is stability the correct criteria for evaluation of Middle East politics, nor is Tehran essentially behaving any differently to its neighbours, says Ulrich von SchwerinMore

Trumpʹs challenge: Taking on Tehran U.S.A and Iran: Trump – agent provocateur Interview with Middle East expert Volker Perthes: "Iran will not negotiate its own surrender"

Children playing football in Damascus (photo: Reuters/M. Djurica)

Reconstruction in Syria

Frustrating Assadʹs plans for a new state

Although regime apologists are fond of asserting that the war in Syria is over, wary investors, an ongoing U.S. trade embargo, the pariah status of its ally Iran, not to mention galloping inflation, mean it could be years before the devasted country sees any real reconstruction. Analysis by Ghiath BilalMore

Rebuilding Syria: Who should foot the bill for Assad?Reconstruction in Syria: The next battleground International policy on Syria: The rehabilitation of Assad

Symbolic image of ʹthe civil versus the militaryʹ: a man protests against the referendum on the constitution in front of a statue of former general Abdel Moneim Riad, in Cairo, Egypt (photo: Reuters)

Military dictatorships in the Middle East

The real enemies of the Arab Spring

For people in the Arab world to be able to throw off the yoke of military rule, a new balance must be struck between political and social forces and the military. Though it is now years since the Arab Spring, this goal still seems a long way off. By Ali AnouzlaMore

The role of Egypt′s armed forces: A military empire Political crisis: Sudanʹs deadly counter-revolutionary militia Tyranny in the Islamic world: Keeping the tribe alive

Anthropologist and political expert Madawi Al-Rasheed (photo: private)

Interview with anthropologist Madawi Al-Rasheed

"Death penalties are the norm in Saudi Arabia"

The Middle East Eye is reporting that religious activists are once again to be executed in Saudi Arabia. Mass executions continue to increase in the country, says Saudi social anthropologist Madawi Al-Rasheed in an interview with Nermin Ismail and Hassan HussainMore

The killing of Khashoggi: Letting Mohammed bin Salman off the hook Trump, MbS and the aftermath: Did the global order die with Khashoggi?Saudi court resumes high-profile trial of women activists

Ballistic missiles on display during a military parade in Tehran attended by President Hassan Rouhaniy in 2017 (photo: IRNA)

U.S.A and Iran

Trump – agent provocateur

The Iranian regime has worked hard to strengthen its national security within a supportive regional framework and would be no pushover in a conflict with the United States. On the contrary, Iranʹs response to any major military assault could result in an uncontrollable regional inferno. By Amin SaikalMore

When blackmail becomes policy: For ʹPalestinian peace processʹ read ʹIran war processʹ Interview with Middle East expert Volker Perthes: "Iran will not negotiate its own surrender"U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic: Playing poker with Iran

Arabic calligraphy decorates tiles in Granadaʹs mosque, Spain (photo: picture-alliance)

The demise of Modern Standard Arabic

Tongue-tied Arabs

It is one of the most important Semitic world languages. One of the six official languages of the UN. The language of Ibn Arabis – and of the Koran. And yet Modern Standard Arabic is not very popular with native speakers. Why? Mona Sarkis has some of the answersMore

Arabic in Latin script: Lost in Arabic The Arabic language: A better understanding Interview with literary translator Hartmut Faehndrich: "What I don't see is an on-going interest in Arabic literature"

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu display the proclamation recognising Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights at the White House on 25 March 2019 (photo: picture-alliance/Photoshot/Ting Shen)

When blackmail becomes policy

For ʹPalestinian peace processʹ read ʹIran war processʹ

The success of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process model is there for all to borrow and copy. Create a regional ʹprocessʹ sponsored or led by the U.S. and attach to it ʹpeaceʹ, ʹwarʹ, or any other temptingly big carrot, then woo and blackmail the desperate parties you are targeting by turns. Essay by Khaled HroubMore

U.S. policy on Iran: Middle East nightmare – made in Washington Geopolitics in the Middle East: End the Arab-Iranian tug-of-war U.S. de-certifies Iran nuclear deal: Madmen at the helm

Hundreds hit the streets of Beirut on 24 June 2018 to protest the kafala system, which strips migrant workers of their rights and binds them to their employers (photo: Antoine Abou-Diwan)

Human rights in Lebanon

Kafala and its ʹcommoditiesʹ

"Where is your bint from?" is not an unusual question in Lebanon. 'Bint' means girl in Arabic, but here refers to housekeepers, maids or nannies working in Lebanon under kafala sponsorship. It is a loaded term that refers to thousands of African and Asian workers arriving in Lebanon every year. By Antoine Abou-DiwanMore

Lebanon ARM (Anti-Racist Movement)Interview with Lebanese film director Nadine Labaki: "Children are the first to pay for our wars"Social inequality in the Arab world: There is no state in Lebanon

UAE Ambassador to Germany Ali Abdulla Al Ahmed (photo: UAE Embassy)

UAE Ambassador Ali Abdulla Al Ahmed on Pope Francis' visit

"Both are religions of God and both are religions of peace"

Pope Francis will travel to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday on his first visit to the Arabian peninsula. The UAE's ambassador to Germany, Ali Abdulla Al Ahmed, tells Christoph Strack why it's so important for the regionMore

Pope Francis in the Middle East: Gestures laden with symbolism Pope Francis’ visit to Al-Azhar: Who holds sway over religious identity?Introducing the Key Concepts project: From religious tolerance to acceptance

Yemenʹs old town, consisting of thousands of high-rise loam houses up to eight storeys high, was surrounded by a city wall with eight gates, of which only one survives: the Bab al-Yaman (Yemen Gate), built in 1875 and brought into its present form by the Turks in 1905 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Sanaa in the 19th century

A city of gardens, Greeks and Turks

Often steeped in prejudice and fed by ignorance, travelogues penned by Europeans travelling to the Middle East between the fifteenth and twentieth centuries nevertheless remain fascinating for the cultural insights they provide. Renzo Manzoniʹs "Yemen: A trip to Sanaa" is a case in point. By Mohamed ShaabanMore

Evelyn Waugh′s ″Labels: A Mediterranean Journal″: Egypt revisited Max Baron of Oppenheim: An encyclopaedic travelogue free from the arrogance of the time Book review: Mathias Enard′s ″Boussole″: In love with the Orient

Doha skyline with an image of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (photo: picture-alliance)

Weathering the Saudi blockade

Qatar thrives under pressure

The blockade of Qatar led by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states in the summer of 2017 was a shock for the small emirate. Meanwhile, however, it seems to have more than recovered: the economy is growing and the leadership is bursting with determination and self-confidence. By Anchal VohraMore

Qatar diplomatic crisis: Playing the waiting game Qatari foreign relations: The point of no return?Saudi Arabian and UAE foreign policy: A finger in every pie

U.S. President Donald Trump gives a speech at the White House in Washington (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Trump’s Syria withdrawal

A chance for peace?

Trump's withdrawal from Syria could indeed be a dangerous prelude to an expanded regional war. Yet with imagination and diplomacy the withdrawal could also be an important step on the difficult road to peace in the region, argues Jeffrey D. SachsMore

U.S. politics in Syria: Trump, Syria – and the threat of regional conflagration Battle for Syria: Trump's constructive ignorance War in Syria: Ending America′s disastrous role

Tunisian woman protesting during the 2010/2011 Jasmine Revolution, Tunis (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

The Arab Spring and the "Spring of Nations"

Failed revolutionaries?

What do Europeʹs "Spring of Nations" of 1848 and the Arab Spring have in common? Both revolutions it seems were doomed to failure, with those involved forced to endure a long and icy winter of restoration. And yet there is a glimmer of hope. An essay by the Egyptian historian Khaled FahmyMore

Authoritarian reinstatement in the Arab world: Whatʹs left of the Arab Spring What triggered the Middle Eastern revolts in 2011? The economics of Arabellion Tyranny in the Islamic world: Keeping the tribe alive

Demonstrators demand the resignation of Ben Ali in front of the Ministry of the Interior in Tunis on 14 January 2011 (photo: Fethi Belaid/AFP)

Authoritarian reinstatement in the Arab world

Whatʹs left of the Arab Spring

Not much remains of the euphoric mood and the hopes that drove the Arab Spring. A return to pre-2011 conditions is however out of the question. Commentary by Loay MudhoonMore

What triggered the Middle Eastern revolts in 2011? The economics of Arabellion Interview with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Tawakkul Karman: "Bring back the Arab Spring!"Tyranny in the Islamic world: Keeping the tribe alive

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