Oil
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Non-fiction: Sebastian Sons′ ″Auf Sand gebaut″
Saudi Arabia – a difficult ally
Saudi Arabia is an important, but controversial partner of western countries. Sebastian Sons, an expert on the country with the DGAP (Germany's Council on Foreign Relations), assesses the country’s mindset, its political problems and how western governments should engage its leaders. By Sabine Balk
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Child trafficking in Iran
The agony of the destitute
More and more parents are selling their children out of economic desperation across Iran. Unfortunately, the government is suspicious of NGOs wanting to help. By Shabnam von Hein
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Libya′s domestic crisis
On the road to nowhere
Libya′s domestic crisis, which has been rumbling on since the outbreak of civil war in the summer of 2014, has peaked this year. With a gamut of issues – political, social, security and financial – confronting the country, Libya is more divided than ever. Houda Mzioudet writes from Tunis
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Climate change consequences for the Islamic world
Of infernal proportions
The countries attending the Climate Change Conference in Marrakesh are ready to commit themselves to the fight against global warming. Even if greenhouse gas emissions do begin to decrease, however, the climate change already underway will have devastating consequences for the host country and for the rest of the Arab-Islamic world. By Stefan Buchen
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Oil and development in the Middle East
A two-edged sword
When poor countries started producing oil, they thought that was the key to economic growth and prosperity. Since then, the impact of resource wealth on producing countries has been the subject of endless debate. By Nassir Djafari
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Egypt's economic and fiscal crisis
Rescuing the sinking ship
Just last week, the Egyptian government and a delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a staff-level agreement about a 12 billion US-dollar loan package. Egypt hopes to restore confidence in its crippled economy and attract more investors. But is this deal the right answer for Egypt's economic problems? Sofian Philip Naceur talked to Amr Adly, a non-resident scholar of the Carnegie Middle East Center
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Iraq′s political crisis
Al-Sadr the power broker
Demonstrators have gathered in Baghdad to protest Iraq's government every Friday for months. The Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is using the movement to stage his political comeback. Birgit Svensson reports from Baghdad
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Saudi-US relations
Chilly diplomacy
Relations between the US and its long-term ally Saudi Arabia are at an historically low ebb. President Barack Obama′s recent visit to Saudi Arabia did little to improve the situation. Bernard Haykel, professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, provides an analysis
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Saudi Arabia and Iran
Defeat Islamic State - or become it
The dawn of 2016 has brought a new round of doomsday predictions that Saudi Arabia’s ruling Al Saud family cannot sustain its autocratic grip on power. The kingdom, pessimists argue, is caught in a perfect storm with economic problems, social challenges and foreign policy crises all converging at the same time. By James M. Dorsey
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Interview with Martin Kobler, UN Special Representative on Libya
"Libya must not become the Syria of tomorrow"
In view of the advance of IS in Libya, the UN's Special Representative on Libya, Martin Kobler, warns of the need for swift action: the Libyan state must reinstate its monopoly on the use of force to enable it to take appropriate counter measures. Karim El-Gawhary spoke to the German diplomat
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Iraqi Kurdistan in political and economic crisis
Barzani′s sinking ship
The ongoing political and economic crisis in northern Iraq is forcing many Kurds to flee. Instead of fighting the causes of the exodus from Iraqi Kurdistan, however, the Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani is relying on patriotism and empty promises. Birgit Svensson reports from Erbil
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Oman's succession problem
Neither heir nor spare
Unmarried and childless, Qaboos bin Said Al-Said, Sultan of Oman, is something of a rarity in the Arab world. His reign has already lasted for 45 years. Confusion still remains, however, over the identity of his successor. What is clear is that whoever it is will not have it easy. By Anne Allmeling