The forthcoming Palestinian elections have generated a good deal of speculation. Among the many players, one rather enigmatic figure is Mohammed Dahlan. Long believed to harbor the ambition of succeeding Mahmoud Abbas as president of the Palestinian Authority, he is currently facing a political dilemma. “Dahlan is a convicted criminal,” …

Nearly half a millennium ago Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince described three options for how a conquering power might treat states that it defeated in war but that “have been accustomed to live under their own laws and in freedom: … the first is to ruin them, the next is to …

It is now clear that Israel has been left on its own as the Americans strive for a diplomatic resolution of the conflict with Iran. Lt. Gen. Gregory Guillot, head of the US Central Command’s Air Force, visited Israel at the end of February. His host, Air Force Commander Maj. …

While Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed ways to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal in his visit to Tehran this week, the topics of Syria and Afghanistan also featured prominently on the agenda. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov paid a working visit to Tehran on April 13, where he held …

The plan to pull troops from Afghanistan could give terrorist groups like al-Qaida and Islamic State a chance to regenerate the capabilities they would need to carry out an attack against the United States, according to top U.S. intelligence officials. Their warning, coming the same day U.S. President Joe Biden …

The egalitarian principles of the French republic would suggest that the state is blind to the creeds and private beliefs of its citizens. For the most part, this is correct. Its very particular brand of state-endorsed secularism projects a certain veneer of a republic to which all its citizens have …

The secretary-general of the Arab League has expressed his deep concerns over Iran’s decision to increase its enrichment of uranium to 60 percent, nudging it ever closer to bomb-grade purity. Ahmed Aboul Gheit has described Tehran’s move as a dangerous development and a clear step toward developing a nuclear weapon, …

The United States and NATO accused Russia of again ramping up tensions, criticizing Moscow’s plans to limit access to the Black Sea and the Kerch Strait for most of the next six months due to military exercises. The U.S. Defense Department said Friday the Kremlin’s decision is “just the latest …

A phantom document proposing controversial border changes across the Western Balkans caused a political storm in the region and in Brussels this week. While most EU officials had little knowledge of the elusive document, the office of European Council President Charles Michel could not deny receiving it. EURACTIV took a …

Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has to make consistent efforts toward addressing the systemic governance deficit, deepening political discontent, and widening socio-economic disparity as the surest possible way to maintain long-term peaceful environment in Mozambique. That was the message, at least, emerging …