Recent Posts

Dialing down expectations on a US–Saudi security pact

Expect a ‘less-for-less’ outcome from any forthcoming US–Saudi security pact. Israel’s war on Gaza has hampered Washington’s plans to push normalization with Tel Aviv and pull Riyadh away from the Russia–China sphere of influence. A historic security pact may be in the making between the United States and Saudi Arabia …

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Yemen’s strategic escalation into the Mediterranean

Ansarallah’s maritime operations against Israeli-linked shipping just expanded into the Mediterranean Sea, the Eurasian waterway NATO has long considered its own domain, home to Israel’s oil and gas platforms, and the site of Washington’s new ‘aid pier’ ploy. In support of Gaza, Yemen’s Ansarallah-aligned armed forces executed their first direct …

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Iran Update, May 14, 2024

Israeli forces expanded clearing operations on May 14 into areas of Jabalia refugee camp that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had not previously cleared. Two IDF brigades advanced into the center of the Jabalia refugee camp.[i] Israeli forces initially conducted clearing operations in Jabalia city and refugee camp in November …

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NATO Cannot Survive Without America

If Trump Pulls Out, the Alliance Would Likely Fall Apart Last month, NATO, the world’s most successful military alliance, celebrated its 75th anniversary. Some fear that it may have been its last anniversary with the United States playing a leading role. Former U.S. President Donald Trump still views the alliance …

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Kuwait: Islamists and the end of Arab democracy

Installing democracy in a society without a tradition of liberty is like handing car keys to an unlicensed driver Kuwait’s unprecedented suspension of its constitution has marked the end of an era of change that started with the toppling of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein in 2003 and that was followed by …

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Inevitable Fractures: The Ukraine War and the Global System

The divisions in contemporary geopolitics are an inevitable consequence of colliding ideas and interests against the backdrop of American primacy. The United States should accept their reality while advancing its own interests in a competitive strategic environment. Introduction The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022 and …

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The Cost of Russia’s Friendship With Azerbaijan

Amid the war in Ukraine, Azerbaijan has become an essential partner for Russia when it comes to both energy exports, and keeping open a transport corridor to Iran. Azerbaijan has managed to achieve something thought to be impossible in the post-Soviet space: the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers ahead of time, …

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