International Relations and Security

To begin this week’s podcast, Mariam Ghanem updates us on the unsurprising results of the elections in Egypt. Then, Blaire Byg discusses Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s tour of the US, which has included visits with celebrities like Oprah in addition to the more predictable cast of politicians and journalists. It seems that MBS is […]

Although fighters have been offered the chance to leave eastern Ghouta, as in Aleppo, there is no longer a clear safe haven to which they could flee. Combined with the regime’s systematic denial of humanitarian aid, the conditions there have become increasingly unlivable as the death toll continues to climb.

Introduction On October 26, 2016, The Gambia became the third African country to announce its intention to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC).[1] Gambia’s decision came shortly after Burundi and South Africa expressed similar intentions, claiming as several other African states have, that the ICC had become biased and a political tool used against African […]

BY EKRAM IBRAHIM When President Donald Trump declared in December that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, many observers heard a death knell for Palestinian hopes that Jerusalem would serve as the future capital of an independent state. But in reality, aspirations for an Arab Jerusalem died long before – […]

A 2017 deal between Libya and Italy, which attempted to stem the flow of migrants from Libya to Europe, demonstrates the lucrative opportunities that insecurity offers for non-state armed groups, as well as the difficulty of divorcing militia engagement in criminal activities from ideological battles in Libya’s civil war.

As Israeli control over Jerusalem crystallizes, the likelihood that the city can act as the capital of future Israeli and Palestinian states recedes rapidly. Increasingly, peacemakers and politicians are being forced to consider more creative solutions—and many are looking to the past for inspiration.

In a speech at the Hoover Institution on January 17, United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson outlined a plan to keep US troops in Syria indefinitely, beholden to an unrealistic set of conditions. Although the new policy identifies areas of concern for the US and its allies in the Middle East, the goals outlined lack specificity and are so broad as to be impractical. If the Trump administration does not narrow its goals in Syria, it risks turning Syria into a conflict as open-ended as Afghanistan.    

BY CAMERON LINDSAY While Amazon continues to pilot its fully autonomous drone delivery system, Amazon PrimeAir, an autonomous delivery system millions of times larger is occurring at sea. And whether you are the passenger on-board a cruise ship or you hire a shipping company to transport your belongings overseas, in a few years, you will […]

Stretching from the Atlantic coast in the west to the Red Sea in the east, the region of north-central Africa known as the Sahel has rarely figured as a focus of international geopolitics. Yet this semi-arid band of territory, spanning some 14 countries and home to numerous ethnic and religious groups, is emerging as a new arena in the sprawling global battle between governments and jihadist groups.

Russia joined the war in Syria in October 2015, sending shockwaves around the world and adding another dimension to the conflict. A closer analysis of Russia’s interests in the Middle East reveals a superpower itching to dominate the world stage.

BY ABE BALDRY True, Monaco doesn’t have a nuclear program. But when the Paradise Papers were leaked in early November, the world learned that tax havens such as Monaco cause as much harm as rogue states. When tax havens help the rich to avoid paying their fair share, every pound that goes uncollected is a […]

President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem undoubtedly complicates the picture; is the Holy City a red-line issue which the Saudis will feel compelled to publicly object to? As guardians of the two holiest sites in Islam, there has historically been an expectation that the Saudis would repudiate such a move. But, in these new times, will the royals bite their tongues, calculating that the Kingdom’s deepening links with the Jewish state are more important than demanding that East Jerusalem be reserved as the future capital of a Palestinian state?