In The News

Non-Aligned Summit Belies Isolation of Iran

Dilip Hiro September 4, 2012
The Non-Aligned Movement was born out of the Cold War, as emerging economies looked to become partners in international relations, enhancing self-reliance and development without subservience to one superpower or another. NAM’s 16th summit was hosted by Iran, contradicting a notion that US-led sanctions are isolating the state. Instead, NAM endorsed Iran’s right to develop nuclear energy for...

Can India Revive Nonalignment?

Ashley J. Tellis August 28, 2012
India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is leading a large delegation to the summit meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran this week. A foreign policy of nonalignment – friends to all – is tempting for any state, but particularly for a populous democracy like India. Under Jawaharlal Nehru, India navigated the Cold War with such a policy of nonalignment, balancing ties and trade with both the...

Egypt's Islamist Surprise

Mohamed El Dahshan August 21, 2012
Concerns emerged after the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, Mohamed Morsi, prevailed in Egypt’s presidential election – about rigid Islamist ways, rejection of the peace treaty with Israel, distancing with the US and inadequate leadership in general. In less than two months, he has surprised many with a moderate stance while neutralizing the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has controlled...

Is Partition a Solution for Syria?

Dilip Hiro July 31, 2012
The roots of Syria’s intractable civil war rest in sectarian differences and a legacy of colonialism that divided a region’s people, favoring a few elites and suppressing dissenters. Today, the violence continues unabated. The bitter feud that divides Syria’s minority Alawites and Christians and the majority Sunni has similarities to the Hindu-Muslim division in British India. Author and South...

Three Myths About the Arab Uprisings

Ellen Lust and Jakob Wichmann July 24, 2012
The series of protests in 2011 that overturned governments in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have ushered in activism and new debate in the Arab world. Analyzing the reasons behind the surge of discontent requires an understanding of each nation’s history, regional relationships, demographics and governance failures. Achieving representative government and social justice is not a matter of simple...

Syria: No End in Sight

Fawaz A. Gerges July 17, 2012
With Damascus in flames and massacres in the countryside, a diplomatic solution to the Syrian crisis seems impossible. International and regional powers are fiercely divided: The US and other Western powers won’t try a military intervention without approval from the UN Security Council. Russia and China, permanent members of the UN Security Council, threaten to veto military intervention, and US...

Is Islam to Blame for Freedom Deficit in Middle East?

Riaz Hassan July 5, 2012
The fury of the Arab Spring, with widespread demands for freedom quickly followed by a re-emergence of authoritarian ways, has renewed debate about Islam and democracy in the Middle East, notes sociologist Riaz Hassan. Circa 1000 AD, the Middle East represented 10 percent of global GDP, as compared to Europe’s 9 percent – religious powers in both regions protected elites and the status quo. Seven...