In The News

India’s Iran Challenge

Harsh V. Pant February 17, 2012
While the international community agrees that Iran’s development of nuclear weapons will destabilize the Middle East, responses to the West’s call for sanctions against Iran highlight diverse foreign-policy approaches, especially from India and China, ranked fourth and second, respectively, as the world’s largest oil consumers. China unequivocally prioritizes its domestic interests and energy...

Where Will the Muslim Brotherhood Take Egypt’s Economy?

Mohamed El Dahshan February 6, 2012
The Muslim Brotherhood is Egypt’s largest opposition group, so it’s no surprise that its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, secured nearly half the votes in parliamentary elections. Campaign rhetoric proposed alcohol restrictions, gender-segregated beaches, and revision of Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel. Ready to step into power, Islamists already have more pressing matters: an...

China Courts the Middle East

Dilip Hiro January 30, 2012
The advantage is mutual: The Middle East has great reserves of oil, and China’s foreign-policy based on non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs is popular with the region’s authoritarian regimes. So China rejects Western efforts to impose sanctions to stop the Iranian nuclear program. Beijing is the largest buyer of Iranian petroleum, accounting for 20 percent of Iran’s exports,...

Syrian Massacres: World Has No Appetite for Intervention

Fahad Nazer January 23, 2012
The Arab Spring galvanized Sunni Syrians’ discontent with Alawite dictator Bashar al Assad who has since used tanks and armed gangs in an unrelenting crackdown on protests. After recent suicide blasts, the Syrian government quickly blamed Al Qaeda, although no groups stepped forward to claim credit, while opposition leaders questioned if the government orchestrated the attacks to provide cover...

US-Pakistani Relations in Crisis – Part II

Robert M. Hathaway January 5, 2012
Hours after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Pakistan pledged to assist the US in fighting terrorism in neighboring Afghanistan. But a series of events, including the May discovery of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad and the November US strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the Afghan border, contribute to mounting mistrust in both nations. This YaleGlobal series examines the deteriorating...

Neighbors Eye Iraq’s Sectarian Rift With Unease

Angus McDowall, Parisa Hafezi December 27, 2011
No one can say what might have eventually happened had the US not invaded Iraq and removed despot Saddam Hussein. Now shown the exit door by Iraqi leaders, US troops leave Iraq even as the entire Middle East is in tumult. In Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia, Syria, and other countries, citizens seek representative governments, while politicians are bitterly divided over secular and Islamist policies, as...

Egypt: 10,000 March in Protest at Woman Dragged Half-Naked Through Street

December 26, 2011
A military loses credibility when it emphasizes power over security, turning on its own citizens – especially after abuses are documented and released over the internet for the world to see. About 10,000 women marched on the streets of Cairo to protest brutal treatment of female protesters. “Even before the protest was over, the military council issued an unusually strong statement of regret for...