May 3, 2026
Energy
Europe Iran Israel MENA News Middle East North America Opinion Politics Russia Ukraine

Statecraft and Faultlines 13: Strategic Overconfidence, Iran, Ukraine, and AI

by Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Irina Tsukerman How do strategic overconfidence, shifting war aims, and artificial intelligence reshape the risks of quagmire in Iran and Ukraine? Irina Tsukerman is a human rights and national security attorney based in New York and Connecticut. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in National and Intercultural Studies and Middle […]

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GCC Iran MENA News Middle East Opinion Politics

The World’s Most Dangerous Bottlenecks Aren’t Failing — They’re Frozen

By Amb. Prof. Mohamed A. Qubaty When geography becomes leverage, the narrowest waterways carry the greatest strategic weight. The Middle East isn’t stabilizing. It’s stalling. What we are witnessing is not a transition toward resolution, but a prolonged state of strategic limbo — a condition where conflicts are neither escalating into full-scale war nor resolving […]

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North America Opinion Politics

Statecraft and Faultlines 11: Globalization, Isolationism, Extremism, and Critical Thinking

by Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Irina Tsukerman How can societies remain deeply dependent on global systems while becoming more ideologically isolated, transactional, and vulnerable to extremism? Irina Tsukerman is a human rights and national security attorney based in New York and Connecticut. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in National and Intercultural Studies and Middle […]

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GCC Iran MENA News Middle East Opinion Politics

From the Complexities of Hormuz to the Chokepoint of the Red Sea: The Gulf’s New Lung to Breathe the Breeze of the Arabian Sea

by Mohammed Salem Mujawar An Analysis of Recent Developments in the Yemeni Conflict and Its Options in Light of the Islamabad Negotiations Executive Summary Six weeks after the violent escalation that began with a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran (February 28, 2026), the War of the Corridors is no longer a passing crisis remote from our […]

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Business Caucasus Eurasia Israel MENA News Middle East Opinion South Caucasus

Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s Visit to Baku: What’s Behind It?

by Turan Rzayev The working visit of the Transitional President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Ahmad al-Shara, to the Republic of Azerbaijan has taken place. This visit was noteworthy from multiple perspectives. First and foremost, it should be noted that during his visit, President Ahmad al-Shara held both expanded-format and one-on-one meetings with the President […]

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Asia Business Caucasus China South Caucasus

The Significance of President Aliyev’s Visit to China

by Rustam Taghizade On 23 April 2025, in a landmark ceremony in Baku, Azerbaijan and China transformed their bilateral ties into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, signing twenty accords under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). While the agreements spanned legal harmonization, green-development targets, digital-economy frameworks and aerospace collaboration, the true significance lay in Baku’s strategic […]

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Asia China News North America Opinion Politics Russia

Kazakhstan and the United States: A New Chapter in Bilateral Relations?

by Damir Zaidullayev Astana, March 20, 2025 — President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with U.S. Congresswoman Carol Miller to discuss key aspects of the bilateral relationship between Kazakhstan and the United States. Against the backdrop of shifting geopolitical dynamics and cuts in U.S. foreign aid, the meeting underscored the evolving nature of Kazakhstan-U.S. cooperation and raised […]

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Asia Caucasus China Russia South Caucasus

The Role of the USA in Water Resource Management in Central Asia

by Talgat Kabdygali The United States is strategically utilizing the “water card” in Central Asian nations as part of its “Global Water Strategy for 2022-2027”. The latter, also called “Global Water Strategy,” aimed at principles of equitable and reasonable use and sustainable supplies of water across the region of Central Asia. Moreover, more than $1b […]

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MENA News Middle East Opinion

The United Arab Emirates, the United States, and the World Climate Summit

By Maria Maalouf A version of this article in Arabic first appeared in Al-Ain. In recent decades, the United Arab Emirates has demonstrated its ability to adapt to crises and create safer and more sustainable alternatives in all economic, production, and service sectors, including clean energy. It is investing $100 billion in clean energy projects, […]

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