A new era of US-Middle East grand strategy
Some view US President Donald Trump as the pioneer of transactional relationships. That may be partially true, but in reality, a series of transactional deals can lay the foundation for a new...
Bread and power: North Africa’s looming food crisis
For decades, governments in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya have clung to a simple formula for stability: Keep bread affordable at any cost. In the post-independence decades, regimes poured oil revenues and...
A new pope for unity, peace, and coexistence
The election of Pope Leo XIV marks a decisive moment of renewal for the Catholic Church. It is not a return to nostalgia, but a living rediscovery of its deepest identity: to...
Hezbollah should no longer be above Lebanese law
Lebanon, which was once considered the Switzerland of the Middle East, held on to banking secrecy long after the Helvetic country gave it up. Despite the 2019 crisis and the freeze on...
Solving the Hezbollah arms conundrum
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has engaged in a dialogue with Hezbollah over its arms. The Lebanese state and the president face a challenge. They need to disarm Hezbollah without clashing with the...
Perfect storm brings UK and EU together
It is too early to predict the outcome of this month’s all-important EU-UK summit, but there has already been a sea change in terms of more cordial language and a spirit of...
The benefits of checkbook diplomacy
Saudi Arabia and Qatar last week declared that they would settle Syria’s debt to the World Bank of $15 million. This policy can be regarded as checkbook diplomacy: but what is this...
NATO’s potentially constructive role in Syria
More than two decades after the launch of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, NATO and its partners are assessing the progress they have made and looking for new ways to solidify their partnership...
How the road to Ukraine began in 1967
There is much angst among the Western liberal cognoscenti over the “peace agreement” with Russia currently being foisted on the Ukrainian people by the Trump administration in Washington, chiefly on the ground...
The dawning of a new era in Japan-Saudi Arabia relations
Based on the idea of leading the international community from division to cooperation, I have decided to visit Saudi Arabia, which plays a crucial role for peace, stability and prosperity not only...