James M. Dorsey

Dr. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, co-director of the University of Würzburg’s Institute for Fan Culture, and the author of The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer blog, a book with the same title, Comparative Political Transitions between Southeast Asia and the Middle East and North Africa, co-authored with Dr. Teresita Cruz-Del Rosario and three forthcoming books, Shifting Sands, Essays on Sports and Politics in the Middle East and North Africa as well as Creating Frankenstein: The Saudi Export of Ultra-conservatism and China and the Middle East: Venturing into the Maelstrom.

jmdorsey@questfze.com

Whither the Kurds?

2018-06-14

As Kurds contemplate the future, they have the advantage in contrast to the Palestinians, that the transition calls into question the future political structure of Syria and Iraq

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King Abdullah of Jordan: Balancing on an ever-tighter tightrope

2018-06-06

A look at a decade of failed social, economic and political reform in Jordan goes a far way to explain recent mass anti-government protests demanding the resignation of the government.

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Politicizing Education: Israel and Myanmar set worrisome precedent

2018-06-04

Israel and Myanmar are the two countries with troubled human rights records and disputed histories of dealing with ethnic and national rights

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Mahathir’s reforms could put Saudi Arabia and the UAE on the spot

2018-06-01

Newly elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Mahathir is adopting policies that could reshape the Southeast nation’s relations with powerful Gulf States.

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The battle for the Iranian nuclear deal: China approaches a watershed

2018-05-24

Fault lines in the Middle East have hardened because of Israel, Saudi and United Arab Emirates assertiveness, emboldened by both a US administration that is more partisan in its Middle East policy

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Crown Prince Mohammed’s vow to moderate Saudi Islam: Easier said than done

2017-10-30

The absence of an overriding puritan religious history has made it easier for Prince Mohammed bin Zayed to campaign against Sunni Muslim ultra-conservatism

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Activists and Gulf crisis turn Qatar into potential model of social change

2017-10-27

Qatar became the first autocratic Gulf state to engage with its critics rather than refusing to talk to them and barring them entry to the country

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Battling for independence: Small states stake their claim

2017-10-14

The battle for the ability to make independent choices is easier for existing small states like Qatar, the UAE and Singapore

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US moves against Iran raise spectre of wider regional conflict

2017-07-22

Arguments that Iran has failed to comply with the agreement that lifted crippling international sanctions and opened the door to the return of Iran to the international fold

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Gulf crisis ties global soccer governance into knots

2017-06-24

the essential role of FIFA is to deal with football and not to interfere in geopolitics

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The rise of Mohammed bin Salman: A mixed blessing?

2017-06-22

The ascendancy of prince Mohammed was never in doubt

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Gulf crisis: A battle for the future of the Middle East and the Muslim world

2017-06-12

It’s a battle that has pockmarked the Middle East and North Africa since World War Two

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