In shadowy covert wars, Iran takes center stage

Societal and Security Conference Launched in Iraq

Qatar 'maybe' supported al-Qaeda in Syria, says former PM

Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani said that if there had been a relationship with Al-Nusra Front, the support eventually came to an end

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

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

Economic Growth Is No Longer Enough

As new technologies subject the world’s economies to massive structural change, wages are no longer playing the central redistributive role they once did

The Iranian–Saudi Hegemonic Rivalry

At the core of the rivalry stand maximalist positions taken by both sides that are hardly reconcilable with each other

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

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

Why Doesn’t the U.S. Support Kurdish Independence?

The Kurds are one of Washington’s closest and most reliable allies in the Middle East

Gulf crisis broadens definitions of food security

What is American policy toward Kurdistan?

Iraqi and Kurdish forces exchange fire at border

Imagining the Future Is Just Another Form of Memory

Humans’ ability to predict the future is all thanks to our ability to remember the past

Iraqi army marches into central Kirkuk as Kurdish forces flee

Elite Iraqi forces reportedly fly flags in center of disputed city, as Kurdish commanders accuse fleeing peshmerga of treason

The Iran Deal is Working. Here’s How We Know

Battling for independence: Small states stake their claim

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

Trump Versus Washington, Again

Corker worked with Nancy Pelosi and the Obama administration to pave the way for that legislation and basically rolled out the red carpet for the Iran deal

Christians and Yazidis see a bleak future in a proposed independent Kurdish state

Bashiqa has become the focus of a tug of war between the Iraqi government and the Kurdish region

The Two Backlashes against Globalization

Nowadays globalization is inescapable

Russia says U.S. Pretends to Fight ISIS in Iraq, Letting Them Flow into Syria

The Nobel in economics rewards Richard Thaler, a pioneer of behavioral economy

Five Steps to Peace in Myanmar

a resolution remains possible to achieve it five steps must be taken without delay

Iran’s Kurds are growing restless, too

A referendum held by Iraqi Kurds is revving up their Iranian cousins

Europe’s Future After Germany’s Election

The election upended a governing coalition that had avoided desperately needed reforms for too long

A look at what might happen if Catalonia goes it alone

Spain declared the referendum illegal and invalid

3 Americans Win Nobel Prize For Biological Clock Research

The scientists used fruit flies to unlock secrets of human biorhythms

Forever homeless? The forgotten Arabs of Sinjar

Driven from their villages to Mosul, then into refugee camps, hundreds lose hope of return

Annabaa Forum for Dialogue discusses Professionality in Electoral Commission and the Future of Democracy

The Economic Case Against an Independent Kurdistan

The costs will be large and exacting