Iran and Saudi Arabia announced last Friday a Chinese-brokered deal to restore relations. After decades of enmity and a formal cutting of ties in 2016, the rapprochement has been touted as a momentous development in the region. But how it ultimately… Read more
Since 2015, the deteriorating relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran—the self-appointed vanguards of Sunni and Shia Islam, respectively—has brought forth a new cold war in the Middle East. Pakistan has spent decades striking a delicate balance… Read more
This Peace Brief, one of a five-part series on sectarianism in the Middle East, reviews how the Syrian crisis has affected the Gulf Arab states.SummaryLike the Iraq war and, to a lesser extent, Lebanon’s 2006 war, Syria’s internecine conflict has enabled… Read more
The brief examines the interests, connections and dimensions of Syria's popular uprising in the Arab Gulf states. Emile Hokayem is the Senior Fellow for Regional Security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies-Middle East based out of… Read more
Toby C. Jones has lived and worked in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Formerly the Gulf Analyst with the International Crisis Group, he is assistant professor of Middle East history at Rutgers University. He is the author of “Desert Kingdom: How Oil and Water… Read more
A new USIP report examines online discourse in the Arab world and emerging trends of the blogosphere.SummaryA new USIP report examines online discourse in the Arab world and emerging trends of the blogosphere. The report is based on an event held at the… Read more