back to top
More

    Regional and international affairs

    The British General Election 2017: Impacts on the Middle East

    On the 18th April 2017, during a time of uncertainty in contemporary British history, the Prime Minister Theresa May announced that a snap election would be held on June 8th, 2017. The announcement draped in the shadow of Brexit negotiations, (the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union)....

    Post-Brexit Foreign Policy of the United Kingdom

    On June the 23rd 2016, the British public went to the polls to have their say on whether they wished the United Kingdom to remain part of the European Union or whether it should leave. In an outcome that shocked many observers, analysts, members of the public and politicians,...

    Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act: Implications for U.S.-Saudi ties

      On September 28, the U.S. Congress voted unanimously to override a decision by President Obama to veto a bill known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, or JASTA for short. The decision marked the first time since Obama took office that Congress had successfully garnered the two-thirds...

    Polls and Policy – examining the US Presidential Election

    On November 8th, US Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will hope more than a year on the campaign trail – full of speeches, fundraisers, and presidential debates – will be enough to secure the top political seat in the country. Much has been made of their respective...

    A Union in the Middle East and North Africa: Lessons From Europe

    Cycles of oppressive government, poverty, nationalism, extremism, economic and political instability and ethno-sectarian violence in a geographic area of vague definition. These characteristics are only some of the terms commonly used to describe the Middle East and North Africa region today. However, a mere hundred years ago, these same...

    The role of think tanks in the decision making process of foreign politics

    The role and specificity of policymakers is undoubtedly an influential factor in international relations. Statesmen are first and foremost the policymakers thus actors on the international platform. However, they work under the name and interests of the state.  In this sense, the issue of the influence of think tanks...

    Hillary Clinton & Donald Trump: evaluating their potential foreign policy and positions towards Iraq

    After months of debates, campaigning and interviews, the US Presidential elections are beginning to tail off. The ostensible incumbents for their respective party’s nomination – Hillary Clinton, the Democrat frontrunner, and Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate – seem to have beaten off dozens of other hopefuls and look...

    Saudi Arabia 2030 – a vision for oil independence

      In his interview with the pan-Arab news network Al-Arabiya, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman outlined his ambitious Vision 2030 roadmap pledging to wean Saudi Arabia off its oil dependency by 2030. The blueprint outlined a huge array of fiscal and economic reforms that will shift the...

    Turkish Presence in Northern Iraq: A Situation with Broad Regional Implications

    On December 3, 2015, a Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) regiment of 150 troops and 25 tanks deployed to the Iraqi town of Bashiqa, north of Mosul with the mission to reinforce members of the Turkish military already there training the Kurdish Peshmerga and Hashd al-Wataniforces in the lead-up to...

    Putin focuses on foreign policy in the Middle East

    Perhaps it was the difficult economic conditions at home, or because of the unpopular decisions that risks making President Putin the man of the elite rather than the man of the people, but what was clear to see in his annual press conference on 17 December was the Putin...