These three outcomes could complicate the US’ regional policy and possibly even be interpreted as an asymmetrical form of revenge for stealing France’s historically unprecedented nuclear sub deal with Australia. French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Gulf countries of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Saudi Arabia last weekend during a two-day trip. His…
A cursory look at Saudi Arabia and Iran suggests that emphasizing human rights in US foreign policy may complicate relations but has little impact on regional stability or the willingness of protagonists to reduce tension and manage conflicts when it is in their interest. A post 9/11 US emphasis on human rights was not what…
Russia hopes to blow new life into a proposal for a multilateral security architecture in the Gulf, with the tacit approval of the Biden administration. If successful, the initiative would help stabilise the region, cement regional efforts to reduce tensions, and potentially prevent war-wracked Yemen from emerging as an Afghanistan on the southern border of Saudi Arabia…
The Gulf Arab states are now desperate to get the Iran deal back, fearing that Iran’s overtures are left unchecked and will only get worse. Just how “special” is the so-called special relationship between oil-rich Gulf Arab states and Washington? One could argue, since Joe Biden became President, that relations have hit an all time…
These intriguing observations suggest that it’s possible for China and the US to economically cooperate through these two “New Quads” due to their overlapping interests in these networks’ flagship transregional connectivity projects, but only if Washington has the political will. The US established two “New Quads” this year that are functionally different from its original…
Against the backdrop of the events of the Arab Spring in 2011 and the subsequent confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the UAE’s role in the ongoing military and political crises in the Middle East has been overshadowed. At the same time, this Persian Gulf state is pursuing quite an independent political course and is…
