Politics

A technocrat with an unorthodox streak - Iraqi PM Abdul Mahdi
New Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi

Branded as a compromise candidate, Iraq’s new Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi has made a bold entrance, issuing a number of unorthodox policy proposals. But will his nomination trigger a sustained momentum before the euphory fades away?

Gilles Kepel and the Middle East
Gilles Kepel and the Middle east

Gilles Kepel’s latest book on ‘getting out of the chaos’ in the Middle East can be read as an account of the interplay of authoritarian rule and Islamist mobilisation. Or as a critical appraisal of Kepel’s own intellectual journey.

‘The Americans fear it’s Saigon all over again’
Interview on Afghanistan and the Taliban with Anatol Lieven

Peace on the ground and a government on the brink of collapse: Veteran Afghanistan specialist Anatol Lieven makes sense of the conflicting news from Afghanistan–and sheds light on what the Taliban are really up to.

What Imran Khan and ‘New Pakistan’ mean for minorities
What Imran Khan and ‘New Pakistan’ mean for minorities
by Anam Gill

Imran Khan’s election day victory fed off the hopes and dreams of my generation. Still, he relies on the power pillars of the past. That’s bad news for democracy in Pakistan.

Israel and the Syrian crisis
Israel and the Syrian crisis

Israel cannot accept the Iranian settlement on Syrian soil only a few kilometers from the border. IDF airstrikes in response to the Iranian rocket salvo headed for the Golan Heights attest to a regional strategic shift.

Hassan Rouhani
Iranian regional security policies: the cases of Iraq and Syria

Focussing on domestic economic development is the best way to prevent Iran from playing a destructive role in the region. The JCPOA remains key to that goal.

An aerial view over Tehran.
Interview with Khajehpour about protests in Iran

Iran is currently experiencing the largest wave of upheaval since the Green Movement in 2009. We asked Iran analyst Dr. Bijan Khajehpour why people are taking their anger to the streets and how European policy makers should tackle the crisis

The so-called Islamic State has lost the major part of its former territories.
The Islamic State Is In Flux

The Islamic State is militarily on its knees. But it is striving for an ideological relaunch.