By Jean-François Seznec
Download Insight 97 Seznec HERE
Events taking place in northern Iraq, especially with regard to crude oil issues, are ominous when it comes to the territorial integrity of the country. The two Kurdish provinces that form the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and border Turkey and Iran have long said that they would declare independence. [...]
By Mary Ann Tétreault
Download Insight 96 Tetreault HERE
A recent wave of demonstrations in Kuwait were a reaction to the threatened jailing of Musallam al-Barrak, a defiant member of several former parliaments who was accused of having insulted the emir in an October 2012 speech—a charge he denies. Al-Barrak has since been released on bail, but [...]
By Marie Duboc
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The debates sparked by the arrest warrant issued for Egyptian television personality Bassem Youssef have come to symbolize for many people the fate of a “democratic transition” trapped in the growing polarization between Islamists and liberal secular voices. Youssef is the host of Egypt’s popular satirical show al-Bernameg (The [...]
By Ali Kadri
Download Insight 94 Kadri HERE
Compared to the economic performance of East Asian countries, the poor performance of the Arab world is remarkable.[1] Since 1980, the bulk of the Arab economies has experienced a less than one percent yearly average growth of real GDP per capita. It has also displayed one of the world’s [...]
By Rana B. Khoury
Download Insight 93 Khoury HERE
This Insight is based on a presentation given at the Arab American Institute in Washington, D.C. on 13 February 2013. For video of the event, please click here.
The question of intervention in Syria is a hotly debated topic largely due to the insistence of the dominant elements within [...]
By H.A. Hellyer
Download Insight 92 Hellyer HERE
As Egypt’s April parliamentary elections draw closer, many analysts are being asked for their outlook and predictions for the future of this critical Arab country. Initial observations from the more seasoned of Egypt watchers point to overcast skies. The state of being overcast, as defined by the World Meteorological [...]
By Jean-Pierre Filiu
Download Insight 91 Filiu HERE
Introduction
Al-Qaʿida in the Islamic Maghrib (AQIM) was launched in 2007 as the last offshoot of Osama bin Laden’s organization. It has therefore attracted significant international interest, especially after murderous suicide attacks in Algiers and repeated abductions of Western nationals in the Sahara. But AQIM media exposure could not mask [...]
By Peter Sluglett
Download Insight 90 Sluglett HERE
Even before the cataclysm of the First World War, it was no longer possible to map historical events in Asia and Africa in terms of “Islamic history.” In addition, by 1914, a substantial part of the Islamic world had been in European hands for a century or more. The [...]
By Mary Ann Tétreault
Download Insight 89 Tetreault HERE
Excavations on Failaka Island.
About 25 minutes out from Salmiya, a ferry passenger headed for Failaka Island can see a thin, sand-colored, wavering line on the horizon. At her back is the contemporary skyline of Kuwait City, a living example of the Gulf’s flourishing modern architecture made possible by [...]
By Sara Bazoobandi
Download Insight 88 Bazoobandi HERE
For two years after Iran’s presidential election of 2009, in which millions protested Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s second-term win, the president enjoyed the unlimited power accorded him by Ayatollah Khamenei over the economic and political policies of the country. However, disagreements began to surface between the two over a number of [...]
