Foreign Policy Blogs

Middle East & North Africa

Focus on Pakistan

Focus on Pakistan

In a country where terror strikes are commonplace, you grow insensitive. You don’t flinch at the sound of a bomb, you don’t jolt at the sound of a gunshot. Death tolls that don’t touch the double digits don’t leave you in a state of shock, debilitated.

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Twenty-seven Kurdish political prisoners on hunger strike in Iran

Twenty-seven Kurdish political prisoners on hunger strike in Iran

Sectarian tensions between Kurds and Persians in the Islamic Republic of Iran continue to be ignited.

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Islam’s Struggle for Space

Islam’s Struggle for Space

Contrary to common misconception, Muslims are neither homogeneous nor are their interpretation and implementation of the Qur’an and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad monolithic.

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Is the Hashemite Monarchy a good partner in the war against Islamic State?

Is the Hashemite Monarchy a good partner in the war against Islamic State?

The Hashemites claim to be part of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, but evidence has emerged showing that the regime is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood, who supports Islamic State.

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The Mubarak Retrial: Winners and Losers

The Mubarak Retrial: Winners and Losers

On Nov. 29, an Egyptian court cleared charges against the country’s former president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled Egypt from 1981 to 2011, when he stepped down in the face of massive protests and the loss of his security services’ confidence.

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Burkina Faso: The Black Spring blossoms

Burkina Faso: The Black Spring blossoms

With Western leaders occupied by rising tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East, it appears that the emergence of uprisings on the African continent has largely been overlooked. The recent protests in Burkina Faso and the subsequent overthrow of Blaise Compaoré on Oct. 31 from his 27-year reign, illustrates the far-reaching social and political changes taking place in Africa.

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Homegrown Jihadis, Terror, and Modernity

Homegrown Jihadis, Terror, and Modernity

On Nov. 15, ISIS beheaded a fifth western captive, aid worker Peter Kassig, who may have fought his killers and disrupted their filming of the event. The inevitable video features a familiar British-accented voice, of an ISIS member British media refer to as “Jihadi John.”

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Palestinian Incitement behind Synagogue Terror Attack

Palestinian Incitement behind Synagogue Terror Attack

In the wake of five Israeli citizens being murdered in a brutal terror attack in a Jerusalem synagogue, the Palestinian Authority leadership and media continue to call for violence against Israeli civilians.

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Palestinian Authority Forbids Peace with Israel

Palestinian Authority Forbids Peace with Israel

Abu Mazen’s Adviser on Religious and Islamic Affairs stressed that it is not only against Hamas ideology but also that of the Palestinian Authority to sign any peace agreement with Israel.

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Netanyahu’s Reactions

Netanyahu’s Reactions

Tensions are currently high in Israel, even by Israeli standards.

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The Plight of Homosexuals in Egypt

The Plight of Homosexuals in Egypt

Eight Egyptian men were sentenced to three years in prison plus three years on probation for allegedly attending Egypt’s first same-sex wedding. The harsh sentence was condoned by Egyptian TV host Tamer Amin and the Egyptian Minister for Religious Endowment. Despite the high hopes that existed in the wake of the Arab Spring, the plight of homosexuals in Egypt and the Arab world has deteriorated.

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A Comprehensive Analysis of the Islamic State (IS)

A Comprehensive Analysis of the Islamic State (IS)

Some describe it as the result of a disengaged American foreign policy; some look at it as a byproduct of an aggressive post-Saddam Iranian foreign policy in the region; then there are those who regard it as a creation of Sunni Arab states to undermine Assad and Iranian interests and contain Iran’s ambitious foreign policy in the region.

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Mesopotamia at Versailles

Mesopotamia at Versailles

This year, the centenary of the start of World War I, has seen reexaminations of its immediate causes. Reexamination of the historic peace attempted at its conclusion, however, is even more relevant to the current crises in foreign policy.

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Frailty and Gladiatorial Combat in Somalia

Frailty and Gladiatorial Combat in Somalia

It is that cyclical season of winner takes all. It is that all too familiar gladiatorial executive combat all over again. Yes, the Villa Somalia has once again turned into a roaring amphitheater.

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Zivotofsky v. Kerry: Will Executive Privilege Trump Israel Advocacy?

Zivotofsky v. Kerry: Will Executive Privilege Trump Israel Advocacy?

The disputed status of Jerusalem will ostensibly be under review by the U.S. Supreme Court today. Zivotofsky v. Kerry asks whether the president’s so-called “foreign affairs power” — based on his textual duty to “receive ambassadors and other public ministers” — ousts Congress from directing foreign policy.

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