Dear FPA Blog followers, You might know that I feature some analyses and articles not published elsewhere for the benefit of this blog. This post is one of them; it is written by an exceedingly capable student of mine at Princeton – Miguel Vargas, whose final article for the course ‘International Relations of the Middle […]
The “Arab Spring” that began with the self-immolation of a vendor in the streets of Tunisia spread potently throughout the Middle East-North Africa (MENA). The small country of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf was also hit by the wave of the regional quest for political transformation in 2011. Due to the crisis caused by […]
Nazila Fathi is a Shorenstein Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Before her current role at Harvard, she was a Tehran correspondent for The New York Times for 17 years. As one of the first female journalists in post-revolutionary Iran working for a major Western news media outlet, Nazila worked with some of the […]
If you go to Google Maps and type in “Persian Gulf,” you will be taken to the waterway between Saudi Arabia and Iran. It will put a marker in the middle of the waterway. But it will not inform you the name of said waterway. If you go to Google Maps and type in “Arabian […]
Today, Iran and the 5+1 group of permanent UN Security Council members (plus Germany) will sit down in Baghdad to discuss the terms of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Iran’s ambassador to Baghdad, Hassan Danaiifar, explained that merely hosting the talks demonstrated a historic chapter in the history of Iraq. But what does the event actually mean […]
With talks between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iranian officials underway, it is appropriate to assess the dynamics between Iran and the international community and how recent political changes may alter future negotiations. Although the IAEA’s mission statement declares the organization an “independent intergovernmental, science and technology-based organization,” it is formally part of […]
The following interview was conducted by Foreign Policy Blog’s Rob Lattin with the Syrian American Council’s (SAC) Communications Director Rashad Al-Dabbagh. The SAC is a non-partisan, non-sectarian grassroots organization devoted to promoting educational, civic, economic, and human development, as well as advancing civil liberties and human dignity in Syria. It also seeks to build bridges […]
Davar Ardalan, Senior Producer NPR News Davar is responsible for producing the live daily news broadcast for NPR’s Tell Me More (TMM) with Michel Martin. From the opinions of global newsmakers to listeners, to the wisdom of renowned thinkers, activists and spiritual leaders, NPR’s TMM brings fresh voices and perspectives to public radio. Prior to […]
New York, NY – The year was 1979. The U.S. had severed diplomatic ties with Iran, a country engulfed in socio-political turmoil that replaced 2,500 years of Persian monarchy with a theocratic, Islamic state . An entirely new Middle East emerged, and the turmoil led to the largest exodus of Iranians to the West — […]
What can you do in fifteen seconds? It takes a Keurig machine 30 seconds to brew a cup of coffee. This is the combined time two people have to make it to a bomb shelter in Sderot, a southern city in Israel. Imagine fifteen seconds being the difference between life and death. On May […]
Over at The National, Hassan Hassan has authored an excellent analysis of Iraq’s complex relationship with Iran, and the evolving nature of her ties to the Arab Gulf states. Hassan suggests Iraq’s Arab neighbors should resist knee-jerk presumptions regarding another Persian proxy. Hassan complements his take with an interesting aside regarding clerical connections between the […]
I recall having a hard time remembering all the Southern islands of Iran for exams during school years. I remember the name of “Abu Mousa” from those years. I had never thought about this island ever since. When I read the news about President Ahmadinejad’s visit to Abu Mousa, I still did not detect […]
Peter Beinart’s newest book “The Crisis of Zionism” has garnerd significant controversy in the American-Zionist community, earning both praise and criticism. The book is a personal reflection on what it means for the senior Daily Beast editor and CUNY professor to be a Zionist, the current state and future possibilities of democracy in Israel, and […]
Turkish media recently reported that a new Islamic-leaning Kurdish party will soon join the political scene in Ankara. The new party will be named Kürdistani İslam Partisi, or the Kurdistani Islamic Party. Turkey’s Political Parties Act, however, does not permit political parties to be formed with the name of a race, sect or a religion.[i] Speaking to […]
The fundamental divide in Islam is all too often overlooked when evaluating Middle Eastern countries’ relationships, foreign policies, and roles in the international community. Despite a myriad of nuances among Muslims, from spoken language to the sect of Islam to which they belong, the majority of people worldwide ignorantly group Muslims into one category: Muslim. […]