As Gulf monarchies face a generational transition in leadership, new challenges are emerging. The intensified royal competition comes amid dramatically transformed information environments; societies that are better educated and more engaged in public affairs; and an unstable regional environment that invites intervention. These forces are disrupting the continuity of long-standing norms that regulate ruling family interaction, and testing the assumption that royal competition supports political stability. Read more
Moscow increasingly aspires to play the role of mediator in the Middle East, but how seriously should we take this? Russia, along with Turkey and Iran, has been attempting to mediate between the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and some of its opponents in negotiations in the Kazakh capital, Astana, and in Geneva. There have also been reports that Moscow has not only offered to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Iran, but that it has even hosted some discussions between them. Read more
Oil prices cascaded to their lowest level in more than three months in mid-March as a confluence of bearish reports heightened market concerns that resurgent shale oil production will undermine OPEC’s strategy to accelerate a drawdown in global oil inventories. The unexpected strong rebound in tight oil production in 2017 is further inflating the plethora of crude stocks in the United States that are already weighing on markets. Emerging tensions among some OPEC and non-OPEC producers over noncompliance with lower production targets and uncertainty if the alliance will extend the agreement to the second half of the year further eroded market confidence. Read more
قيل أن المحامي السيء الصيت روي كوهين، الذي ساعد السيناتور جو مكارثي في حملته الشرسة لترهيب كل من كان يُشتبه بأن له ميول يسارية أو ماركسية خلال خمسينات القرن الماضي، والذي أصبح جزءا من الحقبة المكارثية الممقوتة، كان له تأثير عميق على شخصية دونالد ترامب. وفي عقد السبعينات، حين تحول كوهين إلى محامي النجوم ورجال عصابات المافيا، نمت صداقة قوية بين كوهين ورجل الأعمال الشاب ترامب اطلع على المزيد
In addition to original content, AGSIW.org in Arabic is regularly updated with new Arabic translations of AGSIW's analysis. New translations include:
A great deal of media attention to Russian involvement in Libya arose as a result of a March 14 Reuters report that Moscow “appears to have deployed special forces to an airbase in western Egypt near the border with Libya.” These forces, reportedly consisting of a 22-man unit, deployed to support General Khalifa Haftar, who controls much of eastern Libya. Haftar is at odds with the UN-backed (and thus Russian-approved) Libyan government based in the western part of the country headed by Fayez al-Sarraj. Read more
In the Media
Speaking with Middle East Online, AGSIW Senior Resident Scholar Hussein Ibish commented on relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, noting that neither country "can afford to do without each other’s basic cooperation and support, particularly given the unprecedented series of domestic and regional security challenges facing the Arab world."
AGSIW Visiting Scholar Hala Aldosari spoke with Al Hurra's "Al Youm" regarding challenges to women's rights in Saudi Arabia.
AGSIW Research Associate Yerevan Saeed spoke with NRT tv about Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's visit to Washington. He noted that the visit was multidimensional, with the goal of ensuring U.S. political and financial support as Abadi seeks a second term in the 2018 Iraqi parliamentary election.
Outreach
AGSIW Executive Vice President Ambassador Stephen A. Seche spoke on the panel “Yemen: What’s Going On and Why It Matters” at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington, DC.
AGSIW Senior Resident Scholar Kristin Smith Diwan spoke with Anglo-Kuwaiti director Sulayman Al Bassam at the world premiere of his play, "Petrol Station," at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
AGSIW Visiting Scholar Hala Aldosari presented a lecture for the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland on the situation of human rights defenders in the Gulf, organized by the Gulf Center for Human Rights. She also spoke at the George Washington University, presenting on "Gender Norms and Influence on Women's Identity and Rights in Saudi Arabia."
On March 24, AGSIW Visiting Scholar Mark N. Katz spoke on the panel "Foreign Policy – Broader Middle East and Terrorism" at the "Reality Check: Russia and the West" conference, co-sponsored by the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Center for Transatlantic Relations and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Auswartige Politik.
Position Title: Visiting Scholar Department/Team: Senior Resident Scholars Period: Fall 2017 Location: Washington, DC
Job Summary: Visiting Scholars are individuals who possess a PhD or equivalent professional experience, and whose primary purpose for residence at AGSIW is to conduct independent research. The length of stay for a Visiting Scholar is typically a semester or academic year. AGSIW is actively seeking candidates with significant regional experience and fluency in written and spoken Arabic. AGSIW will provide a stipend that can be used to cover living expenses, travel costs, or incidental research expenses. Read more
