17 Jun 2025
Brave new interior world: The rise of self-enhancing states
Power is shifting inward, not outward, with control and influence the currency of choice.
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27 May 2025
Trump’s Gulf AI gambit to reshape the Middle East tech landscape
The US President’s regional tour also signalled an effort to peel back growing regional connections to Chinese tech companies. -
16 May 2025
Trump's extraordinary Saudi speech
A speech in the Middle East offers insights into Trump's views on China. -
11 Apr 2025
Why Oman? Explaining the choice of venue for US-Iran talks
Oman’s skill as a facilitator has been fine-tuned over decades – not that many know. -
20 Feb 2025
Empowering Middle East’s youth is key to climate resilience
And that means overcoming financial and cultural barriers to participation. -
13 Nov 2024
The declining fortunes of Afghanistan’s women
Is the International Court of Justice a toothless tiger, or can a new legal battle truly turn the tide for women and girls? -
7 Oct 2024
Trump would put personality over policy in the Middle East
Donald Trump’s overarching impulse towards the Middle East can be boiled down to: look strong, but don’t do too much. -
3 Sep 2024
Russia and the Middle East: Positioning for advantage
Moscow has made a cynical calculation that conflict serves its interests. -
26 Jul 2024
Martin Indyk, peacemaker
A scholar, a statesman, and a relentless policy entrepreneur. Above all, he was committed to a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. -
26 Jul 2024
Remembering Martin Indyk, an American diplomat with Australian sensibilities
“Few Australians have had such a large impact on the world, and for good”, said Lowy Institute Chairman Sir Frank Lowy. -
12 Apr 2024
Erdogan's election blow will shape Türkiye's foreign policy
Other than continuing to promote its economic interests, four recent developments illuminate the priorities of Türkiye's foreign policy. -
26 Mar 2024
Moscow attacks: Why Putin was quick to blame Ukraine
The Kremlin is covering its own mistakes in the bid to deflect attention. -
25 Mar 2024
Islamic State terror attack in Moscow a grim acknowledgement of global power status Russia seeks
One of Moscow’s goals in the Middle East was in many ways similar to that of the United States – to prevent the spillover of extremism. -
26 Feb 2024
Israel-Hamas: A globalised conflict
The Palestinian issue has never lost its resonance beyond the Middle East, especially in the Global South. -
8 Feb 2024
Non-state actors and the phantom of asymmetry
The might of the US military no longer guarantees world order. There are new actors and new ecosystems in play. -
16 Nov 2023
India’s Gaza dilemma
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict exposes a gap between New Delhi’s Global South leadership aspirations and its realpolitik. -
13 Nov 2023
1947 and now
Strife in the Middle East, hyper-partisans in the US Congress, and Russian troops on the march. We've been here before. -
6 Nov 2023
Gaza and re-imagining international order
The events of the past month show that the usual recipes for global problem-solving are no longer fit for purpose. -
1 Nov 2023
History repeats: A new (old) economic corridor emerges
Renewed connectivity between India, the Middle East and Europe shows how maps are temporary, but geography persists. -
26 Sep 2023
Israel and Saudi Arabia: Finally, a New Middle East?
A deal with the Middle East’s two most significant powers could transform the volatile region, but the stakes are high. -
22 Sep 2023
Libya’s unlearnable lessons
Many of the world’s current crises didn’t need to happen. Why the least responsible are still paying the price. -
4 Jul 2023
From hydrocarbons to hydrogen? Gulf states seek the good oil in green transition
The region that has long dominated global energy politics is well placed to shape a shift to new supplies. -
15 Jun 2023
Washington’s difficult dance in the Middle East
The United States is recalibrating its strategy in the region and using history as a guide. -
19 Dec 2022
China’s catch-up game in the Middle East
For all the promises and praise, there is little prospect of displacing deep ties between the Gulf nations and the West. -
14 Dec 2022
A step-up for China’s involvement in the Middle East
Beijing will not soon supplant Washington as a dominant security partner – but the Arab world sees a chance for leverage. -
24 May 2022
Why the Middle East matters to Australia
The region may not dominate in the way Southeast Asia or the Pacific does at present, but it has before and can again. -
7 May 2021
Royal rifts: Implications of Jordan’s family feud
A supposed coup, a would-be king and restless youth. Trouble is brewing in the Hashemite kingdom. -
12 Oct 2020
The false promise of regime change
A new book from an Obama insider considers the repeated failures of outside overthrow in the Middle East. -
8 Oct 2020
Iran’s declining regional influence
Tehran capitalised on US mistakes in the Middle East, but its proxy wars and consistently aggressive façade have a cost. -
4 Sep 2020
What is Turkey’s endgame in Libya?
Erdoğan’s strategy in Libya is about domestic legitimacy as much as regional projection – but past failures hang heavy. -
1 Sep 2020
Why is the “Arab street” so silent on the Israel-UAE deal?
Barely any outcry marked this latest shift, which probably reflects recognition of facts on the ground. -
31 Aug 2020
The bleak reality of sectarian Lebanon
As the Lebanese people are left to pick up the pieces of the 4 August blast, few have faith in the state to help. -
24 Aug 2020
The Hariri verdict and the fate of Hezbollah
The ruling on the 2005 assassination of the Lebanese PM will be a lasting stain on the party, but not its end. -
21 Aug 2020
Hidden seams in the UAE-Israel deal
It’s all about Iran, right? Actually, the agreement has more to do with managing the US and China. -
17 Aug 2020
The essence of timing in politics
The UAE earned goodwill for a deal with Israel, but the US is still struggling to win backers for its hard line on Iran. -
6 Aug 2020
It’s always about the oil in the Middle East
Confused by regional dynamics? Look to the constants. -
27 Jul 2020
Turkey: Not a team player
A nationalist bent at home and provocations abroad have frayed ties with Europe, and maybe soon the US, too. -
9 Jul 2020
Cashing in the chips at the Trump casino
The prospect of a Biden administration has pro-US leaders in the Middle East seeking to keep their political “winnings”. -
22 May 2020
A Yazidi genocide trial commences – a Hezbollah ban contemplated
Two recent developments in Germany have implications for Australia’s security interests in the Middle East. -
24 Apr 2020
ISIS looks to prosper in a world distracted by the virus
Europe could quickly be confronted by another security crisis if the terrorists growing resurgence is left unchecked. -
8 Apr 2020
Coronavirus in conflict: The fight has hardly begun
Covid-19 has brought wealthy nations to their knees. What will happen when the virus breaks out in a war zone? -
18 Mar 2020
Middle East dispatch: MBS purge, dam dispute, refugees in jeopardy
As Covid-19 threatens some of the world’s most vulnerable, power plays continue in northern Africa and Saudi Arabia. -
27 Feb 2020
Lebanon contemplates defaulting on its debt – and a greater cost
An economic crisis leaves the world with a big headache: A bailout, or risking another failed state in the Middle East? -
11 Feb 2020
Middle East dispatch: A paper closes, a rift opens, Syria slips
New hostilities between Turkey and Syria mark another blow to the Astana process and further tragedy for civilians. -
4 Feb 2020
Middle East Peace Plan: A once in a lifetime deal, not in a good way
A distinctly pro-Israel bias to the whole enterprise seems to confirm a Palestinian view of a plan as “dead on arrival”. -
17 Dec 2019
Middle East protests: Careful what you wish for
For all the good intentions and international support, a local patronage system is the true lodestone on the region. -
6 Nov 2019
Protests in Lebanon are a problem for Hezbollah
A rare and unified anti-sectarian agenda could quickly unravel as religious identities and old grievances take hold. -
21 Oct 2019
Sparks fly in Lebanon
Recent protests and wildfires are both symptoms of chronic mismanagement, corruption, and dysfunction. -
27 Sep 2019
Undeclared air strikes: Between war and peace
Israel has pioneered attacks with no apparent owner, and now others have taken up the tactic. -
26 Aug 2019
The Middle East air campaign, unmasked
Recent events reveal the evolving confrontation between Israel and Iran.