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.
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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. -
7 May 2019
Strategic trends across the Indo-Pacific region
The US might be reorienting to the region, but so is the region responding to the deep gravitational pull from China. -
16 Apr 2019
ISIS: the generational problem
For all the concern about the children of foreign jihadis, thousands of ISIS detainees in Iraq pose a bigger danger. -
31 Oct 2018
Concerns over Saudi Arabia go far beyond Khashoggi
The death of the dissident journalist has exacerbated regional worry about the many missteps by the Saudi Crown Prince. -
30 Aug 2018
Libyan elections: another Gaddafi
Saif Gaddafi faces difficult obstacles, including his father's legacy, to challenge for the presidency of Libya. -
14 Jun 2018
Understanding what is important
Anthony Bubalo, author of “Remaking the Middle East”, reflects on his changed priorities when observing the Middle East. -
22 May 2018
Challenges mount up
Unsolved political issues in the Middle East leave barren soil for economic and social green shoots. -
15 May 2018
Risk and reward in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Donald Trump’s unconventional approaches may be just what are needed. -
2 May 2018
Power of youth
The euphoria of 2011 may have disappeared, but the youth of the Middle East have not forgotten. -
1 May 2018
Iran’s May Day
President Trump’s deadline to decide on America’s role in the Iran Deal is drawing close. -
1 May 2018
Trouble ahead
Frustrated expectations in the Middle East and a lack of economic opportunities are destabilising. -
30 Apr 2018
Decay and new growth
The Middle East lacks the frameworks needed to capitalise on green shoots of change. -
13 Mar 2018
The resurgence of Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is positioned to reclaim the pre-eminent position in the violent Salafi-jihadi struggle. -
8 Mar 2018
The pain of hearing: Australia’s parliament recognises Yazidi genocide
A motion in parliament last week gave a crucial voice to a community’s suffering. -
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7 Dec 2017
Jerusalem: Trump’s roll of the dice
Recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is a risky move at a time of so much volatility in the Middle East. -
5 Dec 2017
Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh: the demise of a great survivor
Saudi meddling in neighbouring Yemen has again come unstuck. -
24 Nov 2017
Saudi desperation as Yemen campaign stagnates
Rare access to Yemen's badlands reveal the human and economic cost of the conflict. -
20 Nov 2017
Navy fails to exercise common sense with Saudi boarding party
The naval blockade of Yemen has entangled a careless Australia. -
9 Nov 2017
The puzzling demise of Lebanon’s Sa’ad Hariri
Riyadh’s man in Beirut is gone but seemingly not in some careful Saudi plot. -
9 Oct 2017
Aid and its limits in Palestine
The Palestinian economy lacks the foundational assets required for effective and sustainable growth, even with substantial aid disbursements. -
30 Aug 2017
Don’t ask the UN to fight America’s war against Hizbullah
The EU States recognise that changing the approach taken by UNIFIL would risk making their troops a target of violent resistance. -
14 Aug 2017
Saudi-Qatar dispute: The new normal
Far from dragging Qatar into the fold as intended, the rift between Qatar and its neighbours is likely to continue to expand. -
31 Jul 2017
Trump’s vital but confused support for Lebanon
Supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Lebanese government does mean tacitly accepting the presence of Hizbullah, a designated terrorist group in Europe and the US.