04 Oct 2016

New Measures Adopted in Order to Boost Saudi Arabia’s Economy

The end of September 2016 proved to be eventful for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: the country announced a severe drop in public spending, by cutting ministers’ salaries and bonuses, while offering concessions in the OPEC meeting (held in Algeria, 28 September), agreeing to slash the oil production
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23 Sep 2016

Parliamentary Elections in Jordan – September 2016

The parliamentary elections in Jordan are set at a time of turbulence in the broader region, Jordan had to put enormous efforts into stabilizing itself against all odds. The Kingdom is being overwhelmed both by external factors (war-torn neighbors) resulting in an ever-growing refugee crisis and int
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16 Sep 2016

Political Implications Mounting During Hajj 2016

The hundreds of thousands of Hajj pilgrims are preparing to return home after traveling from around the world to Saudi Arabia for the five-day pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, a duty for the Muslim believers considering they are fit and able. This represents one of the largest world’s
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07 Jan 2016

Saudi Arabia’s Executions and a Tumultuous Chain of Events

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran on Sunday, 3rdof January, in relation with the incidents that took place in the Saudi embassy in Tehran, putting strain on an already volatile regional environment. The step represents the worst diplomatic crisis between the two countries since 1987
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27 Nov 2015

Turkey-Russia: Diplomacy, De-escalation and Cooperative Security

The accident at the border between Syria and Turkey on November 24, with the downing of a Russian jet and the death of one of the pilots, has been mainly caused by the lack of a single chain of command and control coordinating operations against ISIS. Russia’s military intervention in Syria has s
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17 Oct 2015

Italy and Syria: Potentials and Contradictions

The EU has not been able so far to outline a consistent stance towards the recent developments in Syria. This is mainly due to the lack of a shared approach among the so called EU-3 (France, Germany, and the United Kingdom) on relevant issues such as the Russian military intervention, the participat
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11 Aug 2015

Oman Between Rise and Insecurity Risk

Sultanate of Oman, the second largest state in the Arabian Peninsula and also a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a regional actor whose importance is becoming increasingly relevant in the Middle East. Dohfar Rebellion of 1976 is the last conflict that reached Oman, a country which, un
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30 Jun 2015

Lebanon – One Year Later, Persistent Presidential Vacuum

As of present date, The Lebanese parliament has failed for the 25th time in a row to elect a president to replace Michel SULEIMAN whose term ended on May 25 2014. The electoral process in Lebanon is not conducted through universal vote, but through parliamentary vote. There are 128 members of parlia
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26 Jan 2015

Reflection on King Abdullah ibn ABDULAZIZ’s rule

Abdullah ibn ABDULAZIZ (photo), the 6th King of Saudi Arabia, born on 1st of August 1924; died in the morning of 23rd of January 2015[1]. This date of birth is uncertain, since the dates or years of birth published were inconsequent. In a general line King ABDULLAH, promised much more than he did
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