Essays
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Media and politics in the Arab worldThe despotsʹ henchmen
The murder of well-known Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi highlights the difficulties facing media in post-revolutionary Arab states. The freedoms temporarily gained after 2011 have long since fallen victim to the authoritarian restoration. By Loay Mudhoon
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The Kurdish YPG and the future of northeastern SyriaAssad smiles from the sidelines
In northeastern Syria, the U.S. and Turkey are wrangling over how to deal with the Kurdish militias. The regime could score points from this – and gain control with Russian support. An analysis by Kristin Helberg
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 70The red herring of 'Islamic human rights'
Muslims who grant themselves the right to adopt a human rights declaration based on their own religion need to allow followers of other religions to do the same, argues Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi in her essay
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The headscarf debateDon't ban – educate and emancipate!
Why resort to bans on specific religious practices, when we live in an age and a form of society where one can open oneself to permanent processes of education? If piety and self-determination are to be brought into line with a liberal, democratic society, argues Emel Zeynelabidin, then other measures must be applied
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War reportingFacts must be respected – even in Syria!
Amid the increasing complexity of the Syrian conflict, a growing number of "critical citizens" are assigning greater credibility to conspiracy theories on the Internet than to UN investigations that are required to meet scientific standards. Essay by Kristin Helberg
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U.S. sanctions against IranThe lonely "axis of evil"
In the new Cold War between the USA and the Islamic Republic the theocracy is taking on the status of the defunct Soviet Union, writes Ali Sadrzadeh. Tehranʹs powerbrokers have, however, come up with several strategies to counter Trump's tightened sanctions policy
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Sisi and the militaryEgyptʹs sham modernity
The constant state of denial that is a feature of the Egyptian urban middle class and the Sisi regime shores up a deeply paradoxical ideological construct, argues Maged Mandour, where repression is deemed necessary, yet must remain covert
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What triggered the Middle Eastern revolts in 2011?The economics of Arabellion
Syrian historian Nasser Rabbat argues that the Arab Spring resulted mainly from social imbalance and the misery of large sections of the population within the Arab world. Moreover, as long as economic inequality persists, these states will continue to be plagued by instability
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Civil wars in the Middle EastThe Arab issue of kith and kin
However they may appear in their early stages, Arab civil wars are wars between kinsfolk. The social group becomes partisan, whether sectarian, tribal, party political or ethnic. Whatʹs more, argues Morris Ayek, Arab civil wars have no end
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Anti-SemitismSeparating anti-Semitism from criticism of Israel
Anti-Semitism continues to be a serious problem. But it is also being used as a blanket rebuke of anyone who criticises Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, says Ofer Waldman