by Kaveh L. Afrasiabi In today’s turbulent Persian Gulf, geopolitical and geostrategic discord and rivalry have the upper hands. The idea of collective security, floated by Russia and backed by China, appears to be a lofty but unrealistic objective that… Continue Reading
by Brian Dooley Citing the existence of the death penalty in the United States as justification, Bahrain’s government executed political prisoners Ali al-Arab and Ahmed al-Malali by firing squad on the morning of Saturday, July 27. Another man was also… Continue Reading
by Hussein Ibish The simmering confrontation between the United States and Iran is delicately poised on a knife’s edge between an emerging bargain and steadily mounting potential for direct armed conflict. The ongoing de facto war of attrition with a… Continue Reading
by Jalil Bayat Donald Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran—including his decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA)—has empowered the position of hardliners in Iran’s foreign and security policy establishments. Europe’s inability… Continue Reading
by Andrew J. Bacevich [Editorial note: This remnant of a manuscript, discovered in a vault near the coastal town of Walpole, Massachusetts, appears to have been part of a larger project, probably envisioned as an interpretive history of the United… Continue Reading