Blog Post

Iran’s energy industry, mismanaged and hit by sanctions, is still crucial for the government in Tehran and important on the global stage.

New investment deals, mainly from the Gulf states and Turkey, are opening a path for Syrian reconstruction. But the fragile security situation and financial environment remain hurdles for foreign investment.

When quickly debunked rumors in the Israeli media that the UAE was seeking to manage postconflict Gaza were widely welcomed in Israel, it demonstrated both the trust the UAE has built among Israelis but also their lack of understanding of Emirati policies and interests.

Disputes in the Gulf tend to be structurally constrained by dense interdependence, established patterns of dispute management, and various shades of elite empathy among leaderships.

The Houthis’ expanding partnerships with al-Shabab and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are a growing threat to regional security and international shipping.

Gulf states are increasingly influential, though still cautious, actors in the region’s evolving maritime security landscape.

The government-formation crisis is a test of whether Iraq can assert genuine sovereignty in a system still shaped by foreign influence, factional vetoes, and constitutional loopholes.

As Gulf states pursue economic diversification and knowledge economies less dependent on resource extraction, the logic of competition may be becoming less compelling and the benefits of coordination more apparent.