Lebanon's Malignant State
Some 30 years after the end of its dirty civil war, Lebanon has cultivated a well-developed preference for discretion.
Brian Stewart
· 5 min read
Middle East
A collection of 119 posts
Lessons from the Last Empire of Iran
Despite the uncertainties and tensions that characterize modern political life, we would do well to remember that the future we want is never the future we actually get, and that civilisation will outlast the fragility of politics.
Michael Bonner
· 10 min read
The War of Return—A Review
The War of Return is an important book and, unquestionably, a welcome corrective to the plethora of myths, lies, and misconceptions that litter the discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Benjamin Kerstein
· 19 min read
PODCAST 84: Talat Chughtai, Director of the Trauma Intensive Care Unit at Hamad General Hospital, on Treating COVID-19
Listen onSpotify Talat Chughtai, Director of the Trauma Intensive Care Unit at Hamad General Hospital, talks to Jonathan Kay about COVID-19, the strain it’s putting on health-care systems, and what we’ve learned from China about how best to treat it.
Quillette
· 1 min read
How Long Before the Regime Falls in Iran?
Opposition to the regime is not just to be found in the clergy. It is wide and deep but also unfocused.
Art Keller
· 12 min read
Balancing the Threat in the Middle East
What are the sources of Iranian and Saudi foreign policy and what prudent options there are for the West to adopt?
Sumantra Maitra
· 6 min read
The Kurds Need a Street — The Classical Liberal Case for Kurdistan
Western leaders and policymakers who bemoan the referendum can, if they choose, flatter themselves as “realists.”
Jonah Cohen
· 6 min read
Review: Raqqa Diaries — Escape from Islamic State
Samer’s book is a story of ordinary life interrupted, and of bravery and endurance in the face of abject terror.
James Snell
· 7 min read
The Islamist Decompression Chamber
Traditional militancy required careful selection, tests of loyalty, and secrecy.
Alexis Carre
· 9 min read
No, the Syrian Civil War Is Not like Jews Fleeing Nazi Persecution
If one genuinely cares about the civilians who are suffering, they would want to stop the war at any cost, rather than fan the flames further.
Sumantra Maitra
· 6 min read
The Sykes-Picot Agreement and the Making of the Modern Middle East
The agreement provided a general understanding of British and French spheres of influence in the Middle East. The goal was to divide between them the Ottoman Empire’s Arab provinces (not including the Arabian Peninsula).
Aaron W Hughes
· 4 min read
A Memoir from Mesopotamia
The book documents the years she spent in the country, working closely with the American military.
James Snell
· 4 min read
History and Memory in Syria
Sometimes it is better to write from an unconventional perspective; sometimes what is missing from the equation is a greater sense of historical understanding.
James Snell
· 5 min read
Western Leaders Can No Longer Ignore Saudi Atrocities
Western leaders who claim to be progressive, compassionate or 'feminist' are placed in awkward situations when the atrocities of their ally are broadcast on a weekly, almost daily basis.
Claire Lehmann
· 4 min read