James M. Dorsey
ARTICLES BY: James M. Dorsey
Kazakhstan, Like Ukraine, Spotlights the Waning Effect of the Rule of Law
When a Russian-led military force intervened in Kazakhstan, it did more than help Kazakh President Qasym-Johart Toqayev restore and strengthen his grip on power following...
Saudi Arabia Needs More Meat on the Bone of Reforms
Like Qatar and its bid for the World Cup, Saudi Arabia is discovering the pitfalls of seeking soft power, whether through sports or religion, without...
Saudi and Emirati Religious Moderation Inspires Few Beyond Their Borders
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have drawn praise for social reforms that have domestically reduced the role of religion in public life,...
Is Kazakhstan Russia’s Next Ukraine?
With Russian troops massing on Ukraine's borders, it's not only Ukrainians who worry about what President Vladimir Putin may have in store for them. It's...
Are Arab Militias Still Delivering Results for Iran?
Iranian support for Arab militias has long threatened Iran's detractors, who were unable to develop an effective counter strategy. Now, the tide may be turning. A...
US Foreign Policy Turns to Realism in the Middle East
A cursory look at Saudi Arabia and Iran suggests that emphasizing human rights in US foreign policy may complicate relations, but has little impact on...
Russia Pushes Its Influence in the Middle East
Russia hopes to blow new life into a proposal for a multilateral security architecture in the Gulf, with the tacit approval of the Biden administration. For...
Turkish ‘Diplomacy’ in Israel, Lebanon, and the Middle East
Just in case there were any doubts, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu demonstrated with his recent visit to Lebanon that improved relations between Middle Eastern...
Saudi Arabia Keeps Eye on Religious Ball in Global Competition for Talent
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has tamed his kingdom’s ultra-conservative religious establishment, and made hyper-nationalism rather than religion a pillar of a new...
Religious and Ethnic Intolerance Threatens to Spin Out of Control; We Can Stop It
The family of nations is balancing on the edge of religious and ethnic intolerance becoming the norm. Western as well as non-Western societies have helped paved...
Muslim Unity and Moderate Islam
Former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki Al-Faisal Al-Saud must have gotten his tenses mixed up when he asserted in a recently published memoir that no...
South Asia Replaces the Middle East as the Epicenter of Ultra-Conservative Islam
As Middle Eastern states attempt to manage their political and security differences, Muslim-majority countries are regrouping along a fault line that separates proponents of varying...
Ultraconservative Triumph Puts Pakistan at Risk of Islamic Violence and Terror
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan may have temporarily averted further violence by caving in to the demands of a militant, supremacist religious group. But in...
Why the World Is Engaging with the Taliban
The Taliban and Pakistan, both viewed warily by the West and others in the international community, appear to be benefiting from mounting concerns about the...
