Eleonora Ardemagni
In the Arab capitals of the Gulf, ruling classes are quietly emerging beside rulers, boosted by economic diversification. Power and politics continue, traditionally, to be centralized and...
In the Gulf monarchies, power is still highly centralized and personalized. However, policy-making is no longer exclusively centred around royal families, religious establishments, and traditional...
After a decade of cold US-Saudi relations, the shock provoked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine provides pragmatic incentives to reorient the US-Saudi-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) alliance.
As the conflict in Yemen drags on, an interesting dynamic has marked the last year of war: the rise of popular protests in many Southern regions, the areas which are not directly hit by airstrikes...
Yemen’s Houthis attacked Abu Dhabi twice in a week. For the United Arab Emirates (UAE), risk perception has dramatically increased: things will never be the same. The Emirati leadership, a master of...
The “Abraham equation”, which refers here to the developing cooperation among the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Israel, and the United States, strengthens regional maritime alliances in the...
After a decade of popular uprisings and civil wars, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is experiencing a deep governance crisis. The transformation, weakening or even the collapse of...
Qatar is carving out a leading role for itself within international diplomacy - particularly in light of recent events in Afghanistan - through its mediation-oriented foreign policy. This occurs...
Saudi Arabia’s rebalanced alliances within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are producing recalibrated power relations in Yemen, too, as the new United Nations Special Envoy — the Swedish diplomat...
The geostrategic scenario around the Gulf monarchies has significantly changed, a phenomenon that is reflected by shifting American and Chinese approaches to military outposts in the area. As such, a...
Ten years after the Arab uprisings, Arab armies are in a state of flux. They played a pivotal role in shaping post-2011 political outcomes and, today, the military is even more influential in...
Key findings:
In fractured Arab states (as Yemen, Syria, Libya and Iraq), defense structures are no more army-centred. It’s the sunset of the armies as pillars of national defense sectors, reflecting...