Tag: James M. Dorsey
Playing politics with religion: Imran Khan puts himself between a rock...
James M. Dorsey | Less than a week in office, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has made blasphemy one of his first issues, empowering militants...
Pakistan at a crossroads as Imran Khan is sworn in -James...
James M. Dorsey | Criticism of Pakistan’s anti-money laundering and terrorism finance regime by the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) is likely to...
The Uyghur militant threat: China cracks down and mulls policy changes
James M. Dorsey | China, responding to United Nations criticism, academic and media reports, and an embarrassing court case in Kazakhstan, has come closer to...
Yemen war challenges Saudi moral authority
James M. Dorsey | Saudi conduct of its ill-fated war in Yemen coupled with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s alignment with the Trump administration and...
Saudi Arabia and Iran woo incoming Pakistani prime minister
James M Dorsey | An offer by a Saudi-backed bank to lend financially strapped Pakistan US$4 billion is likely intended to bolster Saudi influence when former international...
Multiple diplomatic spats raise questions about Saudi concept of sovereignty
James M. Dorsey | The failure of western allies to rally around Canada in its dispute with Saudi Arabia risks luring the kingdom into a...
Can the US make Iran sanctions stick?
James M Dorsey | Recent Iranian trade figures suggest that the United Arab Emirates, a strong backer of US efforts to squeeze Iran economically, could emerge...
Big power competition in the Eastern Mediterranean: Is Trump missing the...
James M. Dorsey | A Trump administration decision to sanction two key Turkish officials in retaliation for the continued detention of an American cleric coupled...
Talking to Rouhani: Is Trump shooting from the hip or following...
James M Dorsey | Message to Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Tel Aviv: Not to worry, US President Donald J. Trump has no intention of meeting...
Despite concerns, China sees a potential ally in Pakistan’s Imran Khan
James M Dorsey | Pakistani prime minister-in waiting Imran Khan’s ability to chart his own course as well as his relationship with the country’s powerful military...
Securing Xinjiang: China adds security component to belt and road initiative
James M Dorsey | China appears to be shifting gears in its multi-billion dollar Belt and Road initiative. Long projected as driven by economics and...
Saudi-UK media tie-up: Targeting the non-Arabic speaking Middle East
James M Dorsey | Long satisfied to attempt to dominate pan-Arab media and battle it out with Qatar’s state-owned Al Jazeera television network, Saudi Arabia...
Russian Hackers: The shadowy world of US and Gulf hacks just...
James M Dorsey | The covert Qatar-United Arab Emirates cyberwar that helped spark the 13-month-old Gulf crisis that pits a Saudi-United Arab Emirates-led alliance against...
Malaysian-Saudi relations: A lesson in the pitfalls of authoritarianism and autocracy
James M Dorsey | Embattled former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was the main loser in last month’s election upset that returned Mahathir Mohamad to...
Saudi effort to isolate Iran internationally produces results
James M. Dorsey | Saudi efforts to isolate Iran internationally are producing results in North Africa and Central Asia. Authorities and religious leaders in Tajikistan...
Jordanian protests: Revisiting the Arab Spring and setting a benchmark
James M Dorsey | Protests that forced Jordan’s prime minister to resign and laid bare the country’s systemic economic and political crisis shed a new...
2018 World Cup potentially set to become latest Middle Eastern battlefield
James M Dorsey | A possible Saudi-Iranian clash on the soccer pitch promises to be a highlight of this month’s World Cup in Russia. It...
Mahathir’s policies could reshape Malaysia’s relations with Gulf States
James M Dorsey | Newly elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Mahathir is adopting policies that could reshape the Southeast nation’s relations with powerful Gulf States....
The battle for the Iranian nuclear deal: China approaches a watershed
James M. Dorsey | Conventional wisdom has it that China stands to benefit from the US withdrawal from the 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran,...
Middle Eastern rivalry spills onto Asian soccer pitches
James M. Dorsey Saudi Arabia’s bitter rivalry with Iran has spilled onto Asian soccer pitches with the newly created South West Asian Football Federation (SWAFF)reflecting the...
Shifting energy import patterns enhance China’s clout in the Middle East
James M. Dorsey | Subtle shifts in Chinese energy imports suggest that China may be able to exert influence in the Middle East in alternative...
Remembering Syria: Iran struggles with potentially explosive environmental crisis
James M Dorsey | Iranian leaders are struggling, three months after anti-government protests swept the Islamic republic, to ensure that environmental issues that helped sparked...
Mohammed bin Salman dazzles international media by lifting restrictions on women
James M Dorsey | Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has dazzled international media and public opinion by lifting some restrictions on women’s rights, holding...
China’s strategy to deal with Uighur fighters fleeing Syria and Iraq
James M Dorsey | China is moving on multiple fronts to pre-empt in the short-term Uighur foreign fighters fleeing Syria and Iraq from reasserting themselves...
Egyptian ultras: Down but not out
James M. Dorsey | Egyptian general-turned-president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi won a second term virtually unchallenged in what is widely seen as a flawed election. The run-up...
The Middle East’s nuclear technology clock starts ticking
James M. Dorsey | The Middle East’s nuclear technology clock is ticking as nations pursue peaceful capabilities that potentially leave the door open to future...
Gulf crisis shows separation of sports and politics unlikely
James M Dorsey | The Gulf crisis that has pitted World Cup host Qatar against a United Arab Emirates-Saudi Arabia-led alliance for the past eight...
Saudi Crown Prince’s limitations on putting the genie back in the...
James M Dorsey | Valentine’s Day in Riyadh and Islamabad as well as parts of Indonesia and Malaysia puts into sharp relief Saudi Arabia’s ability...
China’s step into the maelstrom of the Middle East
James M Dorsey | China’s abandonment of non-interference is manifested by its (largely ineffective) efforts to mediate conflicts in South Sudan, Syria and Afghanistan as...
Chinese demands to Malaysia highlight China’s growing challenges!
James M. Dorsey | A Chinese demand for the extradition of 11 Uyghurs from Malaysia puts the spotlight on China’s roll-out of one of the...
What role is India playing in the crisis in the Maldives?
James M. Dorsey | The outcome of a power struggle in the Maldives that has sparked declaration of an emergency, military control of parliament, and...
Asia’s dark underbelly: Conflicts threaten long-term stability and development
James M. Dorsey | A host of conflicts, stretching across the Asian landmass from the Middle East to Southeast Asia and northwest China, are likely...
How risky is Trump’s Iran policy?
By James M. Dorsey | US President Donald J. Trump’s inclination to withdraw from a three-year old international agreement that curbs Iran’s nuclear program is...
How to tackle radical madrassas in Pakistan
James M Dorsey | This is an edited version of remarks by James M. Dorsey at the launch in Islamabad on 30 January 2018 of...
Saudi government to tighten fundraising laws to promote moderate Islam
James M Dorsey | A Saudi draft law could constitute a first indication that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s vow to return the kingdom to...
Gulf crisis continues to fuel the fire in Syria and Iran
James M Dorsey | Turkish allegations of Saudi, Emirati and Egyptian support for the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) threaten to turn Turkey’s military offensive...
