Middle East

Recently, we have witnessed an unprecedented series of political events in the Middle East and North Africa after a young man from Tunisia had his vegetables confiscated by the police. In retaliation, the young man set himself on fire, which initiated inextinguishable flames of protests and demonstrations demanding a more humane world for everyone. Protests and strikes driven by everyday people continued to sweep across the tightly controlled North African states. However, not everybody treated these unrests as a deep, socially rooted problem in society.

• Necati Anaz
• September 2012
• Strategic Analysis

By bringing the Syrian question to the UN Security Council on the basis of proposals formulated by the Arab League, led principally by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the western powers ran the risk of not only facing a combined Russia-China veto but of inflaming sectarian opinion.

• R. S. Kalha
• February 11, 2012
• IDSA Comments

While India’s policy elite have surely not been ‘oblivious’ of the tectonic changes occurring in the region, they have been rather ‘impervious’ to the rapidly emerging equations.

• Abhijit Singh
• January 16, 2012
• IDSA Comments

While erstwhile authoritarianism and absolutist rule may no longer be possible, it would be naïve to expect that the Middle East will undergo a metamorphosis.

• P. R. Kumaraswamy
• March 30, 2011
• Issue Brief

The success of popular movements in the Middle East has raised the apprehensions of the Chinese Communist Party, which has been reminded of its own weakness.

• Gunjan Singh
• February 25, 2011
• IDSA Comments