خلق الحوار. التأثير على السياسة.
Generating Dialogue. Impacting Policy.
Data from a rare yet highly reliable Saudi public opinion poll—commissioned by the Washington Institute and conducted in June—shows a mix of attitudes on key foreign policy issues, with both popular support and opposition expressed towards the Saudi government’s stances. On most issues polled, surprisingly, the country’s small Shia minority does not differ much from the Sunni majority.
Fikra Forum
A very rare but highly reliable Saudi public opinion poll, commissioned by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and conducted in person by a regional commercial firm in June, reveals some surprises on key foreign policy issues—but general quiescence on domestic policies, which remain the predominant popular concern.
Fikra Forum
The recently announced 25-year agreement between China and Iran appears to have become almost an urban myth among Middle East watchers. However, these assumptions are misunderstanding the agreement; it does not have any sort of revolutionary dimension for the China-Iran relationship. Rather, the agreement is mostly a gesture of friendship and the natural and unsurprising continuation of the relationship between the two states.
Months after the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, Sudan’s main opposition coalition and the ruling military council finalized a power sharing deal with the hopes of forging a path towards legitimate elections and civilian rule. However, the tools that Bashir used throughout his reign remain deeply embedded in the political system.
Fikra Forum
Water is the most fundamental human need, and its systemic lack has serious social, economic, and political consequences, as well as extremely dangerous security repercussions.
Fikra Forum
On July 6, 2020, Iraq’s most prolific security commentator Husham al-Hashemi was assassinated in Zayouna, a social melting pot neighborhood of east Baghdad. Iraq’s protesters, journalists, and security agencies knew Husham well, as did nearly all the governments of the international Coalition. Everyone, from every angle, must lend their voice and their efforts to finding and prosecuting Husham’s killers, and those who killed protesters and journalists, before they kill more Iraqis.
