Arab & Islamic Politics

ROBERT SATLOFF General Observations Meetings with the four leaders--Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, and Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Yasir Arafat--underscore the vitality of regional leadership. All seemed healthy, engaged, self-assured, and in command. Barak is clearly a man with a mission, convinced

The Chechen crisis is the result of confluence of long-term and recent political, economic and military trends in Russia. Chief among them is the decline of the Russian state, the weakness of its institutions and their inability to address the consequences of the protracted socio-economic decline in the North Caucasus--one

Last week's meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) revealed at once the new power of the organization to manage world oil prices, as well as the fault lines that could undermine the group's current consensus. Maintaining Discipline Keeps Prices High By maintaining the production cuts that the

Yesterday, Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Yasir Arafat met with Nayef Hawatmeh, leader of the Syria-based Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). The meeting, which took place in Cairo, was the first between the estranged leaders in six years. Hawatmeh has been a waning force in Palestinian politics for

The late King Hassan II leaves behind an important legacy in Morocco and the Middle East. He was a courageous peacemaker; a voice of reconciliation between Muslims, Jews, and Christians; and a vital link between Shii and Sunni Muslims. After Hassan's death, it is now up to his son and

Iran's complexities often lead it to surprise observers. The most recent surprise came not from the hardliners of the regime, but from the most active part of Iran's nascent civil society-students. Who Are These Students? Because of a quota system designed to purge the student body after the Islamic revolution

To be taken by surprise by events in Iran has become almost routine. The election victory of Mohammed Khatemi in May 1997 came as a surprise. Now, with the student demonstrations during the past week, Iran has once again surprised us with perhaps the biggest challenge to the Islamic regime

Kuwait is in a region characterized by contradictions and dichotomies between young and old, state and society, religion and politics, and national identity and globalization. The Kuwaiti experiment is part of a regional experiment, and what takes place there has an impact on the Arab world, particularly on the other

Dr. Adnan Pacachi, former Iraqi foreign minister and United Nations (UN) representative: The Iraqi opposition represents the yearnings and aspirations of Iraqis, who after years of oppression and dictatorship want a democratic and pluralistic government that protects the human rights of all its citizens. Saddam Husayn led Iraq into two