Arab & Islamic Politics

In 2012, during a moment of national and regional consensus, the reserved, nonthreatening Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi was chosen as temporary president of Yemen. But Hadi, now seventy-four years old, has held onto power ever since, despite lacking a large base of domestic loyalists. Most important for the Yemeni people, the war needs to end with either a transitional council or elections so that a future leader enjoys the popular legitimacy Hadi lacks.

Directly investing in nongovernmental enterprise and giving international approval to private competition can change the dynamic in individual countries, promote liberal economies, and give citizens greater agency.

Angry over Iranian militia abuses and Baghdad’s sundry failures, a number of powerful tribes are setting aside their traditional sectarian loyalties and pushing to safeguard their basic needs, sometimes violently.

Bahrain’s prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, has held his position since 1971, the year his country gained independence from Britain, but he is now eighty-four and evidently in uncertain health. Potential candidates to replace him include Crown Prince Salman or even a much younger nephew, Nasser bin Hamad, mirroring the generational handover in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. But the Khawalids, an influential, once-sidelined branch of the ruling family, also merit attention as Bahrain nears the end of an era.

An expert testifies on the concrete steps Washington can take to ensure that a credible, technocratic government forms in Beirut, and that the Lebanese Armed Forces protect civilians from Hezbollah-led reprisals.

Facing grim prospects in Iran’s upcoming elections, the president’s camp is trying to convince hardliners that they need to keep the nuclear deal alive in order to continue expanding their military arsenal and intervening abroad.

The United States has turned toward realpolitik, but it has a strategic interest in backing demonstrators.

Moscow is beating Washington at the reputational game in Iraq, raising the need for greater U.S. engagement on education and media outreach rather than just security issues.

The long-anticipated stock selloff has finally been green-lit, but doubts remain about just how much it will help to economically transform the kingdom.