Arab & Islamic Politics

The latest shakeup among Saudi decisionmakers will require Washington to work on new relationships in Riyadh and perhaps reconfirm understandings reached at Tuesday's summit.

For the moment at least, many Egyptians have become so fearful of change that they are content to live with their broken state, which they view as preferable to further collapse.

Riyadh is entering unknown territory with its succession system at a time when threats and distractions have sprung up on multiple fronts.

While the talks are unlikely to produce immediate results, Moscow could use them to gain leverage to shape its preferred outcome in Syria.

The challenge posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has created some strange dynamics, among them the shared interest of the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran in "degrading and defeating" the Sunni jihadist group. But this shared interest should not be viewed as an

Unlike most Persian Gulf states, the UAE does not need to balance its counterterrorism policies with any delicate ties to Sunni conservatives.

Threatened by ISIS and beholden to Washington, Amman will continue to play a critical role in the coalition, but its involvement comes with a domestic political cost.

Even if Cairo wanted to normalize relations with the Assad regime, its need to stay on good terms with Saudi Arabia and the UAE would seriously constrain how far it could go in that direction.

Although Iran's proxies are fighting ISIS in parallel with the U.S.-led effort, their actions and radical Shiite agendas are diametrically opposed to the goal of building inclusive governments and societies in Iraq and Syria.