Tag: Middle East

Ukraine war shows it’s time to do away with the racist ‘Clash of Civilizations’ theory

By Katherine Bullock “The clash of civilizations,” wrote the late American political scientist Samuel Huntington in a famous 1993 article, “will dominate global politics.” He predicted: “The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.” Picked apart by critics for conceptual and empirical errors, the tragedy of 9/11 breathed new life… Read More Ukraine war shows it’s time to do away with the racist ‘Clash of Civilizations’ theory

Dilip

Turkey should face international court over Yazidi genocide, report says

Turkey should face charges in front of the international court of justice for being complicit in acts of genocide against the Yazidi people, while Syria and Iraq failed in their duty to prevent the killings, an investigation endorsed by British human rights lawyer Helena Kennedy has said. The groundbreaking report, compiled by a group of prominent… Read More Turkey should face international court over Yazidi genocide, report says

Dilip

WAGING NONVIOLENCE: The mobilization for Yemen is a powerful Model for Today’s Peace Movement

Waging Nonviolence  – From the brutal war in Ukraine to the devastating school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, aggression and mass atrocities seem to define today’s world. Yet, even as we navigate this trauma and tragedy, there are glimmers of hope to be found in the lesser-known stories of collective action, as people come together in the… Read More WAGING NONVIOLENCE: The mobilization for Yemen is a powerful Model for Today’s Peace Movement

Dilip

SUZAN KANOO: Systemic Change Is Coming to the Arab World Thanks to Gen Z Women

Even as the pace of modernization in the Arab world shows some signs of acceleration, we all must recognize that deep-rooted cultural norms around women’s roles and rights are slow to evolve. Guess who is going to change that? The women of Generation Z. I was an Arab Muslim girl in an American school in… Read More SUZAN KANOO: Systemic Change Is Coming to the Arab World Thanks to Gen Z Women

Dilip

Yemen civilians bear the brunt of escalating Houthi-UAE conflict

The escalation of tensions between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) prompted humanitarian organisations on the ground to sound the alarm, as the United Nations forecasts January will “almost certainly” be a record-shattering month for civilian casualties in the country. Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) warned the recent air raids launched… Read More Yemen civilians bear the brunt of escalating Houthi-UAE conflict

Dilip

Danny Postel – The Other Counter-Revolution: Iran’s Role in the Shifting Political Landscape of the Middle East

Saudi Arabia’s role as a counter-revolutionary force in the Middle East is widely understood and thoroughly documented. Historian Rosie Bsheer calls the Saudi kingdom “a counter-revolutionary state par excellence,” indeed one that was “consolidated as such.” The Saudi monarchy has gone into counter-revolutionary overdrive since the onset of the Arab uprisings, scrambling to thwart popular… Read More Danny Postel – The Other Counter-Revolution: Iran’s Role in the Shifting Political Landscape of the Middle East

Dilip

Meredith Tax: Biden is supporting Turkey’s Bounties on Kurdish Leaders / American silence over Israeli land encroachments and attacks on Palestinians

In April 20, the State Department renewed multimillion-dollar bounties on three senior leaders of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK): Cemil Bayık, Duran Kalkan, and Murat Karayılan. Bayık and Karayılan are founding members of the PKK and Kalkan is a senior commander. The Kurdish freedom movement sees these men as instrumental in the defeat of ISIS, but to some this… Read More Meredith Tax: Biden is supporting Turkey’s Bounties on Kurdish Leaders / American silence over Israeli land encroachments and attacks on Palestinians

Dilip

Anjuman Rahman: Israeli Repression and Land Grabs, and the Palestinian Protests in Jerusalem // Israel-Gaza violence: death toll rises as UN envoy warns over escalation

Middle East Monitor – Violence has become a permanent feature of Ramadan for the people of occupied Palestine. The first day of the fasting month this year began with the Israeli army breaking locks and cutting the wires to the loudspeakers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem to silence the evening calls to prayer. In yet another… Read More Anjuman Rahman: Israeli Repression and Land Grabs, and the Palestinian Protests in Jerusalem // Israel-Gaza violence: death toll rises as UN envoy warns over escalation

Dilip

Dan Sabbagh: UK authorised £1.4bn of arms sales to Saudi Arabia after exports resumed

British officials authorised the export of almost £1.4bn of weapons to Saudi Arabia in the quarter after the UK resumed sales of weapons that could be used in the war in Yemen. Campaigners accused ministers of “putting profit before Yemeni lives” and said the figures highlighted the discrepancy between the UK and the US, which under President… Read More Dan Sabbagh: UK authorised £1.4bn of arms sales to Saudi Arabia after exports resumed

Dilip