Has the US decided that the leadership of the Arab world goes to Saudi Arabia?
Qatar’s new Emir swiftly congratulated the interim Egyptian president, Adly Mansour, who was appointed by the Egyptian army. This was in stark contrast to the fatwa issued on July 6, 2013 by Al...
View ArticleTunisia: between a rock and a hard place
Rachid Ghannouchi was in need of both political reassurance (and indeed financial backing) from the Obama Administration that the Ennahdha Party would not go the way of the Muslim Brotherhood in...
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Doha debate reveals gulf between locals, its elite and expatriates
While more and more Qataris seem to be expressing their disapproval or disquiet not only in the Majalis but also in the wider public sphere, it would be naive to speak of further liberalisation of the...
View ArticleThis week's window on the Middle East - September 17, 2013
Arab Awakening's columnists offer their weekly perspective on what is happening on the ground in the Middle East. Leading the week, Doha debate reveals gulf between locals, its elite and...
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Workers' rights in Qatar
Reform will come, because it is increasingly clear that the system has become untenable.The Guardian newspaper has just released a piece by Nick Cohen tackling the issue of worker’s rights in Qatar, a...
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The birth pangs of Qatar’s art scene
In which the claim by Yes Minister’s Sir Humphrey that, “subsidy is not to be given for what the people want! It is for what the people don't want but ought to have!” resonates in Qatar. One month...
View ArticleThis week's window on the Middle East - October 18, 2013
Arab Awakening's columnists offer their weekly perspective on what is happening on the ground in the Middle East. Leading the week, Political fault lines threaten Libya's stability.Political fault...
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Qatar in change
The young Emir presides over a bustling city that grows with each passing day, it must be fed, housed and paid for. Growing pains are everywhere, and the spotlight shines fiercely on Doha and the way...
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This week's window on the Middle East - November 20, 2013
Arab Awakening's columnists offer their weekly perspective on what is happening on the ground in the Middle East. Leading the week, MENA doctors in trouble.MENA doctors in troubleErdoğan the...
View ArticleGulf states and Iran: don't moan, act
The international deal over Iran reveals the weakness of Arab Gulf diplomacy. It's time for a new approach, says Khaled Hroub.Many politicians in the Arab Gulf countries have a straightforward view of...
View ArticleWhy the US should join forces with the Baathist regime in Syria
The Baathist regime is indeed guilty of great war crimes, but the human cost of a failed state would be a greater catastrophe. Washington should have learnt this lesson from Afghanistan, Somalia and...
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The Qatari reaction to the Egyptian crisis
From this side of the political divide the Egyptians appear ungrateful, rude and disrespectful.Recently I was quoted in the Daily Beast making a rather inflammatory comment about how Qataris view the...
View ArticleArab awakening: Qatar’s controversial alliance with Arab Islamists
Tension with its Gulf neighbours began to rise from 2006 when Qatar and Al Jazeera stood with Lebanese Shi’ite group Hizbullah during its war with Israel, while western allied states clearly hoped to...
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The Arab Spring and the changing balance of global power
From an empirical-analytical point of view, what has happened in the Middle East and North Africa since Mohammed Bouazizi died? This is not an opinion piece, but an assessment of underlying factors...
View ArticleThe slow pace of female empowerment in the Gulf
These oil-rich countries cannot sustain long-term growth and prosperity if half the population remains marginalised and excluded from the workforce. The GCC states should begin to invest in and reform...
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Qatar: FIFA must act
Pressure has mounted on FIFA to address the toll of deaths among migrant workers in Qatar, as the emirate prepares for the World Cup in 2022. As its Executive Committee meets today, the international...
View ArticleThe Persian Gulf: implications of the Saudi-Qatari dispute
The Saudi strategy of offering military support to the US while exporting Muslim militancy and portraying itself as the protector of the two holiest sites in the Islamic world has backfired for both...
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Qatar’s future a quieter one?
Perhaps being a little less interesting from now on in would help ensure the country a more stable and prosperous future. Qatar is buzzing with political activity, Taliban, Syrians, and rumours over...
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This week's window on the Middle East - June 26, 2013
Arab Awakening's columnists offer their weekly perspective on what is happening on the ground in the Middle East. Leading the week, Israel: on music, the Academy and the cultural boycotts.Israel: on...
View ArticleQatar’s incomplete example
Today the Gulf States have reached a political stalemate. Political Islam, playing right into the hands of the governments, has caused damage to the cause of secular reformists throughout the...
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