While 2021 appears to show a decrease in attacks targeting aid workers, especially compared to 2020, the deteriorating security environment in several countries suggest the positive trend may not continue in 2022, writes Darren Davids.
The arrests of Canadian businessman Michael Spavor and former diplomat Michael Kovrig in China in December 2018, just days after Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou’s arrest in Vancouver, were undoubtedly linked. Despite China’s espionage allegations against the pair and their subsequent convictions, they were released shortly after Meng was…
Darren Davids writes that terror plots in Europe and the US will continue to manifest as traditional lone-wolf attacks in 2022. However, in weaker states in Africa and the Middle East, porous borders, security vacuums and a lack of governance will continue to enable the spread of Islamic extremism.
2021 saw a number of key developments on the war front, from Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban to the dramatic turnaround in Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict. With little in terms of resolution to armed conflicts across the globe, 2022 is likely to see war remain a major threat in parts of Asia, Africa, Middle East, the Caucasus, and eastern Europe, with…
With no clear solutions to the Houthi conflict, a political stalemate in Aden and a worsening humanitarian crisis, the increasingly fragmented security environment in Yemen presents new and renewed threats to citizens, neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the commercial maritime sector alike, writes Gabrielle Reid.
The recent rise in global food prices, driven by several factors ranging from the Covid-19 pandemic to climate shocks, could become a catalyst for increased political instability and civil unrest, writes Darren Davids.
Socially conservative countries in the Gulf, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have recently relaxed certain local laws to attract more tourists and foreign investors and appease local populations. While taking advantage of these measures, travellers and expatriates should still be fully cognisant of prevailing local laws…
In the wake of recent hostilities between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian territories in May, there have been increased solidarity protests for the Palestinian cause across the globe. It appears that now more than ever the world is watching how conflicts immersed in wider human rights issues will be handled going forward, writes Gabrielle Reid.
The recent resumption of anti-government protests in Algeria is reflective of ongoing popular frustrations with the lack of political reforms in the country. However, divisions within the protest movement could prevent the latest demonstrations from coalescing into a major uprising that challenges government authority, writes Saif Islam.
As international and domestic stakeholders become increasingly optimistic over potential political stability in Libya, increasingly systemic insecurity could impede peace. With limited and inaccurate crime statistics unable to paint a clear picture of crime rates in Libya, GABRIELLE REID explores how little we may actually know about the state of crime…
Much of the world waited in anticipation for the outcome of the November 2020 US presidential election and, when the results were announced, a Biden victory prompted much debate on what this will mean for US foreign policy in the Middle East. Gabrielle Reid explores what is likely to be on the new administration’s to-do list in the region.
Islamic State and other armed groups’ intent to stage kidnappings in Turkey never diminished and should be taken seriously, but their capabilities remain limited, writes Saif Islam.