Shifting geopolitics and a consolidation of control by several of the Middle East's ‘strongmen' has multiple implications for the region in 2017. Francesca Fazey and Julian Karssen consider the likely effects of Russia's emergence as the region's new global power, after its decisive role in the recapture of Aleppo.
Turkey enters 2017 facing security crises on multiple fronts. Francesca Fazey and Julian Karssen unpack the terrorism risk in the country in the year ahead.
Saif Islam assesses the stumbling blocks to a peaceful resolution to the war in eastern Ukraine.
Saif Islam assesses the factors that could reignite the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2017.
Several key elections are set to take place amid rising anti-establishment and Eurosceptic sentiment within EU states. Votes in the Netherlands, France, Germany, and possibly Italy, will challenge well-established centrist parties. These results could precipitate the unravelling of the EU, leaving its project of an “ever greater union” in a more precarious…
According to Reporters San Frontières (RSF), at the start of 2017, 178 journalists were imprisoned across the world, with 23 of them in Sub-Saharan Africa. With a worsening conflict in South Sudan and a state of emergency facilitating a greater government clampdown in Ethiopia, the number of cases is likely to remain high.
US President Donald J. Trump does not have much breathing space to ease into his new job. Following his January 20 inauguration, expectations are high among both those rooting for him to succeed and those keen to see President Trump fail. Yet Trump's presidency will be judged on how many of his campaign promises will translate into concrete policy,…
While Vladimir Putin may welcome the opportunity to play off two major world powers, he will worry about Russia's interests, writes Saif Islam.
At the start of 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin had reasons to be pessimistic about how the year was going to progress. As the year's end approaches, his and Russia's position on the international scene has improved considerably, thanks to several favourable developments, writes Saif Islam.