Diplomacy and International Politics

Ownership of reforms by citizens is often presented as important for success. This paper explores media engagement and support for economic reforms in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries using text analysis techniques on publicly available sources. Results show that while reform efforts have intensified in recent years in the GCC, these efforts tend to focus on stronger rather than weaker policy areas, potentially limiting the growth-enhancing effect of reforms. Social media analysis using Twitter shows that the population’s support for reforms has been declining. The analysis of traditional
news media points to more engagement by international than by local media. However, sentiment from international media is less positive about economic reforms in the GCC. Sentiment in international media and social media matters, as evidenced by its positive and strong correlation with FDI inflows into the GCC.

Rami Khouri's on Euronews TV discussing the Trump-Netanyahu Middle East initiative.

For years, Turkey’s government allowed Islamic State fighters to cross its territory into Syria. But, before Monday, there were no Islamic State fighter elements along Turkey’s border with Syria because Kurds, Arabs and Christians expelled them with help from the U.S. military. Today, these U.S. allies are running for their lives.

Four successive Israeli aerial attacks in recent days against Arab targets in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon suggest that we have entered an unprecedented new phase of the century-old conflict between Arabism and Zionism that now engulfs half a dozen actors, including non-Arab Iran.This new phase comprises both short-term possibilities and more complex longer-term questions. 

Decades after invading Afghanistan to topple the Taliban, the US now is negotiating with them.

The United States announced earlier this week that it seeks to build a coalition of countries to guarantee freedom of navigation in strategic Gulf waters.

The U.S. has launched part of its plan to bring peace to the Middle East. Officials from the U.S., Israel, and Arab States are meeting in Bahrain. Rami Khouri speaks on the implications of this workshop. 

Understanding the ongoing conflict in the middle east is complicated. Differences in ideologies have resulted in wars and impact the entire world.  Rami Khouri is a journalist who has spent 50-years working in the middle east.  Burns Hargis sat down with Khouri to get his perspective on the conflicts in that region.

Aljazeera TV interview on Saudi Arabia's three summits to confront Iran.

BEIRUT — The last thing the Middle East needs is another $8 billion of American armaments in the hands of Arab autocrats, and thousands of additional American troops here, which Donald Trump has decided to send us as he ratchets up the U.S.’s exaggerated and mostly hysterical confrontation with Iran. Such decisions by the Trump administration in recent weeks, combined with supporting roles by autocratic Middle Eastern governments, are central reasons for why our region continues to spin incoherently in its maelstrom of turbulence, destruction, violence, state collapse and massive human suffering.