Energy

49 Items

In this photo released by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman speaks at a meeting of the Islamic Military Counterterrorism Alliance in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Nov. 26, 2017 (Saudi Press Agency via AP).

Saudi Press Agency via AP

Analysis & Opinions - The New York Times

The Plot Behind Saudi Arabia's Fight With Qatar

| Dec. 04, 2017

The recently promoted heir to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as M.B.S., has pledged to modernize the country. His agenda includes diversifying the Saudi economy beyond oil, expanding trade, bolstering employment and loosening restrictions on entertainment. But at least two domestic factors complicate his ambitions, and we may see them play out on the world stage in 2018.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson gestures as he responds to a reporter's question during a meeting with Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, July 26, 2017. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Analysis & Opinions - The Wall Street Journal

Tillerson Can End the Qatar Standoff

    Author:
  • Dennis Ross
| Aug. 01, 2017

"Defeating Islamic State is the Trump administration’s most important national-security priority. But removing ISIS from Mosul and Raqqa may end up meaning little absent the ability to secure, reconstruct and govern these and other cities. Preventing a dangerous power vacuum from forming in areas liberated from ISIS control requires the urgent involvement of unified Sunni Arab states."

In this Tuesday, July 15, 2014 file photo, Jordanian children chant anti-Israel slogans during a Muslim Brotherhood Islamic movement protest in front of the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan. A diplomatic standoff between Qatar and a quartet of Arab nations accusing it of sponsoring terrorism has thrust a spotlight on an opaque network of charities and prominent figures freely operating in Qatar. (AP Photo, File)

AP Photo, File

Analysis & Opinions - The Telegraph

The Saudi Coalition Is Right. Qatar's Support for the Muslim Brotherhood Must Not Stand

| July 19, 2017

The Saudi coalition knows what the experiences of numerous Muslim governments have long proven: the Muslim Brotherhood is an oppositionist movement that does not represent a sustainable form of governance, offers little in the way of  social or economic programmes, and some of its members have been linked to political violence and jihadist terror.

People pray at an open air makeshift mosque in front of a giant Saudi Flag in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Wednesday appointed his 31-year-old son Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

AP Photo/Amr Nabil

Analysis & Opinions - New York Daily News

The Path to a New Saudi Arabia

    Author:
  • Dennis Ross
| June 29, 2017

"Saudi Arabia has a new crown prince. Mohammed bin Salman, known as MbS, is clearly now slated to succeed his father, King Salman. At 31, the kingdom has never seen anyone like him. He has been given very wide responsibilities as defense minister and overseer of the Saudi economy and its transformation. As one Saudi minister said to me shortly before I met him, “You are about to meet our force of nature.”"

In this Wednesday, June 21 , 2017 photo released by Al-Ekhbariya, Mohammed bin Salman, newly appointed as crown prince, left, kisses the hand of Prince Mohammed bin Nayef at royal palace in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Wednesday appointed his 31-year-old son Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince, placing him first-in-line to the throne and removing the country's counterterrorism czar and a figure well-known to Washington from the line of succession. (Al-Ekhbariya via AP)

Al-Ekhbariya via AP

Analysis & Opinions - The Wall Street Journal

This Is Not Your Father’s Saudi Arabia

| June 21, 2017

"The appointment of Mohammad bin Salman, 31, as Saudi Arabia’s next king will accelerate his radical reform and further solidify the U.S.-Saudi partnership. King Salman’s long-anticipated decision to name his son crown prince almost certainly is intended to present a unified face to the kingdom’s adversaries, especially Iran—and to bolster U.S. support for a more assertive Riyadh."

Trump Salute

Le Point

Magazine Article - Le Point

Burns : « Il renie soixante-dix and de diplomatie » (Burns: "He rejects seventy years of diplomacy")

| Feb. 02, 2017

In an interview with Amin Arefi of French magazine Le Point, Ambassador (ret.) Nicholas Burns reflects on the first ten days of the Trump administration and the trajectory of American foreign policy going forward. Burns explains the fundamental differences between Donald Trump and George W. Bush, and the  worrying implications of Trump's indifference towards the US-backed system of alliances that has upheld the liberal world order for the past seven decades.   

Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia

Wikimedia Commons

Analysis & Opinions - The Washington Post

A 30-Year-Old Saudi Prince Could Jump-Start The Kingdom - Or Drive It Off A Cliff

| June 28, 2016

The tensions unsettling the Saudi royal family became clear in September, when Joseph Westphal, the U.S. ambassador to Riyadh, flew to Jiddah to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, nominally the heir to the throne. But when he arrived, he was told that the deputy crown prince, a brash 30-year-old named Mohammed bin Salman, wanted to see him urgently. Senior Fellow, David Ignatius, discusses Mohammed bin Salman opportunity to transform Saudi Arabia.

- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center Newsletter

Welcome Mr. Secretary

Fall/Winter 2015-16

The Belfer Center hosted Secretary of State John Kerry in October for a discussion of diplomacy and challenges in critical hotspots around the globe.

Center Director Graham Allison asked Secretary Kerry about his concerns and plans related to Iran, Syria, Russia, and the Islamic State. The overflow event included questions from the more than 500 Harvard students and faculty in attendance.

Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel speaks at a joint news conference at the White House in February

Michael Kappeler, EPA

Analysis & Opinions

Merkel's Moment of Power and Partnership with America is Right Now

| Feb. 16, 2015

The Future of Diplomacy Project Executive Director, Cathryn Clüver, writes about German leadership and the chance for increased U.S.-German partnership in the face of multiple crises. In this article for Quartz, Clüver argues that dramatic events unfurling around TTIP, ISIS, and Ukraine could spell the "start of a turning tide" in U.S.-German relations under the guidance of "the most powerful woman in the world," German Chancellor Angela Merkel.