Strategic Paradigms by Ehsan Ahrari

The U.S. invasion of Iraq was the outcome of the then rising militarism of the administration of George W. Bush.  Some would argue that it might also have been a natural reaction to the fact that American territory was attacked on September 11, 2001.  But the invasion of Iraq itself had a spurious pretext: to [...]

Long before Usama Bin Laden’s death in Pakistan, al-Qaida had become irrelevant as an organization that could bring about political change in the Arab or Muslim world.  The Arab awakening, on the contrary, was very much in the driving seat of bringing about political change toward the end of the first decade of the 21st [...]

 Forbes Magazine’s list of the “most powerful people” in the world is interesting because of its tongue-in-cheek gossipy style.  It is also appealing in the sense that it reflects the changing global reality.  Every time that list is released, it captures the attention of gossip columnists and talk show hosts alike.  It is decidedly influenced [...]

Professor Khaled Hroub’s review of Olivier Roy’s three books—The Failure of Political Islam; Globalized Islam: The Search for a New Ummah; and The Politics of Chaos in the Middle East—published in your Journal, New Global Studies (Vol. 3, Issue 1, 2009, Article 6), is interesting but leaves the reader wanting more analysis.

The continuing public spat between Hezbollah and Arab states is a mixture of old and new styles of power play.  The “old” part implicitly involves Iran–the chief supporter of Hezbollah–while the new aspect of this power play is between the antiquated monarchies and the nexus between Iran and Hezbollah.  Iran is the “rising power” of [...]

A London Times dispatch reads:  “Tony Blair makes his first trip to the Gaza Strip.”  In the growing global economic meltdown, the world has forgotten the suffering of the Palestinians who became victims of Israel’s “war” against Hamas.  How can there be a war between the most well equipped military of the Middle East and [...]

The financial crisis of 2008 may turn out to be the harbinger of the permanent loss of status for the United States as the financial superpower.  That might be the best news for both China and Russia, even though the Chinese have tremendous stakes in the continued health of the U.S. economy in terms of [...]