Going by Netanyahu’s present term, the return of a stronger Right Wing coalition may lead to increased friction in the region and increased Israeli isolation as well.
Signals from Russia, China and even Iran that it is time for Assad to go combined with domestic dissensions and defections signal that the regime is finally cracking up.
Egypt is realizing that democracy is not an easily procured fruit, especially in a nation where political movements have been suppressed for decades and peoples’ sentiments can be easily swayed either way.
Since the revolution that toppled Mubarak, Sinai has become a no man’s land where jihadists from Egypt and Gaza as well as local Bedouins have begun to engage in militant activities.
While the United States stands committed to Israel, though in a much muted tone, there has been outrage in the region, particularly from Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Tunisia as well as the Arab League.
At the core of the standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme is the challenge to West Asia’s balance of power from Iran’s growing sphere of influence, which now stretches through Iraq towards the Mediterranean.
Turkey is realising that a soft power-based foreign policy was successful and gave returns with minimum risks only when the region was stable. With the Middle East going through a political transformation, Turkey will have to invent new strategies to remain relevant and continue its rise a regional power.
As we move into the second winter of the Arab Spring, this Issue Brief attempts to take stock of the progress of the Arab Spring and examine whether the aspirations of people have been met or have they been handed a raw deal.
As the Afghans and the world look towards a new dawn on 1 January 2015, there are some things that stand out clearly and have to be recognised by both the Afghans as well as the international community.
Just when it seemed that the Arab Spring was almost over and the region was entering a phase of political transition, a flurry of developments in the first week of October 2012 has brought the region back into focus.
The Signs of Change in Syria
Signals from Russia, China and even Iran that it is time for Assad to go combined with domestic dissensions and defections signal that the regime is finally cracking up.