Fred Halliday is ICREA research professor at IBEI, the Barcelona Institute for International Studies. He was formerly professor of international relations at the London School of Economics. He is a widely known and authoritative analyst of middle-eastern affairs who appears regularly on the BBC, ABC, al-Jazeera television, CBC and Irish radio. Among his many books are The Middle East in International Relations: Power, Politics and Ideology (2005) and 100 Myths about the Middle East (2005)

Recent articles

The great events in Europe in 1989 had a worldwide impact - and of a more destructive kind than is often acknowledged, says Fred Halliday.

The twentieth anniversary of the fall of communism - as system, ideology and strategic challenger to capitalism - is an appropriate moment to assess its legacy. But this, says Fred Halliday, must discard triumphalism, and be rooted in an awareness of communism's history, its myths, and its relation to capitalist modernity.

European pressure over financial secrecy is obliging one of the continent's microstates to adapt. But there are voices in Andorra itself searching for a different role and identity, finds Fred Halliday.

The protection-racket formation that has ruled Libya since 1969 is now being embraced by western businessmen and diplomats. But it belongs to the past, says Fred Halliday.

(This article was first published on 8 September 2009)

Iran's regime has made huge efforts to crush the country’s demonstrating citizens. But their heroic and lucid protests have opened a path to the future via a reconnection with Iran’s true revolutionary past, says Fred Halliday.