“Only war makes it possible to mobilize all of today’s technical resources while maintaining the property system.”

- Walter Benjamin, 1936

About Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi is an analyst of Arab affairs

Articles by Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi

The new generation and the future of the broader Middle East

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi 27 January 2013

In the wake of the Arab uprisings some governments may have changed but the challenges remain the same. The recent rise to power of untested Islamist political parties means that they will have to tackle issues for which previous governments have failed to find solutions.

Institutionalising the Arab Gulf Governments

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi 1 January 2013

For the Arab States of the Gulf there are two kinds of reforms, those that are acceptable and those that are off limits. Off limit calls for reform include calling for a constitutional monarchy. Acceptable calls for reform on the other hand include advocating for women's rights and for the election of municipal councils. Is there a middle ground?

US elections and the Gulf States

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi 23 October 2012

Do the Gulf States expect anything at all from the next president of the US?

The black swan of the Gulf

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi 24 September 2012

The military and security apparatuses of these Gulf states plays a role in keeping the peace, but the best way forward is to build a civil society that is bound by a unifying mechanism such as a functioning, representative, elected parliament.

Jassim Buhejji, a life for Bahrain

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi 28 February 2012

The Bahraini activist Jassim Buhejji was a quiet figure who nonetheless played a formative role in sustaining the best of his country's political traditions. Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi reflects on his legacy and pays tribute.

After 9/11: a painful lesson

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi 7 September 2011

The inspiring Arab protesters of 2011 bring hope that the tragic cycle of animosity opened by 9/11 can end, says Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi.

Egypt: from revolt to change

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi 8 February 2011

A radical overhaul of Egypt’s ruling institutions and personnel is a precondition of the freedom that its citizens want, says Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi

This week's editor

Niki Seth-Smith is a freelance journalist and co-editor of OurKingdom.

Europe from the bottom up

European Union stars in Paris. Flickr/notarim. Some rights reserved.

A new Europe can only come from the bottom up
Etienne Balibar

A social Europe must be a political Europe
Bo Stråth

As Europe is provincialized: a reply to Etienne Balibar
Sandro Mezzadra

European debate

A republican call for a basic income
Daniel Raventos and Julie Wark

Nuclear non-proliferation

oDRussia at journalismfestival .com

Mali - the plot thickens

Remote control war

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