Invitation to London docklands to meet three Arab rappers

Bassam Gergi 28 February 2012

Come and hear about hip hop - whose goal is to bring people together outside of violence in the Arab uprisings

Women, democracy and dictatorship

Sami Zubaida 15 February 2012

In the early and middle decades of the twentieth century it was always Middle Eastern dictators who embarked on policy and legislation which liberated and empowered women in both family and society. The dictators liberated women in the good days, but retreated under pressure, and it was the populists ushered in by ‘democracy’ who oppressed women.

America after Iraq-Afghanistan

Paul Rogers 9 February 2012
Washington's military withdrawal from Iraq and problems in Afghanistan are forcing a change of strategy. Barack Obama's political fate will determine how far it will go.

The Arab revolts in year two

Volker Perthes 9 February 2012
The uprisings across the Arab world are becoming more complex and variable as they enter their second year. This makes it all the more important to identify their main dynamics, says Volker Perthes.

The thirty-year war: past, present, future

Paul Rogers 20 January 2012
The prognosis of a thirty-year war looked outlandish as Saddam's regime toppled, persuasive as Iraq's insurgency erupted - and now less plausible amid American forces' retreat. But two core issues continue to give it life.

Iraq's political crisis and the shadow of sectarian politics

Rachel Kantz Feder 28 December 2011
As the US completed its official withdrawal from Iraq, a series of events stoked a political crisis that will push Iraq toward a precipice.

Wars of Decline: Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya

David Held and Kristian Coates Ulrichsen 12 December 2011
This article assesses the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya in terms of their legality, their consequences - local, regional and global - and their impact. It describes the growing impotence of western powers in reshaping global politics by force. Rather, it argues, the flawed application of organised violence as a tool in the defence and projection of western power has dissolved the grandiose project of the ‘American century.’

The Middle East on the brink: an urgent appeal for common sense

Karabekir Akkoyunlu 12 December 2011
This is an appeal to the global citizenry to wake up to the dire situation unfolding before our eyes and to raise our voice. It is time to put concerted pressure on our respective governments, who are complicit in this cynical spectacle, and urge them to act responsibly for the benefit of all nations.

The Kurds’ place in the ‘Arab Spring’

Riccardo Dugulin 10 December 2011
Seen as a relatively safe haven in northern Iraq, considered a terrorist threat by Turkish authorities, and currently waiting in the wings in Syria, Kurdistan and its different interest groups constitute another question mark in the political exchequer of the Middle East.

Iraqi regionalism and its discontents

Zaid Al-Ali 3 December 2011
The incompetence of Iraq's central governance is fuelling demands for the formation by local provinces of self-governing regions. But such a course is most unlikely to solve the core problems Iraqis are facing, says Zaid Al-Ali.

Is Iraq edging closer toward partition?

Jaffar Al-Rikabi 15 November 2011
Just as the final U.S. troops are withdrawing, and just as the world’s attention is diverted on Syria and elsewhere, Iraq may steal the limelight a final time and bow and declare: before long, she may not be anymore.

The mystery of IRG Ltd: Britain's former defence secretary and the right-wing lobby

Tom Griffin 25 October 2011
Last week, Britain's defence secretary resigned following the revelation that he was using a friend with close links to right-wing lobbyists as an unofficial foreign envoy. While the government attempts to bury the story, Opposition leader Ed Miliband has a duty to pursue the truth.

N Korea food crisis set to continue

Josephine Whitaker 22 October 2011
N Korea food crisis set to continue. Turkey and Iran to collaborate against Kurdish rebels. Southeast Asia flooding kills hundreds, displaces thousands. Obama announces US troop withdrawals from Iraq. All this in today’s security briefing...

The "Arab spring" in historical perspective

Sami Zubaida 21 October 2011

How will the popular uprisings in the Arab world affect the future of states and regimes in the region? All possible outcomes are shadowed by the fate of the contending ideologies and movements - nationalism and socialism, secularism and Islamism, dynasticism and liberal constitutionalism - that have dominated the Arab political landscape in recent decades, says Sami Zubaida. His overview of their rise and fall both illuminates a complex history and indicates the scale of the challenge facing democratic reformers today.

The United States and Pakistan – beyond the verbal division

Humayun Saleem 5 October 2011
The United States and Pakistan engage in a war of words. Iraq to strengthen air sovereignty with the acquisition of 18 F-16 jets. Protests continue in Andhra Pradesh as demands increase for Telangana state. Unguarded weapons depots in Libya cause concerns. Anwar al-Awlaki is killed, but his legacy remains. All this in today’s briefing…

This week's editor

Heather McRobie


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

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

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