Politics

IS attacks in Brussels

No more shades of grey

Following last week′s brutal events in Brussels, there has once again been much talk in the media of an attack on Western lifestyle and freedoms. Meanwhile the strategy and the tactics of Islamic State are much more sophisticated than some of this post-attack coverage. By Karim El-Gawhary
By Karim El-Gawhary
Terrorist attacks in Brussels

A clash of what?

Culture, religion – or merely politics? Recent terrorist attacks against another European capital city in less than a year have once again shaken world politics to the core. Are we playing into the hands of Daesh? By Hakim Khatib
By Hakim Khatib
Russian intervention in Syria

Make no mistake

The partial withdrawal of Russian armed forces from Syria came as a surprise to many. But Loay Mudhoon says that its message to President Assad is clear: he must finally negotiate with the opposition
By Loay Mudhoon
Turkey and the Kurdish conflict

The desolation of Cizre

Residents of Cizre, in Turkey's volatile southeast, have slowly been returning to the city which has been laid waste by a protracted military campaign targeting Kurdish militants. Tom Stevenson and Murat Bayram report
By Tom Stevenson & Murat Bayram
EU-Turkey deal

The alternative is Idomeni

Instead of mocking Merkel as a "pushover", those concerned with the welfare of refugees would do better to throw their weight behind realising her plan. Otherwise, we could see Europe adopting the Victor Orban model, the consequences of which can already been seen. Commentary by Daniel Bax
By Daniel Bax
Interview with Israeli historian Ilan Pappe

"This situation is not temporary, it is the future"

In interview with Emran Feroz, Israeli historian and Exeter University professor Ilan Pappe criticises the unilateral policy favoured by the Netanyahu government, which is committed to retaining control of historical Palestine in its entirety and approves of the restoration of authoritarian Arab regimes
By Emran Feroz
Turkey′s media crackdown

No freedom. No press.

The crackdown on media critical of the Turkish president and his government continues unabated with the official seizure of the country′s bestselling ″Zaman″ newspaper. With international criticism muted, many government critics fear the lights are about to finally go out for independent media. By Dorian Jones in Istanbul
By Dorian Jones
Lebanon: from amnesty to amnesia

Lacking a culture of remembrance

"In Lebanon, repression has become a permanent state of mind," says the journalist and Orientalist Monika Borgmann. With the archive "UMAM Documentation & Research", founded in 2004, she attempts to fill the gaps in the country's collective memory. Interview by Juliane Pfordte
By Juliane Pfordte
Saudi Arabia and Iran

Defeat Islamic State - or become it

The dawn of 2016 has brought a new round of doomsday predictions that Saudi Arabia’s ruling Al Saud family cannot sustain its autocratic grip on power. The kingdom, pessimists argue, is caught in a perfect storm with economic problems, social challenges and foreign policy crises all converging at the same time. By James M. Dorsey
By James Dorsey
Syria: human rights violations and torture

The toll of the missing

Since war broke out, the Assad regime has caused hundreds of thousands of people to disappear. Such abductions are a useful means of intimidating the opposition. A German of Syrian origin is searching for his missing father. By Hasan Hussain
By Hasan Hussain
Elections in Iran

A lesson for the powerful and the disempowered

Granted, elections in Iran have little impact on the real political conditions in the Islamic Republic, where to this day the leader of the revolution retains his hold on the reins of power. But even so, the latest round of voting has highlighted the atmosphere among large sections of the civilian population. An analysis by Ali Sadrzadeh
By Ali Sadrzadeh
Tony Blair and the Iraq war

A case of smoke and mirrors

We don't need to wait for Chilcot, Blair lied to us about Iraq, asserts Peter Oborne, former political editor-in-chief with the British "Daily Telegraph"
By Peter Oborne