Kuwait

The Middle East Ranks at the Bottom of Gallup’s Happiness Index, except for Rich Oil States; is the US to Blame?

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The annual Gallup report on happiness by country came out this week. It is based on a three-year average of polling. What struck me in their report is how unhappy the Middle East is. The only Middle Eastern country in the top twenty is Kuwait (for the first time in […]

Bahrain

Are China’s increasing Economic ties with the Gulf states reducing the West’s Sway in the Middle East?

The Conversation

By Emilie Rutledge, The Open University | – At the end of November 2022, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak announced that the “golden era” between Great Britain and China was over. China may not have been too bothered by this news however, and has been busy making influential friends elsewhere. In early December, Chinese president […]

Featured

Iraq Pays off $52.4 bn. in Reparations for Invading Kuwait in 1990, but the US will Never Pay a Dime for Invading Iraq

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Stephanie Nebehay at Reuters reports that Iraq has finally paid off the $52.4 billion in war reparations imposed on it by the United Nations as punishment for its invasion and attempted annexation of Kuwait in 1990, which led to the Gulf War of 1991. The headline we’ll never see is […]

Arab World

How Lebanon became the latest Battlefield in the Cold War between Saudi Arabia and Iran

Middle East Monitor

By Amira Abo el-Fetouh | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Lebanon is plagued by crises, with a new one added almost daily. The people are suffering from power cuts and fuel shortages, and queue for hours at petrol stations and bakeries. Daily life has become unbearable. There is also the conflict between the […]

Arab World

Middle Eastern monarchies: how do Arab ruling families hold on to power?

The Conversation

By David B Roberts | – When the Jordanian royal family gathered on April 11 to celebrate 100 years since the kingdom’s foundation, it was a picture of dynastic unity. Alongside King Abdullah was his half-brother, the former crown prince Hamzah bin al-Hussein, who had only days ago been placed under house arrest, following what […]

Arab Spring

Already a New Boss in Town: Saudis, afraid of Biden, Hurry to End their Blockade on Qatar

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Saudi Arabia announced Monday that it would lift its land and sea blockade against Qatar, and that Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (the UAE) would allow Qatari aircraft to fly through their air space again. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt announced their boycott on the small peninsula […]

Bahrain

Gulf Arab Women were Finally making Progress, but will the Covid-19 Crash and Austerity set them Back?

The Conversation

By Humaira Hansrod | – Citizens of Saudi Arabia are having to get used to something that has long been an unpleasant fact of life in most parts of the world. On July 1, the kingdom tripled the VAT levied on consumer goods and services from 5% to 15%. There were reports of frantic stockpiling […]

Bahrain

With Oil Prices in Freefall, Coronavirus Reveals Weaknesses of Saudis, Arab Gulf States

Middle East Monitor

By Marwan Kabalan | – ( Middle East Monitor) – The coronavirus outbreak has put the Arab Gulf States under the spotlight and exposed their structural weaknesses. It has also suggested that security, which is often the focus because of geopolitical regional rivalry, especially with Iran, distracts from other equally important threats. While it is […]

Kuwait

Kuwait Joins Tunisia in Granting Women Full Political Rights

Middle East Monitor

Kuwait City (Middle East Monitor) – Kuwait has become one of the first countries in the Middle East to give full political rights to women. Gulf news agencies reported that the oil rich state has granted full suffrage after decades of campaigning by women’s rights campaigners. Praising Kuwait’s progressive move, regional media commented on the […]