In nearly 60 years of membership, the UAE became central to executing organizational goals and maintaining global leverage. Before exiting, the UAE produced roughly 13 percent of OPEC’s total crude oil production, securing OPEC’s considerable market share. Still, the UAE produced at only ~70 percent of its production capacity under OPEC’s quota, clashing with the state’s continued investment in long-term market dominance. In an April interview with The New York Times, UAE Energy Minister Al Mazrouei conveyed that the UAE needs independence to execute its strategic goals, “unconstrained by any groups.” Speculation suggests the move reflects conflicting strategies between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, but the state’s position stresses the decision was objective and unrelated to intermember competition.
Repeatedly pausing and resuming violence in Yemen between the Saudis and Houthis has resulted in a “cycle of displacement.” By the end of September, more than 130,000 people had been displaced since missile and drone attacks between the two sides resumed earlier in the month. Many people have fled to refugee camps, but blockaded roads and lack of access to transportation in certain regions have made travel difficult. Since the beginning of Yemen’s Civil War, food and education access as well as quality of life have drastically declined. Among the consequences of the conflict, it is Yemeni children who suffer disproportionately.
In May 2025, Oracle committed $14 billion to grow AI infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, supporting Vision 2030. Within weeks, Amazon announced a partnership with Saudi AI innovation company HUMAIN and a collective $5 billion investment. In August, both companies reaffirmed their strategic collaboration, including plans to scale cloud computing and AI infrastructure capacity in Saudi Arabia and further integrate Amazon Web Services (AWS) and HUMAIN AI data platforms. This September, Microsoft pledged over $15 billion in “capital and operations” investments in the Middle East by 2029. These commitments follow billions invested by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE in AI grid development and expansion in the United States. Partnerships like these promote co-investment across sectors in a locally led effort to digitize regional economies. The economic implications of the U.S. war with Iran threaten technology-focused deployment and investment strategies across the three nations. Of the three, Saudi Arabia seems to have mechanisms in place to maintain resilience against associated supply disruptions and investor uncertainty.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup concluded a few months ago at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, breaking global viewership records. Among the excitement, past World Cups regained attention as players around the globe returned to the field to represent their nation. Many preceding tournaments were remembered for exhibitions of cultural pride and unification of fans, such as the 2022 World Cup hosted in Qatar. Qatar was the first Middle Eastern nation to host the tournament, from November 20 to December 18 of 2022. However, the event drew major humanitarian concerns. An innumerable number of lives were devastated, with very few remediation efforts over the last few years.
Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has passed a controversial bill expanding the use of the death penalty for terrorism-related offenses, applying primarily to Palestinians in the West Bank under military court jurisdiction. The law mandates execution by hanging within 90 days for certain convictions, limits legal protections, and removes key safeguards such as the right to appeal and unanimous judicial agreement. Critics, including international organizations and a host of countries across the globe, argue the legislation violates international law and disproportionately targets Palestinians, while supporters claim it will deter violence and future prisoner exchange between Israel and Palestine.
The killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a U.S.–Israeli airstrike has exposed deep divisions within Iranian society. While some mourn the longtime cleric as a symbol of Shiite authority, others have taken to the streets to celebrate the death of a leader many blame for decades of repression and economic hardship. The starkly different reactions reveal a country divided over the future of the Islamic Republic.
As Iran faces its largest wave of protests in years, the government has responded with deadly repression and a sweeping internet blackout. Beyond domestic control, these actions reflect a deeper status anxiety: an effort to project strength and legitimacy at home and abroad, even at significant economic and political cost.
Gaza’s Board of Peace, a joint multilateral unity of nations to secure peace and reconstruction in Gaza, is considered a betrayal by citizens of Middle Eastern and Muslim countries, because it is seen as an extension of neo-colonialism, granting President Trump sweeping powers, and limiting Palestinian participation and right to self-determination.
After more than a decade of civil war, the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024 marked a historic turning point for Syria. The new transitional government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa faces the immense task of rebuilding authority, stabilizing security, and defining a new political order amid persistent socio-economic and sectarian issues.
Lebanon’s economic and political collapse has eroded public trust and weakened state institutions. Once called the “Switzerland of the Middle East,” it now faces blackouts, inflation, and a devalued currency. Decades of sectarian power-sharing paved the way for the 2019 financial crisis, marking the collapse of the postwar order. Hezbollah—a political party and paramilitary group backed by Iran—has expanded its role in governance, security, and welfare, reinforcing a shadow-state dynamic as the country drifts further from democracy. Yet under Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s new 2025 administration, early reforms in energy, banking, and transparency signal a fragile but honest effort to restore accountability and rebuild democratic state legitimacy.
In Türkiye, Kurdish writers turn to literature as an act of defiance against decades of state repression. Facing book bans, wrongful imprisonment, and even exile, they reclaim Kurdish identity with the words that the Turkish government works tirelessly to erase. Each novel, poem, and translation stands as evidence that storytelling can outlast censorship and transform silence into resistance.
This article examines the evolving political, military, and strategic alliance in the Middle East through the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) signed between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Under this security and defense pact, both nations agree to treat any act of aggression against one as an act against both.
Israel’s strike on Hamas leadership in Qatar raised serious questions on international law and sovereignty, with Israel framing the operation as a counterterrorism measure. Critics, however, have noted a breach under the UN Charter, specifically violating the human right to life, the UN Charter prohibition on excessive use of force, and Qatar’s sovereignty. Qatar’s role as a prominent mediator and small nation-state was further highlighted by its central involvement in the ceasefire negotiations, while the United Arab Emirates-once a key partner through the Abraham Accords — has seen strained relations with Israel since the 2023 Gaza war, making the partnership particularly costly. The incident reinforced Gulf alignments, with Saudi Arabia hedging and Turkey and Iran backing Qatar, underscoring the risks of rigid blocs and the potential for escalating tensions in the region.
The 2011 Arab Spring was a series of mobilizations across seven countries in the Arab World in protest against repressive regimes and diminished economic, political and social opportunities. In Egypt, these uprisings created a political opening for the Islamist group The Muslim Brotherhood to garner major political traction. During this time the women of the group, the Muslim Sisters, began to exercise greater political autonomy as they pushed for women-led political opportunities.
Saudi Arabia has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, reshaping its economic and diplomatic strategies to solidify its position as a regional powerhouse. Spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030, the kingdom has shifted from an oil-dependent economy to one focused on diversification, tourism, and technological innovation. On the diplomatic front, Saudi Arabia has recalibrated its foreign policy, engaging in regional de-escalation efforts, strengthening ties with China and the U.S., and positioning itself as a key player in Gulf politics and economic integration. This evolution underscores its ambition to redefine power dynamics in the Middle East.
The 2011 Arab Spring protests were a series of mobilizations across seven states in the region that led to the ousting of former President Ben Ali in Tunisia and former President Mubarak in Egypt. While these two states were successful in their protest aims, protestors in other states, such as Syria and Bahrain, faced violent repression by their respective regimes. In 2019, both Iraq and Lebanon experienced waves of protest movements that mirrored those of the Arab Spring in both objectives and mobilization tactics. Dubbed the “Second Arab Spring,” these uprisings indicate the resilience of popular mobilization in the region.
As a result of Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza strip, key healthcare facilities have been destroyed, and critical medicine and supplies have been blocked from reaching the people of Gaza, exacerbating the horrors of war Gazans are facing every day. In particular, the increasing devastation of healthcare can be seen in the horrific effects it is having on women, particularly pre and post natal women and children, as well as menstruating women.
Today, polio has almost been completely eradicated globally — except in Pakistan and Afghanistan. From anti-vaccine rhetoric to bans on door to door vaccination campaigns, the Taliban has directly impacted the healthcare sector’s abilities to effectively carry out polio vaccination efforts in Afghanistan; preventing the eradication of the disease in the country.
Kuwait’s Emir recently issued a decree suspending the state’s popular National Assembly and abrogating parts of the constitution for no more than four years. The move comes as the latest of the Gulf country’s efforts to improve the efficacy of its deadlocked political system which has been marked by excessive parliamentary debates. The move has not drawn widespread protests domestically or regionally, but international experts question whether or not the Emir’s actions will actually move Kuwait closer to a sound democratic process.
