Middle East Policy最新文献

This article investigates whether sanctions have changed or influenced Iran's trade patterns, focusing on neighboring countries. The study concentrates first on the United Arab Emirates (UAE), considered Iran's main regional partner. We hypothesize that the sanctions should have had a negative impact on Iran's trade with the UAE, as the latter cooperated with US policies toward the Islamic Republic. By contrast, sanctions were likely to positively influence its trade with Qatar. Indeed, the research shows that Iranian trade with Qatar increased significantly after 2017, while its trade with the UAE declined as a result of the measures adopted toward Iranian businesses in Dubai. However, the results also indicate that despite the UAE's anti-Iranian stance, the country still constitutes a major trading partner for the Islamic Republic, which is trying to mitigate the paralyzing impact of sanctions by developing trade relations with Qatar and other countries, such as Turkey.

The most dramatic of military interventions is the coup d’état, and the cyclical melodrama of putsches in Sudan has placed the country on a violent path. Perhaps a major reason for an irascible officer corps to plot coups is the lack of an effective contract binding the armed forces and society. This is keeping a chokehold on the country's progress, limiting its potential. In search of a better answer, revisiting the past cycle of military interventions is critically important. The recurrent mass actions and fleeting democratic transitions have exposed the bungling civilian leadership and defined the sociology in which Sudan's civil-military alchemy has fermented or gone bust. However, if the country had any concord among the military, the political leadership, and society, the risk of domestic military interventions would have been reduced, limiting the scourge of the power grab.

Over the past four decades, the United States has managed its foreign policy toward Iran through a combination of sanctions, diplomatic incentives, and threats of military intervention. This approach has come down to two choices: war or sanctions. Clearly, sanctions have deprived Iran of access to foreign investment in its oil and energy sectors, caused many oil companies to withdraw from Iran, and dramatically reduced Iran's oil revenue. However, sanctions have had a more damaging effect on ordinary people than on the targeted leaders of the country. Sanctions have neither altered Iran's foreign-policy conduct nor led to regime change. Before Iran is completely pushed into the arms of China and Russia, the third option—diplomacy with a potentially new regime—deserves attention. The next few years will likely answer the question of how these difficult and explosive US-Iranian relations will be managed: through diplomacy, ongoing sanctions, or by escalatory deterrence.

Environmental problems, caused by and affecting human life, are multifaceted and often interconnected with social and economic factors, and they do not recognize political borders. Like other countries, Turkey has faced severe environmental problems over the last six decades. The state's environmental policy and behavior has been shaped by a combination of economic necessity, international discourse, the EU membership process, and growing national and local awareness. This article analyzes the evolution of environmentalism in Turkey, first by tracing the evolution of environmental sentiment and the expansion of green politics, in general and in Turkey specifically. The study then focuses on the prospects and challenges of environmentalist policy and practices. Turkey has understood the importance of environmental protection and its unwanted impacts on all species, including humans. However, it is still under pressure to boost economic growth to meet the current generation's needs. Climate action is further challenged by the patriarchal state structure and influential interest groups. Therefore, the government tries to find the best way for environmental action to coexist with divergent policy preferences among many stakeholders.

The study presented here seeks to determine whether Kuwaiti Christians feel politically and socially integrated, isolated, or even threatened in Kuwait society, as well as to explore their political attitudes and primary social demands. At the same time, the study examines the attitudes and tolerance of Kuwaiti Muslims toward the Christian minority. To that end, two questionnaires were distributed to Christians and Muslims. The results suggest that Christians feel integrated into Kuwaiti society rather than isolated or persecuted. Other results suggest that they are also interested in participating in parliamentary elections and think they should have a quota of seats in the Kuwaiti parliament and a Christian minister in the government. The study also reveals that Kuwaiti Muslims harbor a high level of intolerance toward the Christian minority, which should be a red flag for Kuwaiti government and society.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict dates back to the early 1930s. The most crucial factor that prolongs it and prevents any glimmer of hope is Israel's insistence on displacing the Palestinians from their lands and implanting Israeli citizens in their place. Motivated by inference theory, this study aims at investigating the latest wave of popular civil resistance against territorial expropriation in the town of Beita. The study shows that territorial confiscation is carried out systematically by Israeli settlers, aided by the army. It also shows that Beita's nonviolent approach to resistance enhances its legitimacy domestically and internationally and encourages a wider base of grassroots participation. Beita has always employed popular types of civil resistance, such as weekly protests and night-confusion tactics at Jabal Sabih, to defend itself and expel settlers. Despite the high price Beita has paid and the settlers’ evacuation of the outpost, the Israeli military has turned the site into a base. The conclusion is that popular civil resistance has the potential to challenge occupiers in a powerful way.