John Calabrese is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI) and book review editor for The Middle East Journal. His work focuses on the international relations of the Middle East, with a particular emphasis on cross-regional ties between the Middle East and Asia. He also teaches US foreign policy at American University.
He holds a PhD in International Relations and a Diploma (with Distinction) in Comparative and International Politics from the London School of Economics, and a BA in English and Government from Georgetown University.
War delays but likely will not fully derail IMEC plans
The Oct. 7 Hamas attack against Israel and the latter’s ongoing military operation in Gaza have stalled progress in the development of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and raised questions about its prospects for eventual completion. The IMEC faces multiple viability challenges, but none of them are insurmountable; thus, its participants are unlikely to abandon it.
"الأسوأ قادم": الأردن يستعد لتداعيات الحرب بين إسرائيل وحماس
مع دخول الحرب بين إسرائيل وحماس أسبوعها الرابع، تجد المملكة الأردنية نفسها في طليعة الصراع، ويصبح الملك عبد الله الثاني شخصية مركزية في الجهود الدبلوماسية الإقليمية والعالمية الرامية إلى احتواء الصراع. وتستعد المملكة الهاشمية لصراع أوسع نطاقاً وتداعيات متعددة، مع قلة نفوذها وخياراتها السياسية.
The war in Gaza as a major test of China’s Middle East peace diplomacy
China has long sought to brand itself as a “neutral” player and force for peace in the Middle East and elsewhere, willing and able to talk to “all sides.” Beijing’s nascent ambition to play the role of peacemaker and its potential to shape regional events was on display when it succeeded last March in brokering the détente between Riyadh and Tehran. The Israel-Hamas war offers no such low-hanging fruit. On the contrary, it poses a major test of China’s Middle East peace diplomacy — and an opportunity to examine some of our own, perhaps faulty assumptions.
From petrostates to green leaders: China and the Gulf's climate commitment
The 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) will take place from November 30 to December 12, 2023, at Expo City Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). COP28 comes at a pivotal moment for international climate action. The findings of the UN “Global Stocktake” on global action to address climate change, released in a Synthesis Report in September, reveal just how far the world is from achieving the Paris Agreement’s goals and emphasize that the window of opportunity is closing.
What do China’s economic woes mean for the Middle East?
At the start of 2023, optimism was high that China would see a rapid recovery in consumer spending and an acceleration in GDP growth. Since then, however, the world’s second-largest economy has been in the doldrums. China’s ailing economy is a problem not just for China but for the entire world. A prolonged slowdown or a sudden financial crash, were it to occur, would ripple across global markets — including the countries of the Middle East, whose economies have become increasingly intertwined with that of China.
Japan looks to the Gulf as it bets big on hydrogen
As a trailblazer in hydrogen diplomacy, Japan is seeking to develop a new pattern of energy interdependence with its longstanding partners, the Gulf Arab states — countries that are promising production bases for and exporters of green hydrogen and ammonia, and whose leaders have come to regard the development of clean hydrogen as an attractive way to diversify their economies.
The new wave of dealmaking by Gulf sovereign wealth funds
For resource-rich countries such as Gulf oil and natural gas producers, sovereign wealth funds have emerged as promising tools to save for future generations, mitigate the effects of outsized economic shocks, and/or be deployed as reserve investment and strategic development funds to spend on human, natural, social, and physical capital.
Beijing to Baghdad: China’s growing role in Iraq’s energy sector
Chinese companies are well positioned to participate in Iraq’s efforts to expand its oil production capacity and develop domestic gas supplies, as they are actively engaged in various energy-related undertakings throughout the country. However, if indeed China’s strategy is, as some have suggested, to become the dominant player in Iraq’s economy, achieving that objective will likely prove difficult given Iraq’s challenging operating environment and contentious politics.
Qatar doubles down on LNG amid energy market volatility
The oil and gas sector has been the dominant driver of Qatar’s economy. Over the years, although that sector has remained the major focus of Qatari investments, the emphasis has increasingly shifted towards the expansion of the country’s gas production and LNG export capacity. While the construction boom ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup powered the Qatari economy in recent years, income generated by the expansion of the country’s LNG production and export capacity is likely to drive the economy for many years to come — both despite and partly because of the market turmoil caused by the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
