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Transformational implications of moving toward smart cities in the Gulf
Photo by Tyson Paul/Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Transformational implications of moving toward smart cities in the Gulf

    As Gulf nations embrace the opportunities presented by developing smart cities, challenges such as cybersecurity and infrastructure sustainability must be addressed through strategic policies and trusted partnerships to ensure a secure and sustainable digital transition.

    AI global governance regime gradually taking shape
    Photo by Alastair Grant - WPA Pool/Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • AI global governance regime gradually taking shape

    In recent years, the international community has witnessed a surge in momentum toward the development of standards for artificial intelligence (AI) governance. The AI Safety Summit, convened last month by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, marked a diplomatic milestone and a definite step in the right direction. However, its impact is contingent on the ability of the global community to navigate the multiparty landscape of AI governance.

    War delays but likely will not fully derail IMEC plans
    Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • 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.

    In the eye of the storm: The battle over fossil fuels at COP28
    Photo by YU FANGPING/ Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • In the eye of the storm: The battle over fossil fuels at COP28

    As the existential threat of climate change continues to intensify, the future of fossil fuels has been thrust into the international spotlight. Reducing hydrocarbon production and consumption has gained traction in international climate talks amid warnings that the window to avoid catastrophic warming is closing quickly.

    The US Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy: A blueprint for building cyber talent in the Gulf
    Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • The US Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy: A blueprint for building cyber talent in the Gulf

    In July 2023, the White House released the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy. The strategy is designed to address the cybersecurity workforce shortage by emphasizing skills-based hiring and lifelong learning. It also provides guidance for other nations, particularly in the Gulf region, as they undergo their own digital transformation and work toward gender equality in their workforces.

    A mixed report card: The Abraham Accords at three
    Photographer: Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • A mixed report card: The Abraham Accords at three

    As the original Abraham Accords signatories — Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain — observe the third anniversary of their September 2020 agreement, there is a sufficient basis to evaluate whether the Abraham Accords are real, hype, or something in-between. Much like the case a year ago, the results so far remain mixed.

    Hydrogen as a fuel of the future: Moving the GCC’s climate mitigation agenda forward
    Tasneem Alsultan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Hydrogen as a fuel of the future: Moving the GCC’s climate mitigation agenda forward

    Hydrogen has been touted as an energy solution for the future and a leading mitigation technology against climate change. Among the states of the GCC, it has come to be seen as central to their energy transition strategy and a means to retain the region’s hegemonic position within global energy relations.

    September 5, 2023

    Syria’s economic freefall continues despite Arab League return
    Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Syria’s economic freefall continues despite Arab League return

    Syria’s dramatic readmission into the Arab League in May was perceived as a turning point for the country’s fortunes. Although Damascus may have come in from the cold diplomatically, there has been little change on the economic front, where the situation remains dire. Since the start of May, the Syrian pound has lost over 70% of its value and shows no sign of stabilizing.

    Japan looks to the Gulf as it bets big on hydrogen
    Photo by Akio Kon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • 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.

    Breaking down the details of the UAE’s climate strategy
    Photo by Waleed Zein/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.
  • Analysis
  • Breaking down the details of the UAE’s climate strategy

    In the race to manage climate change, the UAE is ramping up its efforts in a bid to accelerate its transition to a green economy. In the first two weeks of July 2023, it published several important documents laying out its actions and objectives, including a revised version of the national climate pledges it made under the Paris Agreement, as well as a number of targeted policies and strategies.

    August 1, 2023

    Realigning priorities: Egypt's strategic shift toward Qatar, Turkey, and Iran
    Photo by Murat Kula/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Realigning priorities: Egypt's strategic shift toward Qatar, Turkey, and Iran

    While some analysts attribute Egypt’s realignment toward Turkey, Qatar, and Iran to a change in the foreign policies of its influential allies, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, it can be argued that Egypt’s shift is primarily motivated by its domestic dynamics and its unfulfilled foreign policy objectives between 2014 and 2018. Egypt’s realignment, in that sense, seeks to achieve multiple unmet domestic and regional aims.

    July 25, 2023

    Changing dynamics reshape power networks in Yemen’s “two Hadramawts”
    Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Changing dynamics reshape power networks in Yemen’s “two Hadramawts”

    Since 2015, Yemen’s largest governorate, Hadramawt, has been informally divided between two distinct centers of power with different military loyalties and external backing. The balance of power within the governorate is no longer fixed, however. Changes in Hadramawt’s military, political, and economic dynamics are reshaping power networks in the governorate and beyond, with implications for the conflicting agendas of the Saudis, Emiratis, and Houthis.

    July 24, 2023