Speculation holds that the Mecca confab is meant to (a) ratchet down tensions by invoking summit diplomacy — though the Iranians are not in attendance — and (b) get all Muslims/Arabs on board with a Saudi approach.

For three days starting May 30, Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz hosts Arab and Muslim leaders of countries comprising the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Arab League and Organization of the Islamic Conference. The gathering was ostensibly called to address the region’s many issues, inter alia, Iran, Syria and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including Washington’s much discussed but little understood “deal of the century.”

Needless to say, it is Iran that is uppermost on Saudi minds, given recent barbs exchanged between the US and Iran and incidents in the Gulf. speculation holds that the Mecca confab is meant to (a) ratchet down tensions by invoking summit diplomacy — though the Iranians are not in attendance — and (b) get all Muslims/Arabs on board with a Saudi approach.

This paper considers how the newfound social contract has been forged and the ways in which a sustainable contract remain elusive.

Violence against women in politics is increasingly recognized around the world as a significant barrier to women’s political participation.

There was never any question that America’s relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would become one of its most important in the region and indeed in the world.

The 25th anniversary of the start of the Rwandan genocide this week has generated reflection on various aspects of the tragedy. One of these is peacekeeping.

The country has taken great strides just 25 years since its horrific genocide. But at the same time the government under President Paul Kagame has been widely criticised for its authoritarian tactics and use of violence against those who oppose it.

When armed conflicts involve illicit economies, they can create special risks for civilians.

China’s rapid transition toward a downward trajectory will pose a unique set of national security challenges for the United States that could prove even more difficult than those posed by China’s rise.

On what was his biggest stage at the American University of Cairo, Pompeo delivered what may now be called the clearest statement yet of US policy in the Middle East.

Nearly a year after his predecessor embarked on a similar mission, on January 15 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo concluded a tour of the Middle East that included stops in Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman. A planned stop in Kuwait was canceled. The ostensible reason for Pompeo’s hastily scheduled tour was to explain his boss’ sudden and unexpected announcement of the US troop withdrawal from Syria.

"A day worked is a day paid," a day laborer in Lakewood, Colorado stated. But according to the Colorado Fiscal Institute (CFI), this is not the case for many Colorado workers.