#Gulf states

Two years since it began, the so-called Gulf crisis looks more permanent than ever. Many observers expected a quick resolution when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt broke ties with Qatar in June 2017. After all, a similar spat had quickly faded in 2014. But this time the

The war in Syria has played up all the classic clichés that have defined the Middle East for the last many decades: democracy versus authoritarianism, imperialism or post colonialism versus freedom fighters, the United States versus Russia, and last, but by no means least, Sunni versus Shia. It is