Arms imports of Middle Eastern countries have increased more than twice during the last decade. The main reason for this increase is the fact that most of the actors in the region directly or indirectly are involved in conflicts. The Middle East has become one of the most important destinations of arms exports in recent years. Arms imports of Middle Eastern countries have...

Egypt has been experiencing continuing instability since the military coup that took place on July 3, 2013. The coup was a turning point for the political life in Egypt and in the Middle East. A number of regional and international actors closely followed the developments taking place in Egypt since the coup. These actors supported the military coup and the regime that came to...

The canal project is an expression of the hostility from Saudi Arabia against Qatar. This is also observed from the comments from the Saudi officials. Saud Al-Qahtani, an advisor of Saudi Crown Prince, Muhammad bin Selman, congratulated the Saudi people for the "canal project, which will turn the "terrorist Qatari state" into an island." The Gulf crisis, which began in June 2017,...

The Gulf crisis served as an important lesson for the Middle Eastern regimes. Most countries realized that diversifying their alliances and establishing good relations with reliable partners is crucial. The Gulf region experienced its most serious crisis during the summer of 2017. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic relations with Qatar and...

It can be predicted that Jordan will have to face more serious challenges in the coming period. Its economic problems will continue to exist as the country needs external support, the new political setting in the region will put more pressure on King Abdullah's regime. As the region will focus more on the Palestinian issue, it will also bring Jordan on the spotlight in regional...

Since 2015, the foreign policy of Saudi Arabia has been transformed both internally and externally. 2015 was the time when Salman bin Abdulaziz became king, launched many initiatives regarding foreign and domestic policies. The predecessor of King Salman, King Abdullah was widely known as the leader of reforms in Saudi Arabia. This reform process accelerated in 2017 when Mohammed...

With its great potential in natural resources such as oil and gas, Iran would have been a regional power if the country had not faced international sanctions for many years. Therefore, it can be argued that the main reason for the U.S.'s insistence on the sanctions imposed on Iran was to keep Tehran at a limited capacity in regional and global politics. The United States...

One of the unlawful practices of the regime is placing individuals on a terror list. Once placed, suspects are issued travel bans and their properties are confiscated. This practice is increasingly instrumental for the Sisi regime and applied particularly to Muslim Brotherhood members. Egypt has been making headlines recently with its two legendary football players: Liverpool's...

As we get closer to the June 24 Presidential elections, the topic of Turkish foreign policy in the Middle East fades away from daily politics in Turkey. However, a recent development, particularly the ongoing negotiations between Ankara and Washington, concerning the issue of Manbij, still remains pressing. Last week, Cavusoglu and the U.S. Secretary of State, Pompeo, held a...

The crisis between the two countries reached its peak in April 2018, when Somalian security forces seized a UAE-owned plane illegally carrying 9 million U.S. dollars in cash to the country. The allegations that the money in the plane was planned to be given to the anti-government groups in the country caused the Somali government to take a harder stance against the Emirates. The...