James M. Dorsey
ARTICLES BY: James M. Dorsey
Will Gulf Sports Diplomacy Hit Choppy Waters?
Storm clouds may be gathering, potentially casting a shadow over Saudi Arabia's shock-and-awe sports buying spree, and complicating the geopolitical and geoeconomic sports strategies of...
Another ‘Arab Spring’? Is the Mideast Headed for More Unrest?
Protesters in Syria, Bahrain, Libya, Iran, and Israel are dashing autocratic and authoritarian hopes of a prolonged Winter. In response, Arab autocrats are scrambling to squash...
Pushback Grows as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and More Buy the World’s Best Soccer Teams and Players
Saudi Arabia’s stunning sports acquisition blitz, alongside Qatari and Emirati European club purchases, may reshape the game -- just not in ways that Crown Prince...
Mideast Sports Go Global, But Politics Follow
A potential sale of storied soccer club Manchester United to a member of Qatar's ruling family could take the Manchester derby to new heights. The sale...
Conflicting Polls Show Arab Youth Want More Traditional Values, But Also Reform
A just-published survey suggests that Arab youth are returning to traditional values. The survey contrasts starkly with another -- only partially released -- poll, in...
Saudi Soccer Is a Game of Geopolitics and Religion, Not Just Sports
Saudi Arabia's soccer player buying spree is about more than sports and the diversification of the kingdom's economy. It’s also about geopolitics and religion for...
The UAE: The Middle East’s Teflon Nation
The United Arab Emirates resembles US "Teflon President" Ronald Reagan. Congresswoman Pat Schroeder (D-CO) awarded Reagan the label because nothing stuck to him while he was...
Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Record Again Puts Pressure on US Relations
Poking the United States in the eye appears to be a Saudi pastime. In the latest incident, Saudi Arabia reportedly detained five relatives of a US...
Is Religious Reform Coming to Saudi Arabia?
For Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), religious reform has long been a question of when rather than if. MBS' potential embrace of religious, not...
Autocrats Shift Gears By Exporting Repression of Freedoms Abroad
Increasingly, muzzling political freedoms beyond national borders is part of an autocrat’s toolkit. Men like Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and the presidents of...
Saudi Sports Initiative Will Take More Than Money
For the second time in a month, Saudi Arabia has discovered that money buys a lot -- but not everything. First, there was Argentinian soccer superstar...
What the Wagner Revolt in Russia Means for China, Mideast Countries, and Beyond
The sigh of relief in a swath of land stretching from China to Africa’s Atlantic coast was audible when Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch who...
US Loses Some Credibility in the Middle East, But All Is Not Lost for the Future
A recent poll of Arab public opinion suggests US credibility has taken a hit, but all is not lost. For this to happen, the United...
Indian State Visit Spotlights America’s Policy Choices
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's four-day red carpet visit to the United States constituted a microcosm of what this century may look like. The visit spotlighted...