James M. Dorsey
ARTICLES BY: James M. Dorsey
For Saudi Arabia, LGBTQ Rights Are a Litmus Test for Reform
Saudi Arabia has turned LGBTQ rights into a litmus test for the limits of social reforms by sending mixed messages. In line with broad-based official and...
Where Are US-Saudi Relations Headed?
A draft bill in the US House of Representatives that would strip PGA Tour, the organizer of golf’s flagship events, of its tax-exempt status because...
Saudi Sports Blitz Is Off to a Mixed Start
Since arriving in Saudi Arabia five months ago, soccer superstar Ronaldo has scored 14 goals in 16 games for his new club, Al Nassr. Yet,...
Qatar Drifts Towards the US, as Saudi Arabia and UAE Drift a Bit Away
More than three years after burying the war hatchet, erstwhile Gulf rivals are moving in separate ways as they maneuver big power competition. Ironically, anti-Islamists like...
Why the Gulf Arab States Support Erdogan: Money and Geopolitical Power
When jailed Turkish politician Selahattin Demirtas apologized for his pro-Kurdish party’s poor performance in the recent Turkish elections, he did more than take responsibility. Demirtas implicitly...
A Report on Textbooks Gives a Mixed Message on Saudi Reforms
Saudi Arabia has removed antisemitic and anti-Israeli references from Islamic studies schoolbooks, according to an Israeli textbook watchdog. The watchdog, the Institute for Monitoring Peace...
Arab Culture Wars Bubble Under the Surface
Religious conservatives and nationalists in the Muslim world and beyond have the wind in their sails. So do Arab autocrats, even if they increasingly cloak...
Middle Eastern Rivalries Are Alive and Kicking Despite Recent Deescalation
Middle Eastern battlegrounds are alive and kicking, even though rivals want to soothe contentious relations. Take efforts by the United Arab Emirates, and more recently Saudi...
Sudan Conflict Also Puts Mideast Rivals Against Each Other
With Saudi-hosted talks to end Sudan fighting producing minimal results -- and Arab states supporting rival forces -- de-escalation in the Middle East faces a...
Syria’s Dictator Survives, War Crimes and All
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has put restoration of control of all of Syria at the core of efforts to manage multiple Middle Eastern rivalries that...
Sports Show How Middle East Countries Can Balance Their Differences
Renewed controversy over Saudi ownership of English Premier League club Newcastle United suggests the kind of opposition the kingdom may encounter as it bids for...
The Fallacy of a US Withdrawal From the Middle East
America is in decline. Eclipsed by China’s rise, it is shifting attention from the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific. That is one refrain in the analysis...
With Iran-Saudi Deal, China Makes Mideast Inroads and the UAE Takes Action
A Chinese-mediated Saudi-Iranian reconciliation potentially casts a spotlight on fundamentally flawed security policies of regional powers, including not only Saudi Arabia and Iran, but also...
Arab States and Russia Want to Rehabilitate Syria, Despite Bloody War
A push by Arab allies of the United States to bring Syria in from the cold highlights the limits of a Chinese-mediated rapprochement between the...
