There is an ongoing debate about the rise of middle powers in the world, including in the Gulf, and where this rise fits in the mechanics of the international system. This debate sometimes places those middle powers in the context of what some observers see as rising multipolarity. But the notion of polarity itself, while […]
INTRODUCTION The imaginary construction of the West’s need to ‘save’ women outside its borders, backed by military power and political legitimization across decades, is what Edward Said invited us to reconsider in his seminal work Orientalism. Instead of focusing on how people in the Middle East are represented or misrepresented, he calls for us to consider the power-knowledge nexus […]
Geopolitical tensions, economic sanctions, tariff mechanisms, and selective trade settlement in non-dollar currencies have prompted renewed scrutiny of the United States (US) dollar’s global role. Yet, despite gradual diversification trends, the dollar remains the dominant reserve, invoicing, and settlement currency worldwide. Rather than the imminent displacement of the US dollar, the resurgence of debates around de-dollarization reflects broader shifts in […]
The Group of Seven (G7) still serves as the anchor of global governance, but there is increasing skepticism about its ability to sufficiently constrain the currents of today’s multipolar world. Despite these doubts, the G7 has increasingly served as the center of global governance since its annual summit first convened in 1975. Its most recent […]
Fiker Institute hosted Senior Fellow Shurouq Jaradat for a lecture on fragmentation in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The lecture explored how the war in Ukraine has intensified tensions among the United Nations Security Council Permanent Five (P5) and how shifts in US policy under President Trump, particularly regarding Russia and Ukraine, have reshaped dynamics among the P5 and ultimately affected coordination with European allies.
Iran’s attacks against Gulf states, including threats to civilians and civilian infrastructure, must be condemned clearly and without hesitation. No country should have to live under the shadow of missile and drone attacks targeting its sovereignty, its people, or the systems that sustain daily life. Estonia quickly and unequivocally condemned Iran’s inexcusable attacks. It stands in […]
The Group of Seven (G7) still serves as the anchor of global governance, but there is increasing skepticism about its ability to sufficiently constrain the currents of today’s multipolar world. Despite these doubts, the G7 has increasingly served as the center of global governance since its annual summit first convened in 1975. Its most recent […]
The US is not simply withdrawing from multilateralism, it is increasingly bargaining through absence. It is re-pricing cooperation, reducing external constraints, and renegotiating the terms of global governance. Washington’s recent behavior toward multilateral institutions is not an episodic withdrawal, it constitutes a strategic repertoire used to renegotiate the terms of international cooperation.
Fiker Institute hosted the Director General of b’huth (Dubai Public Policy Research Centre) Mohammed Baharoon and Associate Professor of Political Science at NYU Abu Dhabi Adam Ramey to discuss what is at stake for Gulf security, shifting alliances, and the broader balance of power.
INTRODUCTION The imaginary construction of the West’s need to ‘save’ women outside its borders, backed by military power and political legitimization across decades, is what Edward Said invited us to reconsider in his seminal work Orientalism. Instead of focusing on how people in the Middle East are represented or misrepresented, he calls for us to consider the power-knowledge nexus […]
INTRODUCTION The downfall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024, closed a painful chapter in Syria’s history, ending more than half a century of Assad family rule which shaped political, social, and economic spheres for all Syrians. From Ba’athification to Assadification,1 the Syrian state revolved around the Assad persona and the country became what was dubbed Souriyya […]
Libyan artist Asmahan Elfergani’s work is largely absent from the formal record of art history, but she is remembered in oral histories and private collections. This Essay seeks to establish a preliminary biography of the artist and her work as it endures through homes, conversations, and the quiet persistence of remembrance.
