While the West flourished post-Second World War, the Global South faced marginalization. Today, the international order is undergoing a realignment of power. More nations are standing against hegemony, and what once seemed permanent is shifting into a new reality: the rise of multipolar cooperation, a stronger voice from the Global South, and the recognition that the world’s future cannot rest in the hands of a single power.
For the inaugural lecture of the Al-Khaleej program, Fiker Institute hosted Dr. Hasan Alhasan, Senior Fellow for Middle East Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies to discuss the role of Gulf states as diplomatic brokers.
Afaf Zurayk is one of the last figures of a generation of prominent Lebanese women artists who emerged in the 1960s–70s, when Beirut was an epicenter of art and creativity. Zurayk’s work and the artist’s life is a testament to resilience and the power of art in the face of adversity.
To state that the governance of multilateral trade, centered at the World Trade Organization (WTO), is at a crossroads is to understate the obvious. While current geoeconomics play a large role, as exemplified by US President Trump’s tariff policies, the causes are varied and of longer standing than simply current events. An increasingly complex trade […]
In November 2025, Brazil will host COP30, the annual UN climate conference. International climate governance has witnessed uneven progress in recent years, with North-South tensions and geopolitical instability threatening vital action against deteriorating climate conditions. What can we expect from Brazil’s COP and how does the summit highlight deeper problems in global climate governance?
Last month’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit put the question of burden-sharing for Europe’s security provision at center stage. While, ostensibly, transatlantic leaders appeared more unified around joint commitments to increase defense spending, the summit highlighted ongoing divergences between the allies. The gathering was notably short with only one working session scheduled to last a mere […]
In 1938, Australian writer Alan Villiers traveled to the Gulf to document what he believed to be the last days of Arab sailing traditions. The neglect of Villiers’ account in academic research highlights how the Gulf’s cultural isolation is related to a deeper Orientalist structure of thought that overlooks the sea in its portrayal of the Arabian Peninsula. This Essay examines the legacies of Villiers’ work in the early history of Kuwaiti cinema and its preoccupation with the sea, pearl-diving, and pre-oil economic class distinctions to show what gives the seas such an allure in Kuwaiti film and literature.
Forty-seven years have passed since Edward Said published his masterpiece Orientalism in 1978, and his ideas remain pertinent to the understanding of the contemporary regional context and how it is both perceived and portrayed. This Essay aims to contextualize Orientalism within the current political moments, focusing on the case of contemporary Syria, as a striking example of Orientalist imperial and colonial legacies, totalitarian history, and post-conflict dynamics, and the continued manipulation of Orientalist discourses as tools of control.
Sitting on the shores of the Arabian Gulf, Dubai has acted as a crossroads of trade and diverse communities throughout its history. With the discovery of oil in the 1960s and the increase of expatriates, several churches of many denominations were built across the city to provide permanent spaces of worship. In this Essay, Dr. Khawla Almarri traces the history of Dubai’s Christian communities from the pre-oil era to the present day and explores how religious recognition systems can be understood and fostered by public sector institutions.
Following the Arab League emergency meeting in early March, momentum around Gaza’s reconstruction has grown amid regional urgency and renewed international focus. At the heart of this effort lies a pivotal question: Will reconstruction serve as a tool for Palestinian sovereignty or be co-opted into another externally imposed process and prolonged military occupation? This Policy Brief argues […]
On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump upended years of climate finance commitments to Africa. The US President issued an executive order withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement and rescinding the US International Climate Finance Plan. This did not come as a surprise as it is the second time President Trump has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement. […]
Since the second half of the 20th century, the Arab region has witnessed pivotal and transformative political events that have shaped its modern history. Arab(ic) autobiographical literature has flourished in these contexts. A plethora of these texts have been written by women. This Essay aims to present a brief history of Arab women writing about their experiences of war and political upheavals in autobiographical texts.
