Iran’s rulers, since Pahlavi times, have been attracted by the ‘Big Plan’, and in modern days this is as true as ever. The Islamic Republic’s five-year plans guide its governments, …
Category:
Comment
-
-
In ancient times, what is now Yemen was given the name Arabia Felix — or “Happy Arabia” — by the Romans. But in modern times, it has enjoyed such a …
-
In theory, not to mention in several hundred acres of newsprint, 2011 was the year Turkey’s foreign policy fell apart. The tabloid version of the ‘zero problems with the neighbors’ …
-
Jordan likes to promote itself as an island of stability in a region in turmoil, and in 2011 the country largely lived up to that reputation. While elsewhere the winds …
-
The year began in Egypt with a sudden but thankfully short-lived rash of self-immolations by aggrieved Egyptians following the example of Mohamed Bouazizi, the young street vendor who set himself …
-
I never thought I would say it, but Lebanon was one of the most stable countries in the Middle East this past year. Many commentators and politicians expressed regret that Lebanon …
-
It has been a difficult year for the Lebanese banking sector. While deposits are only marginally down on 2010, Arab uprisings have affected banks’ regional operations and the Lebanese economy …
-
Arabs across the Middle East and North Africa took action for social, political and economic change in 2011; the Lebanese, meanwhile, largely stood silently by as their country continued to …
-
The past 12 months have been devastating for Syria’s economy. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has contracted by several percentage points (possibly by as much as 20 percent), the foreign currency …
-
Occupy Wall Street and the Egyptian uprising have more in common than it may seem, and surely much more than Washington wished for. Egypt seems a la mode in New …