By Jason Fisher
Sep 18, 2011

From this year forward, longtime U.S. ally Saudi Arabia will supply more oil to China than the U.S. In 2010, the Middle East and Saudi Arabia accounted for 18% and 12% of U.S. crude oil imports, respectively. That same year, 46% of China’s crude oil imports originated in the Middle East and 19% came from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. While U.S. demand for oil has plateaued, China’s demand is expected to increase rapidly for at least the next two decades.

By Peter Kohanloo and Sohrab Ahmari
Aug 09, 2011

Iranian workers were not at the forefront of the country’s recent pro-democracy uprising. With a few notable exceptions, that struggle was spearheaded by students, women, professionals, and other members of the urban middle class. Yet Iran has a rich history of labor activism.

By Jason Shams
Jul 12, 2011

Iran and European Union representatives have engaged in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear enrichment program for the better part of the last decade. Last month, yet another round of talks failed for the same reason previous negotiations fell through: a lack of compromise on both sides.

By Joseph Khawam
Jun 21, 2011

On June 17, 2011, King Mohammed VI of Morocco announced a series of proposed amendments to the country’s constitution. The Moroccan constitutional reforms are significant and unprecedented in the Arab world, as King Mohammed VI is clearly attempting to get in front of the demands for change sweeping the Middle East. Ambassador Edward M. Gabriel – the United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco from November 1997 to March 2001 – discussed the constitutional reforms with Foreign Policy Digest.

By Thomas Plofchan
Jun 15, 2011

On January 25, 2011, popular demonstrations calling for reform began in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. From January 28 to February 11, hundreds of thousands of Egyptian citizens – determined, resilient and unified – remained in Tahrir, eventually forcing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from power. Since then, Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has governed the country ahead of anticipated parliamentary and presidential elections in September and November 2011, respectively.

By Aarti Ramachandran
May 17, 2011

Over the past five years, there has been a startling trend developing in Syria, and one need not spend more than a few hours in central Damascus to notice it. Syria is a poor country, and has been so for decades. The average Syrian makes about $250 per month. Even relative to other Middle Eastern nations, Syria’s GDP per capita bests only that of Yemen, ranking 116th globally, at less than $2,900.

By Olivier Kamanda
May 02, 2011

Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. special forces on May 1st, 2011 in Abottabad, Pakistan.

By Haysam Fahmy
Apr 01, 2011

An ongoing war in the north, a separatist rebellion in the south, and a revolution stirring in the capital-center may not measure up to the imminent catastrophe that lays ahead for Yemen: water extinction. In the coming century, Yemen’s water shortage will overshadow any of the challenges it faces politically or socio-economically.