Happy to share that my chapter, The Arabian Peninsula Wars (1919–1934), has been published. The edited volume, A Violent Peace, features chapters that move beyond nationalistic narratives and challenge the widely held view that the interwar period was one of global peace.

Academics: have you ever assigned a @newlinesmag.bsky.social article, podcast episode, or video essay in a class? If so, which one(s) and what class(es)? Any and all details welcome! You can respond here, DM me, or e-mail [email protected] 🙏

A new Gulf Weekly Digest is out! Gulf authors discuss Hajj Bahrain and Qatar negotiate a causeway MBZ meets Egypt's Sisi Analysis of Saudi podcasts A book on Gulf–Horn of Africa relations. www.gulfnashra.com/p/gulf-nashr...

“Sultan Alamer, a Saudi academic, joked that Mr. Trump’s remarks sounded like they came from Frantz Fanon, a 20th century Marxist thinker who wrote about the dynamics of colonial oppression.” www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/w...

NEW: The detention of Georgetown University postdoctoral fellow Badar Khan Suri parallels the cases of Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk. His colleague Nader Hashemi reflects for @newlinesmag.bsky.social on his recent visit with Suri in an ICE facility in Texas. newlinesmag.com/first-person...

This week’s picks feature a book on Order and Region Making in the Middle East Edited by @abuaardvark.bsky.social & Simon Mabon. Analyses by Simon Henderson, Houda Barroug, Jonathan Fulton, and others.

This week's Digest is out! - Emiratis discuss ICJ genocide case on Sudan - Saudi defense minister meets Khamenei - Qatar to invest in Egypt - New book explores Middle East power plays. Subscribe! www.gulfnashra.com/p/gulf-nashr...

This week’s Digest covers how Gulf authors discuss the global trade war, old climate record discovered in Saudi Arabia, World Court hears Sudan’s complaint against UAE, and new book explores Gulf religious soft power. www.gulfnashra.com/p/gulf-nashr...

In this week’s Digest: • Gulf authors debate their region’s relations with the U.S. • Qatar has the Gulf’s highest GDP per capita. • Bahrain cancels direct cash payments to low-income families. Do not forget to subscribe! www.gulfnashra.com/p/gulf-nashr...

This week’s Digest covers the Saudi-UAE clash in social media, along with news about an Israeli businessman admiting transferring Qatari money to Netanyahu's aides and a UK corruption lawsuit involving Kuwait. www.gulfnashra.com/p/gulf-nashr...

Interesting analysis on Gulf, Trump, and Gaza

“Typically, the framing of such announcements would be around security rather than human rights,” said Sultan Alamer, a senior resident fellow at the Washington-based New Lines Institute.

This week’s picks feature a book by Thierry Pastor and Frederic Teboul. Podcast interviews by Khalid Oun, and Layal Alekhtiar. Analyses & essays by @alamer.bsky.social, @andrewleber.bsky.social, @tparsi.bsky.social, @alomran.me, and others. @newlinesinst.bsky.social @quincyinst.bsky.social

This week’s Digest is out: • Gulf authors celebrate International Women’s Day. • They also debated Zelensky’s Visit to Saudi Arabia. • Gulf Markets End Mixed. Do not forget to subscribe! www.gulfnashra.com/p/gulf-nashr...

“The Saudi Arabia that Trump currently deals with is significantly different from the Saudi Arabia he knew in his first administration.” Read my new analysis on the impact of Trump’s Middle East policy on Saudi Arabia. newlinesinstitute.org/strategic-co...

This week’s Digest Gulf Authors Debate Trump-Zelensky Clash; Arab Summit for Palestine; Sudan Accuses UAE; and a New Book on the Global Gulf. www.gulfnashra.com/p/gulf-nashr...

Saudi Arabia’s Personal Status Law is evolving—what does it mean for Saudi women's legal autonomy? I examine the key changes, their legal and social implications, and the balance between tradition and modernization. 🔍 Read the full piece here: blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2025/02/...

🧵How A Saudi Atheist Became A Killer 2 months before German elections, a car drove into a Christmas market in Magdeburg killing 6 people. When the attacker’s identity was reviled, many struggled to reconcile his atheism with his terrorism. In this piece, I tell his story. bsky.app/profile/newl...

This fascinating essay by @doaiji.bsky.social reads like a detective story, full of plot twists, as it explores the life of a Saudi ex-Muslim refugee in Germany who carried out a horrendous attack on a Christmas market two months before the elections.

This week's Digest is out! Gulf Authors Debate Arab Summits on Gaza; Kuwait Continues Revoking Citizenship from Thousands; Saudi Hosts US-Russia Negotiation. www.gulfnashra.com/p/gulf-nashr...

Our first Insight is out! It examines the geopolitical consequences of the Gaza War for the Gulf! These Insights are in-depth analyses of geopolitical and domestic trends in the region and are written by one of our Gulf experts. www.gulfnashra.com/p/insight-th...

This week’s picks feature a book by @esoubrier.bsky.social. Analyses by @andrewleber.bsky.social , Amr Hamzawai, Marwan Muasher, @kristianulrichsen.bsky.social, @luaialla.bsky.social, and others.

This week’s Digest includes the Saudi media campaign against Netanyahu, the growth in non-oil sectors and revenues in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain; and the concerns over the new omani citizenship law. www.gulfnashra.com/p/gulf-nashr...

In this week’s Digest you will read about the backlash in Gulf media against Trump's Gaza plan, Saudi Arabia's Population Growth, and Oman's New Nationality Law. www.gulfnashra.com/p/gulf-nashr...

In this week’s Digest, you will read about how Gulf pundits debate Syria's New Transitional President and Trump's forced relocation of Palestinians; The Turkish-Saudi arms deal; New oil reserves discovered in Kuwait. www.gulfnashra.com/p/gulf-nashr...

In this week’s Gulf Nashra Weekly Digest, you read about how gulf commentators Reflect on Trump's Return, Rising Saudi Inflation, and Houthi Terrorist Re-Designation. Subscribe now! www.gulfnashra.com/p/gulf-nashr...

This week’s Gulf Nashra Weekly Digest is out! Topics: Gaza Cease-Fire, Syria Talks in Saudi Arabia, and Former Kuwaiti Defense Minister's Imprisonment. Subscribe now! www.gulfnashra.com/p/gulf-nashr...

The Prospects of Nation-Building in Syria In this 30-minute Post-Assad Series episode, I discuss: - The post-conflict challenges Syria faces - Competing visions for the future of Syrian nationalism - The potential for a domino effect in the region And more! newlinesinstitute.org/political-sy...

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I'm thrilled to be part of this project. Please consider subscribing!

I'm helping out with curating and commentary for this new venture - if this is your beat, sign up and let me know what you think!

As 2025 begins, we're thrilled to launch Gulf Nashra: your go-to newsletter for Gulf news, opinions, insights, and key highlights on the region's politics, culture, and business www.gulfnashra.com

Good news for everyone interested in Gulf politics, business, and culture: I am very happy to be part of the Gulf Nashra newsletter alongside other academics and policy experts. I will be contributing frequent analytical insights on political, economic, and cultural trends. www.gulfnashra.com

🧵🪡 THREAD on Taleb Abdulmohsen, the man accused of attacking Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany.

I have a new article out in Democratization on Saudi Arabia & MBS, personalism/personalization, and domestic policymaking -- an exploratory case study of the early years of Vision 2030, and what it can tell poli sci about policy processes in non-democracies. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

I label these processes collaborative because the state cannot immediately control Twitter and therefore it depends on contributions of its supporters. Yet, the state cannot control the actions of its supporters either and is sometimes unable to stop attacks that run counter to its interests.

I argue that Twitter allows pro-government supporters to perform and police public opinion online. Twitter’s architecture and algorithms incentivize mob attacks, creating an impression of a consensus about what society “thinks.” I label this practice collaborative authoritarianism.

🚨 New article alert in @democratization.bsky.social: Why do authoritarian regimes maintain access to open U.S.-owned social media platforms like Twitter - despite their subversive potential - and how do pro-government supporters use them? 👇 OA link: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... Menasky

Kuwait's Ministry of Interior tells residents [read: Syrians] that it will take strict measures against celebratory marches, including deportation.

I’m not really worthy to write anything about beautiful Syria today but they asked me to and so I tried through tears to write some words that are inadequate but here they are anyway: Dawn in Damascus @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/spotlight/da...

The interventions of ISIS and Hezbollah between 2013 and 2017 drove Syrian movements toward a more exclusionary and sectarian trajectory. Today, their absence, along with the emergence of a strong liberal Syrian diaspora, might foster reverse pressure toward inclusive and anti-sectarian politics.

Amnesty's new report is 294 pages and was just released. It's a highly detailed, meticulously argued piece that deserves serious consideration. Beware immediate hot takes.

It feels surreal considering Biden began his presidency with talk of an “alliance of democracies.”

*One year later* We regret to inform you President Yoon has declared Martial Law and ended democracy in South Korea

#BREAKING South Korea president declares emergency martial law, says measure necessary to protect country from North's "communist forces"

Here it is. With exclusive details & insights, our deep look at what really went down in #Aleppo - with @michaeldweiss.bsky.social in @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/reportage/th...

A 1971 Saudi postage stamp from today’s writing …

In June 2023 I wrote about Arab leaders normalizing with Assad at the Jeddah Summit arguing it was based on a vision denying Arabs political rights but promising development and stability.While this vision faltered and Assad’s fall seems likely,other Arab leaders are unlikely to let go of him easily

Since May, Kuwait has revoked the citizenship of 9,335 individuals. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The current Kuwaiti government plans to revoke the citizenship of 15–20% of the total population.

US media likes to mirror what it thinks its viewers believe. The media has mostly decided that pres election results show that most Americans hate gov institutions, red tape, immigrants, & the price of eggs. And so now we get this at CNN.. a timid, but explicit endorsement of Musk & Vivek’s DOGE.