It's been a pleasure to be a Visiting Professor at the University of Helsinki these past 2 weeks. I have engaged with faculty, students and the wider business and policy communities here and look forward to building on these ties in future.

Hot off the press: 'Beyond import dependence: defence industry localisation strategies in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states' with Ali Bakir et al www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

My latest with Umer Karim looks at the Saudi - Pakistan defence deal and Gulf security www.eurasiareview.com/06102025-gul...

3 weeks left to submit an abstract for this workshop on GCC state mediation gulfif.org/app/gss-work...

Call for abstracts out now. Deadline 31 October: gulfif.org/app/gss-work...

'As AI transforms warfare and diplomacy, revising the Vienna Convention could provide the legal foundation to counter cyber threats, deepfakes, and digital sovereignty disputes.' My latest oped for The National Interest Techland: nationalinterest.org/blog/techlan...

The September 2025 issue of the JASIA [12:3] is now available online. You can access it directly by following this link: journals.sagepub.com/toc/AIA/curr...

My latest co-authored piece is 'How the Trump-Musk Feud Could Reshape Space Policy and Rein in SpaceX' nationalinterest.org/blog/techlan...

Very good to have presented my paper that reassesses Buzan and Wæver's Regional Security Complex Theory as it relates to the Middle East at #isavirtual2025

Useful analysis of risks associated with Israel and Iran's forward defence strategies en.majalla.com/node/326515/...

“Preliminary intelligence assessments provided to European governments indicate that Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile remains largely intact following US strikes on its main nuclear sites, two officials have said.” Andrew England & Henry Foy, @financialtimes.com on.ft.com/4kSoxUW

My latest piece is 'The Splintering of the Resistance Axis'. It argues that groups such as the Houthis are already building alliances with other non-state actors such as Al Shabaab, ensuring its survival and growth should further conflict cut support from Iran. gulfif.org/the-splinter...

Middle East Policy has just published a special issue, The Israel-Iran War, which includes my spring 2025 article, "Negotiating the Impossible? A WMD-Free Zone in the Middle East." It's outside the paywall for at least the next four weeks. @mideastpolicy.bsky.social

Important. "The US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, according to an early US [DIA] intelligence assessment" edition.cnn.com/2025/06/24/p...

My latest article on establishing a nuclear free zone in the Middle East has a fresh lease of life given the evolving facts on the ground in Iran. www.linkedin.com/posts/robert...

Delighted to see this article is now out: 'From “Relative Autonomy” to “Relational Autonomy”? A Reappraisal of GCC State-Building and Foreign Policy' www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Still free to read in the Spring 2025 Middle East Policy: the Iran-Saudi dilemma in Gaza by @banafshkeynoush.bsky.social, busting Syria myths by Rob Geist Pinfold, Turkey’s ascendance by Saban Kardas, and curbing WMD by @drrmason.bsky.social. Plus many more. t.co/QbrR4fy6DP

Call for papers: journals.sagepub.com/home/WAJ

My recent intervention on the US and Eastern Mediterranean Security is available here mecouncil.org/publication_...

In my latest article for ORIENT, I write about 'President Trump’s Return to “Maximum Pressure” Against Iran.' orient-online.com

All readers can access the news issue of Middle East Policy without charge through May 1! Check out analyses of Syria, Gaza, the US-Saudi deal, and reconciliation in conflict zones by @drrmason.bsky.social, @banafshkeynoush.bsky.social, and many others. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14754967...

This is a work in progress but as it stands offers in broad strokes what negotiations towards a Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East could look like. Read more here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...

It's arrived! It's always satisfying to see a new book in print for the first time! Great chapters from co-authors @drrmason.bsky.social and Banafsheh Keynoush as well.

My latest piece on Oman’s economy argues that making key Omani industries as attractive as possible as FDI destinations will translate into more equitable deals and help further integrate Oman into the global economy. agsiw.org/omans-bid-to...