Power in this part of Africa was once determined by land and territory. Today, it is more about control of transit routes, chokepoints, gateways, and connection hubs
The achievements of September's US-China summit are underwhelming: a short trade truce extension, a reciprocal tariff reduction, a coal purchase, talks on AI, and two pandas. The rest is what matters
With its mineral wealth and jihadist dilemma, Mali is entertaining both the Americans and the Russians, to see what each can offer, and what they want in return
Palestinians who survived what the UN has termed a genocide are living in an apocalyptic landscape, where access to clean water, food, medical care, and education has become a daily struggle
Al Majalla examines this changed landscape—from Israel's domestic political scene to its external ambitions, where it occupies large swathes of new territory in the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria
Its current gratuitously destructive approach will neither eliminate Hezbollah militarily nor empower Lebanese leaders politically to pursue cooperation and peace
On the ground in southern Syria, Al Majalla speaks to residents who describe their new bleak reality under Israeli shelling, incursions, and land confiscation
Three years after October 7, Israeli confidence in their government has not recovered. This requires leadership willing to answer for the past and choose a direction beyond it
The leaders of Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, and Eritrea met in Alamein on Sunday, which some interpret as a formation of a loose security alliance aimed at influencing the geopolitics of the Horn of Africa
Both Tehran and Washington have powerful incentives to resolve the conflict through negotiations, but actors on all sides have reasons to derail these efforts
Beijing has been expanding its base in Djibouti, the tiny state that sits opposite Yemen across the Bab al-Mandab Strait. With numerous other states also in play, this is a region to watch
From machines that develop human emotions to societies governed by artificial intelligence, Arab novelists explore the promises and perils of a radically transformed future