Despite losing its dominant position in Syria, Moscow still sees opportunities in oil, military cooperation, and access to Africa

The Arab world has a vibrant and rich literary scene. Al Majalla picks out some choice titles in our fortnightly round-up of the latest Arabic books

Syria's hereditary republic grew into a mafia-style family regime. The similarities between their 54-year rule and the fictional Corleone family in 'The Godfather' movies are more than skin-deep

The appointments show how Tehran is drawing lessons from successive wars and preparing for a prolonged period of insecurity

The spoken word has kept a key component of Algeria's social mosaic alive for generations, but now technology is stepping in to do the heavy lifting

When US forces withdrew from Afghanistan five years ago, Syrian rebels drew inspiration from the Taliban. Today, the roles are reversed.

Al Majalla offers political and economic analysis about how we got here and what the future may hold

The US is betting that a sustained blockade can force Iran to make concessions on Hormuz. Iran is betting that rising economic pressure from the strait's closure will force the US to blink first.

A bit of both. It enabled its rise as a regional power, then helped weaken it, and may now help prevent its complete defeat.