Across MENA, the proliferation of militias combines corruption, smuggling, looting, intimidation, and parasitism to swell their coffers at the expense of state treasuries.
Non-state actors play an outsized role in the region's conflicts and wars. Hezbollah is a prime example of how these actors have blurred the lines between militancy and national governance.
In her new book 'I Accuse', the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese methodically lays out Israel's countless breaches of international law
The hand of Iran has helped the Houthis expand. It now controls Yemen's capital and deep-water port while laying siege to its third city in a land of tribal loyalties and simmering feuds.
Disruption in the Hormuz can have major implications for global trade, but it also creates opportunities for smaller nations like Iran to become global political players
The Iraq war was viewed as disastrous in retrospect, while the Iran war was unpopular from the get-go. Al Majalla highlights the similarities and differences between the two.
Pipelines have a chequered history in the Middle East, but the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has led US Tom Barrack to conclude that a new route through Syria could solve some problems.