The Yemeni novelist and computer science professor speaks to Al Majalla about science, uncertainty, and the role of fiction in questioning inherited narratives of progress
The first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature has written eight novels, published three short story collections, and penned a wealth of poetry. Who is she—and what does she write about?
Once sniffed at as suitable only for children's theatre, authors in the Arab world are now discovering how a murder can help set the scene. Al Majalla looks at four great recent examples.
Perhaps the reason we’re no longer able to see into the future like the great writers of the twentieth century, is that we’re in our own version of what they predicted.
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When states are attacked, authority gravitates towards institutions capable of mobilising resources, enforcing discipline, and coordinating a military response
There are few examples of successful US regime-change operations in history. And without permanent ground troop presence, these wins can easily be reversed.
Cairo and Tehran have been at loggerheads since 1979, but the Iranian threat has always acted as a check on Israeli ambitions. If Iran is completely defeated, Israel will reign supreme.