Cuba has faced severe power outages since President Donald Trump imposed a de facto oil blockade on the Caribbean island earlier this year. With his executive order on January 29, 2026, he declared Cuba “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to the US and authorized extensive tariffs against any country that directly or indirectly provides Cuba with oil. On May […]
Rather than solely a cessation of hostilities between Iran and the United States (US), the two-week ceasefire between the two parties, brokered by Pakistan, is an attempt to establish a framework for mediating a wide range of issues in the Middle East. Since its declaration, however, it has been extended, continuously contested, and brought close to collapse. Tehran and […]
With the paralysis of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), stakeholders in the international community are increasingly looking to economic, legal, and coalition-based alternatives. As the current global order undergoes a major transition, substantial UNSC reforms are necessary to remain relevant and to avoid further fragmentation in the international system.
Fiker Institute hosted Senior Fellow Shurouq Jaradat for a lecture on fragmentation in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The lecture explored how the war in Ukraine has intensified tensions among the United Nations Security Council Permanent Five (P5) and how shifts in US policy under President Trump, particularly regarding Russia and Ukraine, have reshaped dynamics among the P5 and ultimately affected coordination with European allies.
Fiker Institute hosted Sarah El-Abd, PhD candidate in political science and international relations at Sciences Po, Paris for a lecture on competing approaches in humanitarian policies, exploring how a single institutional ecosystem engages with multiple humanitarian and political mandates.
The US and Israel’s strikes against Iran since February 28 mark a pivotal moment in the Gulf’s security architecture. They transformed what had previously been a gradual recalibration of alliances into an immediate strategic dilemma for the GCC states. Iran’s direct attacks targeting Gulf territory and infrastructure exposed the double-edged nature of hosting US military assets, which […]
