As Emirati children growing up in Dubai, it was natural for us to attend school alongside classmates of more than a hundred different nationalities. We had friends who looked different, heard English spoken in many accents, and shared meals from around the world. Nobody stood out as ‘different’, and we did not question where anyone […]

The war that started on February 28 with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran has since spilled over into a regional conflict, with Iranian missiles and drones targeting all six GCC states and energy supply disruptions causing global economic impacts. In light of this escalation, Fiker Institute’s Al-Khaleej Fellows, Dr Khalid Al-Jufairi, Ahmed Buhejji, and Rumaitha Al Busaidi, […]

On the 28th of February 2026, the ever-peaceful skies of the Gulf were invaded by a cowardly act of unjustified ‘retaliation’ from Iran. While shocked, people remained cautious and interpreted the attack as aimed at the United States’ bases, citing the previous ‘retaliation’ on Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base last year. This view was soon challenged by […]

There is an ongoing debate about the rise of middle powers in the world, including in the Gulf, and where this rise fits in the mechanics of the international system. This debate sometimes places those middle powers in the context of what some observers see as rising multipolarity. But the notion of polarity itself, while […]

On January 1, 2027, the United Nations (UN) will have a new Secretary-General. The race to lead the organization is underway, and attention has focused on who should occupy the office. The harder question is what member states are prepared to do once the selection is complete. During the post-Cold War period, member states gave […]

At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January of this year, environment-related risks fell in the global risk rankings, with geopolitical risks overtaking key climate ones. Many working in the climate sector chose to take the ranking with a pinch of salt. It was clear that, despite a number of ongoing hostilities across the world, […]

The architecture of ceasefire governance in contemporary conflicts has shifted from universal institutions toward selective coalitions of powerful states with profound implications for global security: Enforcement becomes selective, violations are interpreted asymmetrically, and the objective transforms from sustainable peace to strategic advantage.

In 1979, the first issue of Majid Magazine, one of the oldest publications for children in the Arab world, was published in Abu Dhabi. Majid Magazine rapidly spread across the Arab world and contributed to forming a shared pan-Arab identity through its characters and themes.

In Inaam Kachachi’s Sayf Siwisri, a newly developed Swiss medicine, which is referred to as “bonbon”, can cure people from the deadliest disease of all—ideology. Kachachi’s novel is an exploration of forced migration, fundamentalism and its origins, cultural identity, and the lasting effects of colonization on the human psyche. At its essence, Sayf Siwisri asks what it means to be accepted and integrated, and where the blame lies in systemic trauma.

The 2026 United States (US)-Israel attack on Iran came as a profound shock to the Gulf states. Though far from a unitary actor, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states all shared to varying degrees three core assumptions: hosting US bases and cultivating close diplomatic ties to Washington would deter an attack by any hostile power; maintaining dialogue with […]

INTRODUCTION The imaginary construction of the West’s need to ‘save’ women outside its borders, backed by military power and political legitimization across decades, is what Edward Said invited us to reconsider in his seminal work Orientalism. Instead of focusing on how people in the Middle East are represented or misrepresented, he calls for us to consider the power-knowledge nexus […]

INTRODUCTION The downfall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024, closed a painful chapter in Syria’s history, ending more than half a century of Assad family rule which shaped political, social, and economic spheres for all Syrians. From Ba’athification to Assadification,1 the Syrian state revolved around the Assad persona and the country became what was dubbed Souriyya […]

Countries suffering from economic de-development continuously deteriorate, regardless of increases in economic output, & often face ongoing crises that strip citizens of their political, economic, and social agency. This explainer examines cases of de-development in Gaza, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

Pan-Africanist ideals came to fruition circa 1860, paving the way for the development of the African Union (AU). This Explainer discusses the Union’s successes, the reasons for its shortcomings, and ways to advance in its future progression.

How has BRICS fared against predictions made in the early 2000s about its far-reaching potential? This Explainer discusses the evolution of BRICS from the late 1990s to this day, and explores its role as an alternative multilateral economic arrangement through its current initiatives.

The Group of Seven (G7) still serves as the anchor of global governance, but there is increasing skepticism about its ability to sufficiently constrain the currents of today’s multipolar world. Despite these doubts, the G7 has increasingly served as the center of global governance since its annual summit first convened in 1975. Its most recent […]

The nuclear non-proliferation regime has evolved from a patchwork of agreements into an important architecture of nuclear restraint globally. Yet, the regime now faces some formidable challenges. Deep structural fractures, including inequality, the disarmament deficit, and the tolerance of nuclear latency, are compounding threats of geopolitical rivalry, lack of universality, and the challenge of new disruptive technologies.

In November 2025, Brazil will host COP30, the annual UN climate conference. International climate governance has witnessed uneven progress in recent years, with North-South tensions and geopolitical instability threatening vital action against deteriorating climate conditions. What can we expect from Brazil’s COP and how does the summit highlight deeper problems in global climate governance?

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 […]

States are increasingly reverting to economic coercion in international politics. The sweeping use of sanctions and – particularly since President Trump’s second term in office – tariffs to influence other states is evidence of its growing salience. Economic coercion refers to the use of economic tools – specifically economic restrictions – to coerce a foreign government, actor, or entity […]

For much of the 20th century, Arab oil-exporting states were defined as rentier economies, where a small percentage of the population – often just 2-3% – was involved in producing wealth that accounted for up to 80% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).1 According to modern interpretations of Adam Smith’s rentier theory, state revenue in such […]

Geopolitical tensions, economic sanctions, tariff mechanisms, and selective trade settlement in non-dollar currencies have prompted renewed scrutiny of the United States (US) dollar’s global role. Yet, despite gradual diversification trends, the dollar remains the dominant reserve, invoicing, and settlement currency worldwide. Rather than the imminent displacement of the US dollar, the resurgence of debates around de-dollarization reflects broader shifts in […]

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 […]

In the early weeks after the US-Iran escalation around the Strait of Hormuz, the crisis was narrated through a familiar vocabulary of oil flows, gas markets, tanker movements, price volatility, and insurance risk. The language was immediate, recognizable, and not wrong. Energy is the first lens through which the world understands the Gulf. Yet the region’s modern resource 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.

Fiker Institute’s Working Group on Gulf Foreign Policy held its second meeting and discussed the implications of the ceasefire announcements and the ongoing Strait of Hormuz crisis.

Fiker Institute’s Working Group on Gulf Foreign Policy held its fourth meeting and discussed the announcement of MOU between Iran and the US and its implication for regional security.

The Syllabus of Proposed Works is a non-exhaustive list of novels, plays, academic articles, podcast episodes, films, and visual artworks that speak to ongoing debates of identity and conflict as they relate to Arab Gulf states. It is designed to encourage dialogue and facilitate critical discourse in the context of ongoing developments in the region. […]