An alliance between Kurdish leftists and Iraqi militias shows why it’s dangerous to overestimate Iran’s role in the so-called “Shia crescent.” In light of the breakdown of state structures in Iraq and Syria, it’s tempting to try to build narratives that portray entire ethnic groups or sects as pawns of great powers like Iran, as […]
Tag Archive | ISIS
An Iraqi-Kurdish Conflict Casts Doubt on the “Shia Crescent” Theory
Posted on September 9, 2017.
Posted in Conflict, Iran, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, Religion, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, Turkey, World
Should We Empathize With Extremists?
Posted on February 17, 2016.
When U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon suggested in a recent Security Council speech that an Israeli drive to build settlements beyond its territory partly fueled Palestinian extremism, it drew ire from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “There is no justification for terror,” responded Netanyahu. “The comments of the U.N. Secretary-General encourage terror.” In the epochal ‘war […]
Posted in Islam, Israel, Israeli Palestinian Conflict, Middle East, Religion, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, World
Shaping Safety: How Architects Can Build a Stronger Peace
Posted on March 10, 2016.
I take my home for granted. There, I said it. Chances are you do, too, if your conception of home – like mine – does not include worrying about the daily dangers of a civil war playing out on your doorstep; the mortar shelling that has left your family homeless; or the stability of […]
Posted in Conflict, Humanitarian Intervention, Iraq, Middle East, Refugees, Security Issues, Syria, World
Mediterranean Migration Reveals Flaws in Dublin Convention
Posted on February 21, 2015.
John Donne famously reminded us that ‘no man is an island’. Likewise in today’s polycentric, ever-globalized, and interconnected world, no state can remain untouched by social, economic, or political influences from neighbouring states. As terrible as Islamic State has been for people living in Syria, Iraq and Libya, its effects on Europe are also increasingly being felt. […]
Posted in Africa, Conflict, Economic Security, Europe, Germany, Humanitarian Intervention, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, Refugees, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, UN, World
The Forerunners of ISIS
Posted on December 6, 2015.
The recent creation and sudden conquests of the so-called “Islamic State” have astonished policy-makers, military strategists, and foreign affairs analysts. The self-proclaimed caliphate of Abû al-Baghdâdi went from a broken outfit of Iraqi insurgents to a feared theocracy that currently threatens the established order of the Middle East. One can be forgiven for thinking such a movement as being […]
Posted in Africa, Culture, Education, Islam, Middle East, Religion, Terrorism, World
Kurdistan: the Next Epicentre of Regional Instability
Posted on August 30, 2015.
Kurdistan is a nation that encompasses parts of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey, but it is not a state. In post-Saddam Iraq the Kurds have had success in forming a new autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) with their own military. In July last year, KRG President Masoud Barzani asked his parliament to prepare for an independence referendum. The Kurds have a […]
Posted in Conflict, Iraq, Middle East, Security Issues, Syria, US, World
Was ISIS Inevitable?
Posted on April 4, 2015.
ISIS’ exploits dominate headlines, horrifying witnesses around the world. As a history graduate who specialised in researching the rise of Islam, its culture, and its creation of a complex and inspiring civilisation, the recent destruction of millennia old artefacts have almost reduced me to tears. As we now watch and condemn the destruction of priceless […]
Posted in Conflict, Humanitarian Intervention, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, Political Security, Refugees, Religion, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, World
What Price Stability? Jordan’s Balancing Act
Posted on August 15, 2015.
At a time when the Middle East appears to be crumbling Jordan appears to be standing firm – a beacon of hope in a burning region. But is Jordan really as stable as it appears? Are we just turning a blind eye to the compromises that come with such stability at a time of such uncertainty […]
Posted in Middle East, Political Security, World
After Authoritarianism: State Development and National Identity in the Middle East
Posted on April 18, 2015.
The Arab Uprisings have resulted in an increase in the expression of both sectarian and trans-state identities, making the process of reunification and the prospects for a peaceful coexistence somewhat dependent on the new leaderships’ ability to unite, make amends and, possibly for the first time in the region, craft a territorial nationalism that complements rather […]
Posted in Conflict, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, Syria, Terrorism, World
The overlooked story of Syria’s Yarmouk death camp
Posted on April 20, 2015.
A brave 12-year-old girl named Zeynab Daghastani recently attempted to escape the grim living conditions of a besieged Palestinian refugee camp in Syria. Starving and bone-tired, she did not make it very far before being shot and killed by an ISIS sniper. Welcome to Yarmouk. On April 1st, a group of ISIS’s mask-wearing jihadists swept through the […]
Posted in Conflict, Humanitarian Intervention, Israeli Palestinian Conflict, Middle East, Political Security, Refugees, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, UN, US, World
ISIS, Islam and Credulity: More Irreverence Needed in the Fight Against Extremism
Posted on March 15, 2015.
This week, King Abdullah of Jordan appealed to European parliamentarians to help root out both terrorism and ‘Islamophobia’. Setting aside this interesting conflation, the wholesale failure of Arab and majority Muslim countries to embody either mutual respect or inclusivity towards many of their ethno-religious minorities bespeaks of an imbalance in critical attention to how those […]
Posted in Europe, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, Political Security, Religion, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, World
ISIS and The Illusion of Power
Posted on March 5, 2015.
It can be difficult to stay optimistic about peace while an atmosphere of gloom permeates the contemporary Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Syria. It is nearly impossible to watch the news without being inundated by provocative visuals of ISIS’s atavistic executions of U.S. journalists and perplexed by ISIS’s seemingly uncanny ability to recruit Westerners. […]
Posted in Conflict, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, Religion, Syria, Terrorism, US, World
Who can bring unity to Iraq in 2014? An interview with Joel Wing
Posted on December 26, 2013.
Every December, California based analyst Joel Wing and I discuss the coming 12 months in Iraq. Joel has been the author of the Musings on Iraq blog since 2008, providing detailed analysis of political, economic and security developments in Iraq. His work is frequently cited by leading journals and news outlets. The last year in […]
Posted in Conflict, Interviews, Iraq, Middle East, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, World
Shifting Sands in the Peacekeeping Business
Posted on September 5, 2014.
The established templates of international peace operations are under threat, because the core premise of these operations, consent, is eroding . Filipino and Fijian troops serving with the UNDOF mission in the Golan Heights were targeted by the Nusra Front last week (30 Aug). A number of Fijians have been captured while the Filipinos managed […]
Posted in Conflict, Iraq, Middle East, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, World
What Happens When the Islamic State isn’t Defeated?
Posted on September 5, 2014.
Since overrunning swathes of Iraq from its strongholds in Syria earlier this summer, it has been made relatively clear how American defense and counter-terrorism officials feel about the Islamic State (a.k.a. IS, ISIS, ISIL). In a word: spooked. The Islamic State is not only well organized but it is incredibly well financed and is now well equipped with American-made weaponry. This […]
Posted in Conflict, Iraq, Middle East, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, World
Iraq in 2015: An Interview with Iraq Analyst Joel Wing
Posted on December 31, 2014.
Robert Tollast sits down with Joel Wing, author of the excellent Musings on Iraq blog, to discuss the coming year in Iraq. Joel has made his blog an expansive online resource for Iraq analysis and it is now one of the main on-line forums for academic discussion of Iraq, recently hosting a 24 expert review of the […]
Posted in Conflict, Interviews, Iraq, Middle East, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, World
Radicalism in the Modern World
Posted on January 14, 2015.
The main source of hostility in the modern world is the widening gap between the most and least developed segments of human civilization. While some societies are exploring potential life on other planets, life has not changed much for others over the past millennium. Unlike in previous centuries, the permeation of modern day technologies makes […]
Posted in Asia, China, Conflict, Europe, Security Issues, Terrorism, World
Living Ordinary Lives? European Muslims After Charlie Hebdo
Posted on January 24, 2015.
The tragedy of Charlie Hebdo has provoked an immense response from Muslims and non-Muslims all over the world. Almost all who have written about this issue have condemned the killings in Paris, equating them to other similar terrorist threats and attacks such as the Rushdie Affair and the 7/7 bombings in Britain, the 9/11 attacks, and […]
Posted in Europe, Islam, Religion, Security Issues, Terrorism, World
Why Are Humanitarian Workers Targeted?
Posted on January 25, 2015.
Why are humanitarian workers targeted? On World Humanitarian Day this year the United Nations reported that in various conflict zones in 2013, 155 aid workers were killed, 171 were injured and 134 were taken as captives. We have to ask, what is the justification for such acts? Let us begin with the illegal occupation of […]
Posted in Humanitarian Intervention, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, Religion, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, UN, World
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Undoing the GOP Manipulation of the Courts. What the US Can Learn From Germany
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The Futures of US Foreign Policy in Latin America
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