BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,167, October 4, 2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The attacks on Kabul’s international airport by ISIS’s Afghan affiliate raise questions suggesting a possible paradigm shift in the drivers and expanding geography of political violence.
The attacks by …
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,162, September 28, 2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s vision for the kingdom’s future will have to toe a fine line between redefining the Saudi social contract and the danger of creating …
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,156, September 20, 2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Gulf states will closely monitor the way Russia and China handle the perceived security vacuum in the wake of the US withdrawal and abandonment, for all practical purposes, …
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,149, September 9, 2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Pakistani efforts to exploit the Taliban victory in Afghanistan threaten to reinforce ultra-conservative inclinations in Pakistan itself, the world’s second-most populous Muslim majority country, long accused of supporting militant …
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,143, September 2, 2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Boasting an almost 1,000-kilometer border with Iran and a history of troubled relations between the Iranians and Sunni Muslim militants, including the Taliban, Afghanistan could become a bellwether for …
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,130, August 20, 2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Taliban proved that they value loyalty when they rejected US and Saudi pressure to hand over Osama bin Laden no matter the cost. The Taliban have since come …
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,127, August 18, 2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: China may have no short-term interest in contributing to guaranteeing security in parts of a swath of land stretching from Central Asia to the East coast of Africa, but …
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,126, August 17, 2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Having taken control, the Taliban want the world to believe that they have become more pragmatic and inclusive in the twenty years since they brutally ruled Afghanistan. Whether this …
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,122, August 13, 2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Education is emerging as a major flashpoint in competing visions of a future Muslim world. Rival concepts being instilled in the next generation are likely to shape what amounts …
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,108, July 29, 2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Widely seen as a populist with ultra-conservative leanings, Pakistani PM Imran Khan increasingly appears to reinforce widespread traditionalist attitudes that reject religious tolerance as well as the rights of …
