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Asharq Al-Awsat
03-06-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
What Is the ‘New Middle East' ... the Real One This Time
There is hardly a journalist or political analyst, or even an amateur posing as either, in the Arab world who hasn't, at some point over the past decades, written or spoken at length about the 'New Middle East.' And yet, the Middle East we see today is something altogether different from what we were told to expect, both in substance and in the circumstances surrounding it. Our region has become, much like our lives and our socio-political imaginaries, untethered from familiar coordinates. One could even say it is now open to all possibilities. To be clear, this is not a veiled swipe at our political elites, nor at the political consciousness of our peoples, or their capacity to learn from past mistakes and, from there, to choose a better path forward. Not in the slightest. Today, we, alongside the most politically sophisticated and institutionally entrenched societies on earth, are in the same boat. We are all grappling with similar complexities, and facing threats that do not discriminate by region or political tradition. There is no longer any guarantee that words like 'democracy' or 'good governance,' even in countries with rooted democratic traditions, will mean much if those terms are voided. Thus, such concepts will not, on their own, save societies from the turmoil they now face, nor the turmoil we will face. Just yesterday, I heard a leading expert say that the widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the basic, everyday infrastructures of human life is now only a few months away. That's on the technological front. On the political front, Portugal has just joined a growing list of European countries betting, through the ballot box, on the radical far right. In the latest snap election, the populist, quasi-fascist Chega party surged to second place, just behind the center-right Democratic Alliance, and ahead of the formerly ruling Socialist Party. Chega's recent rise in Portugal will embolden the broader spread of neo-fascist populists across Western Europe: the likes of the National Rally in France, Vox in Spain, Brothers of Italy, the Reform Party in the UK, the Freedom Party in the Netherlands, and Alternative for Germany (AfD). But this is no longer a Western European problem. Far-right populism is now well entrenched in countries across Northern and Eastern Europe, most prominently Hungary. Of course, of all Western democracies, the United States presents the bleakest example. A historical rupture with few parallels anywhere else is underway in Washington, and it threatens not only the two-party system that has long been the pillar of American representative politics, but also the very principle of the separation of powers. The same single popular and populist political movement has taken control of all three branches of government: the executive, legislative, and judicial. To this, we can add the unofficial 'fourth branch:' the media. While it had once largely free of partisanship, the media has now become a central weapon in the ruling movement's arsenal thanks to the rise of new media: online platforms, artificial intelligence, and the oligarch-owned newspapers and television networks, not to mention the suspension of public funding for state media. There is no doubt that the institutions owned by figures like Rupert Murdoch (Fox News), Elon Musk (X), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), and Jeff Bezos (The Washington Post) are shaping what may become America's new (and perhaps enduring) political culture. It speaks volumes that nearly every one of the 30 members of President Donald Trump's administration was in Fox News's orbit. Meanwhile, the world apprehensively follows the sweeping shifts underway in the US landscape. Economic wars are no trivial matter, nor is the fact that the man in the White House has upended notions of who is a US ally or an enemy and who its partners or competitors are. However, in light of the rapid and ongoing developments, it has become increasingly difficult for any single country to directly influence the global economic players or military and political forces. As a result, everyone is watching, hoping, anticipating - quietly, of course - either searching for alternatives or trying to limit the damage. As for the Middle East and the Arab world, we may be faced with even graver challenges than others amid Washington's shifting definitions of its 'allies' and 'enemies.' The United States is a global power with interests and priorities everywhere. Accordingly, there is little room for sentimentality. There are no permanent interests in a world whose rules are being redefined and evolving. In our region, Washington maintains a strong strategic relationship with Israel, which is widely regarded as the most influential foreign actor in the halls of American politics. Its lobbying groups fund many key figures in Congress and exert a lot of political influence. Then there is Türkiye, a pivotal NATO member and a regional power with immense religious, ethnic, and geographic clout, allowing it to shape US decisions. And last but not least, Iran also has a significant say in American policy circles. Like Türkiye, it is seen as a crucial link in the Middle Eastern chain. In every round, experience suggests, Washington's goal is to win over Iran, not destroy it. In this landscape of uncertainty and rapid change, one must ask: Are we, as Arabs, still capable of influencing the regional climate and shaping the priorities of major players?
BBC News
26-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Cambridge conference looks at Labour's first year in power
Historians and experts will analyse the decisions and performance of the Labour government as part of an event focusing on Sir Keir Starmer's first year in Year One will take place at Anglia Ruskin University's Cambridge campus on Saturday, 14 June, hosted by the university's Labour History Research "first ever conference" to examine the new government's time in Downing Street will scrutinise how the party has so far handled a variety of will then use the public and political exercise as a base from which to develop an academic study on the government. Rohan McWilliam is a professor in modern British history at the university and the director of the Labour History Research Unit."This is a government that promised change in 2024 but its tone so far has proven to be one of caution," he said."Why is this, and what does it tell us about the challenges of governing in the mid-2020s?"What is the new political landscape and how should the Starmer government seek to shape it?"The event will be attended by several university professors, including former head of policy planning at Downing Street, Prof Patrick Owusu-Nepaul, who stood for Labour in Clacton in the 2024 general election but lost to Reform UK's Nigel Farage, is also due to join the will debate everything from the government's approach to the economy and the Ukraine war to issues such as gender, immigration, and the NHS. "This is the first conference to review the record of the new government and by the time of the event, Labour will have been in power for almost a year," said Prof McWilliam."However, the results of May's local elections show the political landscape of Britain has continued to shift significantly since last year's general election."The Labour Party won a huge majority in the House of Commons last July by securing 412 seats, displacing the Conservative Party after 14 years in the victory, Sir Keir said he was "ready to restore Britain to the service of working people". Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Al Jazeera
15-05-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Trump's Gulf tour based on 'economics rather than politics'
Marwan Bishara, a political analyst, says Trump's Middle East tour is advancing political objectives through an economic approach.
