Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Thembisa Fakude
-
Iraqi uprisings expose cracks in Iran’s expansionist project in the Gulf
Shia Islam, like many religious sects, continues to be polarised by political opinion. This has in history led to further sub-divisions of Shia Islam. Notwithstanding, there is still an insistence to present Shia Islam as a bloc. This insistence has consequently invited a blanket of disdain for Shia Islam...
-
A decision not to list Aramco shares could have a negative impact on Bin Salman
Reuters news agency has reported that Saudi Arabia has scrapped plans to list shares of the state-owned energy giant Aramco on international stock exchanges. The report further alleges that it was King Salman, who has been absent from the day-to-day governance of the country, who made the decision. The Saudi...
-
Ego and envy characterise the diplomatic spat between Saudi Arabia and Canada
Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia has been touting socio-political and economic reforms in his country since June 2017; they include the privatisation of ARAMCO, the country’s energy giant. He has also gazetted permission for women to drive after decades of prohibition. Moreover, a number of Saudi...
-
The evacuation of the White Helmets through Israel raises suspicions
The search and rescue organisation the White Helmets have received praise for their work from various governments and organisations across the globe. The organisation was founded by the former British army officer and military contractor James Le Mesurier in 2014. It claims to have saved over 114,000 lives and to...
-
Yemeni refugees in Jeju highlight a dark side to South Korean society
The civil war in Yemen has led to incredible human suffering, described by the UN as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” While the military involvement of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels tends to attract most media attention, the plight of Yemeni refugees is largely unknown...
-
Qatar Airways versus Saudi Arabia at the FIFA World Cup
The much-anticipated 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off in Moscow on 14 June. There was low-key advance hype about this tournament for obvious reasons, not least because Russia has been at loggerheads with most western states where powerful global media organisations are based. Furthermore, the awarding of the tournament...
-
Gulf intervention in Jordan has raised suspicions across the region
King Abdullah of Jordan met with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia yesterday to discuss the ongoing protests in his country. Jordan has been experiencing sustained protests mainly in the streets of its capital Amman since 30 May 2018. The protests were...
-
The Gulf crisis has impacted politics but also presented opportunities for Qatar
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have been leading a political and economic blockade against the state of Qatar since 5 June 2017, which has led to the “Gulf Crisis”. Words matter in politics – the blockading nations refuse to accept that there is a crisis in the...
-
Trump is learning the hard way that East Asia is not the Middle East
I am not known for commentaries about East Asia; it’s just not “my” region. However, moments avail themselves occasionally where one can share close and informative discussions with experts from various parts of the world. I shared one such a moment with an expert from East Asia recently, which...
-
Traditional political actors in the Middle East are at a loss as Saudi Arabia embraces Israel
The Arabs have been and continue to be polarised on many political issues involving the future of the region. During the first Gulf War in 1990, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) took a political gamble when it went against the political consensus of the Arab League by supporting the...
-
Talks about the Nile between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia are deadlocked, so where to from here?
Talks about the River Nile between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia held in Khartoum on 5 April were deadlocked. The discussions revolved around Ethiopia’s construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam. The $4 billion hydroelectric project is on the Blue Nile, in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia, about 15 km east...
-
A US-Gulf summit will not ease the blockade against Qatar
US President Donald Trump has extended back-to-back invitations to the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar before the anticipated US-Gulf summit in Camp David. The summit, which was originally scheduled to take place next month, has been unexpectedly put back to September. Meanwhile, Qatar’s media has...
-
Al-Jazeera’s film on the US pro-Israel lobby throws an unwelcome spotlight on the network
headJournalists are often told never to be the story themselves; “Tell the story, but never be part of the story” is the general advice. Al-Jazeera’s journalists and the network itself, however, have for years been at the centre of the story. On International Women’s Day, for example, the UN Women...
-
Qatar’s European charm offensive after the Munich Security Conference
The Munich Security Conference has become one of the important annual platforms for global political leaders. Since its inception in 1963, the MSC has provided space for politicians and stakeholders to discuss the world’s pressing issues in the spheres of politics, defence and security. It differs from the World...
-
Africa and Palestine are the first victims of Trump’s transactional politics
Throughout his presidential election campaign, Donald Trump made it clear that he intended to prioritise the United States in his politics and economics. His “America First” policy which he is due to elucidate at this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) gathering in Davos, Switzerland, has been dubbed by many...
-
The predicament of Ethiopian immigrants in Saudi Arabia
The immigration of Ethiopians to Saudi Arabia can be traced to the advent of Islam and the pursuit of business opportunities. Saudi Arabia in particular has been attractive to Ethiopians for various historical reasons: the early Arab Muslims from Hejaz, today’s Makkah and its surrounding areas, were directed by...
-
Downgrading their Israel embassy is South Africa’s latest gesture of solidarity
The 54th Conference of the African National Congress (ANC) was held at the Nasrec exhibition complex in Johannesburg from 16-20 December 2017. The ANC is the oldest political organisation in Africa and the biggest political party in South Africa – since the dawn of democracy in 1994 the ANC...
-
While Saudi Arabia discusses Iran and Hezbollah in Cairo, its plans for Lebanon are backfiring
Saudi Arabia has called a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo to discuss “Iran’s disruptive politics” in the region. This comes after the rather flimsy resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who announced that he was stepping down when he was in Riyadh, not Beirut. What’s more,...
-
Another tumultuous night in Saudi Arabian politics
The death of King Abdullah in January 2015 resuscitated a debate about reforms in Saudi Arabia. Many suggested at the time that perhaps the inclusion of younger princes in the leadership of the Kingdom might hasten necessary changes. There were positive comments expressed across the region when the 54-year-old Prince...
-
Secessionist movements in Catalonia and Kurdistan must not be allowed to succeed
There is a long-running argument in Africa that the lumping together of different tribes into nation states is responsible for the intra-national conflicts in most African countries. Bringing different tribes under one national flag has fuelled tribal politics, or so the argument goes; tribes should have been left to...
-
Differences between Saudi, UAE may fracture their alliance
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the Deputy Chief Commander of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohammed Bin Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan is perceived as the “mentor” of the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman. King Salman’s ill health...
-
Saudi Arabia, Israel and America are misleading the world on the Iran nuclear deal
Saudi Arabia, Israel and the United States despise the Islamic Republic of Iran for different reasons, most of which have little to do with global peace and stability. Both the Saudis and the Israelis were quick to issue statements of support when Donald Trump challenged the Obama-led nuclear deal...
-
Who wins and who loses in the Palestinian unity negotiations?
The answer to the question posed by this article is simple: Qatar stands to lose in terms of its historical socio-political and economic investments in the Gaza Strip as Egypt, the UAE and, indirectly, Saudi Arabia step into the picture. The perceived future improvements in Gaza as a result...
-
The real reasons behind the cancellation of Israel - Africa Summit
It is another bad September for Israel in Africa. Sixteen years ago in Durban, Israel suffered a political blow at the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerances. The conference ended up with a walk out by Israel and the US after the draft declaration equated...