This publication is currently available only in Arabic. Its English version is currently under translation.

*This paper is a follow-up of the report published in 2022. The role of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the governance of Hong Kong cannot be overstated. The party was a constant presence in late colonial Hong Kong, wielding outsized influence in the territory through the united front. The party had considerable mobilizational power. China’s Leninist politicians drafted the Hong Kong Basic Law.The Basic Law laid down Hong Kong’s political institutions, grafted onto unreformed colonial, political, legal, and economic institutions and social structure that continued well beyond 1997. Indeed, 24

Since the launch of Saudi Vision 2030 in April 2016, several initiatives to develop Riyadh have been announced and many have become cornerstones of the capital’s identity. New entities, initiatives, strategies, and policies have been developed to maximize both hard (geography, natural characteristics) and soft (infrastructure, economy, society) features of the city. While these initiatives will inevitably have economic effects both locally and across the country, this article discusses how these transformations and developments influence Riyadh’s attractiveness to talent from other cities and from abroad. When considering factors that make a location attractive, econ

This Masarat briefing seeks to determine whether the “shale revolution,” which has been unlocking vast new oil reserves in the United States, has prompted a reassessment of long-standing U.S. policies designed to ensure access to oil supplies as well as relationships with

On 21 April 2019, the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced the replacement of the commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Aziz Jafari, with his deputy, Hossein Salami. This move caps an ongoing process of regeneration within the top echelons of the IRGC which has been ongoing since early 2017. The decision to replace Jafari was due, but not entirely expected so soon after the White House designation of the IRGC as a terrorist group. Since 1997, Khamenei had placed an informal ten-year limit on the commandership of the IRGC. Aziz Jafari was therefore due to be replaced by 2017,

Iran’s government and foreign policy have been thrust into turmoil by the sudden resignation from his post and subsequent reinstatement of foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The unexpected development adds to the increasing difficulty of the Hassan Rouhani administration to avoid slipping into the classic “lame-duck” position of presidential tenures approaching their end. With little over two years remaining of his second and last mandate, Rouhani is increasingly hemmed in by a growing inability to direct the key levers of policy, particularly the economic and foreign-policy components, and has now been hit by a salvo of unexpecte

Increased tensions between Syrian Kurds and Turkey resulting in cross-border shelling during the month of November underline the complex system of conflict unfolding in northern Syria with the emergence of a Kurdish-dominated federation across the Jazira (Hassaka and Qamishli) and Euphrates (Kobani and Tell Abyad), and encompassing more recently the Deir ez-Zour governorate and Raqqa. Afrin is also theoretically included in the structure but is nonetheless currently under Turkish occupation. In this mosaic, multiple local and regional forces with rivaling interactive agendas are complicating the final phase of the war against the so-called Islamic

This study attempts to shed light on the geopolitical importance of the Red Sea and attempts to find an approach to the definition of the Red Sea and the Maritime Strategy, in addition to highlighting Saudi Arabia's efforts to preserve the security of the Red Sea, which is a common Arab security front. Many Arab states bordering the Red Sea share the collective responsibility to protect it. The Suez Canal and the Bab al-Mandab Strait are the main entrance points of the Red Sea and for the security and navigation of it. The security of the Red Sea is part of the security of the surrounding countries, As well as its importance to the major Power

This article will situate the recent Aktau Agreement reached by all coastal states of the Caspian Sea within the context of Iran’s protracted quest for sovereignty over parts of the Caspian, an endeavor that has been in place since the emergence of boundary confrontations and diplomacy with its northern neighbors during the eighteenth century. It will seek to either verify or dispel myths and rumors that have emerged within Iranian public opinion on the extent of territorial waters and coastline that Iran is entitled to, and has exercised control over during the past few centuries. The role of public opinion is heightened by the extent of popular

Tehran’s rekindled, yet dangerously more assertive role in Syria is testament to its efforts to expand strategic depth, ranging from Iraq, over the Shia-offshoot Alawite-dominated heartland in Syria, to the Mediterranean shores in both Syria and Lebanon. In that context, asserting leverage in the Golan Heights represents a vital element in the larger struggle to connect the dots of an Iranian-controlled arc of influence across the Levant. In doing so, Iran will likely draw from lessons learned in its substantial, for the most part successful, and well-documented tool of statecraft, namely, the s