Inwook Kim Singapore Management University Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s bid for economic and social transformation, has been quietly gathering renewed interest in South Korea amid the unfolding drama with the nuclear program of its northern brethren. The latest sign of this engagement occurred when minister Khalid al-Falih of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources (MOEIMR) met with president Moon Jae-In on May 4 of this year. Their 35-minute private reception was rare for a minister’s meeting, according to a Blue House official, signifying th

WAN Lei This article discusses the infamous “Nanhua Incident” in 1932 occurred in Shanghai and the consequent responses of two distinguished scholars in modern China, Hui Shih and Lu Xun, and their attitudes toward it. The two scholars happened to have witnessed the protest movements, and wrote their articles, letters and diaries on the matter. By analyzing the texts of such writings, one can grasp the viewpoints of the two scholars on the Muslim movement and on Islam in China.  

Mona Alami The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units has recently completed its transformation from a loose coalition of militant group groups to a semi state actor, entrenched in Iraqi state institutions thanks to the large victory of a number of its leaders in the recent Iraqi elections under the label of the Fateh Coalition. The PMU emerged in 2014, when it conglomerated a number of substate armed groups under the banner of the Hashd al-Shaabi at the behest of then prime minister, Nouri Malikial-Maliki and after a call by the country’s highest Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, to fight the e

Mona Alami Contradictory reports have emerged in recent weeks of a possible partial withdrawal of pro-Iran troops in Syria under the aegis of Russia, which is attempting to diffuse a dangerous escalation between Tehran and Tel Aviv. Pressure was said to be mounting between Moscow and Tehran, with a possible scuffle occurring between their forces in the region of Qusayr on the Lebanese border. While these reports appear to be widely exaggerated, they underline the tactical nature of alliance between Russia and Iran in Syria and the diverse agendas they have there, which in the longer run could lead t

Dr. Mohammed Al-Sbitli Municipal elections in Tunisia took place in two phases. The first of which was on April 29, 2018 and was reserved for army and security officers, while the second phase – considered the main event – took place on May 6, 2018, with the participation of civilian voters. These local entitlements were the first voting experience since 2011. No municipal election has been held since then, and was, historically, the first experience for the country in the context of a multi-party political system. The significance of these

Sulaiman bin Abdulrahman al-Dheeb This work is a scientific study of a number of Thamudic inscriptions, classified as religious prayers, which were spotted in a number of sites in the region of Hail. The purpose of the study is to highlight a social phenomenon practiced by the Thamudic people of Hail back then, namely, the practice of religious invocation to the (Gods) or the Objects of worship. I want to point out that this study is part of a larger project in which I seek to track and publish all Thamudic writings across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – which surpassed thousands. The inscriptio

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

Author: Dr. Jack Caravelli Co-Author: Sebastian Maier   Brief statement By US President Donald Trump’s recent decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal as well as by engaging with North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un, the Trump administration has decided to embark on a set of issues fraught with both o

Mona Alami Hezbollah’s strong showing in the May Lebanese parliamentary elections provides numerical evidence of a decade-old shift in the balance of power in favor of Iran, the party’s regional backer. Hezbollah’s electoral gains will enable the militant group and its partners to secure a third of the parliament and possibly to achieve—with the right alliances—an absolute majority, and thus heavily influence future state decisions. Yet the Lebanese elections have been also been marked by other, more subtle trends that foreign policy makers must take into account. 

Fahad L. Alghalib Alsharif The goal in this paper is to analyze the lives of the members of nine communities of African migrants to the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Through the testimonies of undocumented migrants living in Jeddah, specifically Somalis, Ethiopians, Eritreans, Sudanese, Chadians, Nigerians, Burkinabes, Cameroonians, and Ghanaians, the aim of this article is to study the major social, economic, and security consequences of their presence in Saudi Arabia in general and in the city of Jeddah in particular.