Research Papers
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Author: Diana Galeeva
This study draws on the concept of soft power to analyze Russia’s interactions with the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It offers a framework for understanding the utilization of Islam in Russian foreign policy in the Middle East under Putin. Concretely, it argues that the religious identities that Russia perceives to be shared between its Muslim- majority regions and the Arab Gulf states have been strategically selected for utilization. The study argues that dimensions of this utilization of Islam include interactions between Russia’s Muslim-majority regions and the GCC states, alongside efforts by religious organizations, business associations,
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Embodying the very notion of the "Balkanization" of politics, Bosnia and Herzegovina today rests on a fragile peace agreement originally envisioned as its first step toward long-term stability. With a constitution that recognizes only three national groups (Muslim Bosniaks, Catholic Croats, and Orthodox Serbs) – thereby excluding the other ethnic groups that reside in the country from effective political participation – the country's highly complex system of governance has limped on, guided by an internal arrangement that divides power along ethnic lines. This arrangement has hindered all attempts to change the fragile status quo and achieved litt
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Author: Alvin Camba and Asma Alkaabi
Our report analyzes the Philippines’ relations with the GCC countries in three key dimensions. First, we look at economic relations, including foreign direct investment (FDI), trade, and development finance. Second, we analyze the political importance of the Philippines to specific GCC states and how GCC countries have responded to international issues prioritized by the Philippines. And finally, we examine the political economy of Philippine labor exports, an economic strategy that inexorably binds the Philippines and the GCC. While the policy paper is organized according to these three themes, we also, where relevant, discuss them in relation to the most recent Philippin
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Author: Agha Hussain
The “brotherly” tone that Turkey and Pakistan use when speaking to and about each other might give the impression that these two large Muslim-majority states are fast allies. Relations have been growing closer ever since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan launched a policy of explicit support for Pakistan in its dispute with India over Kashmir. But Turkey’s repeated attempts since then to add a geostrategic component to bilateral ties with Pakistan have failed. Against this backdrop, this commentary will analyze Turkey’s diplomatic attempts to draw Pakistan into a more permanent geostrategic partnership. In so doing, it lays bare the obstacles in fr
