This past week marked 29 years since my uncle, Izzat Al-Magariaf, disappeared in Cairo, in circumstances tragically reminiscent of the Jamal Khashoggi case.

Based on the massive turnout over the last few days, it’s no longer a matter of debate; Algeria is in the midst of an  uprising against Bouteflika and the Algerian deep state. Arab regimes are often very bad at gauging the popular mood. For years, we have advocated paying attention to protest signs in the…

We’ve been looking into the relationship between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) and Jeff Bezos for a few days – here’s the picture we can see so far – we’ll keep updating this as we find out more. Is it possible that MBS thought he could get away with Khashoggi’s murder because of this relationship?

We’ve been looking into the relationship between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) and American tech entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, and how that ties into the recent scandal over leaked images of Bezos, the Saudi media campaign against the Washington Post, and more. Here’s our run-down, which will be regularly updated as more comes to light.

With all that’s going on recently, it’s important to clarify some previously made points about the Saudi Arabian reforms.

The Iraq War catastrophe happened thanks to a coalition of right-wingers, but ultimately the Iraq War broke the Left. Many leftists today are unable to think about foreign policy or about the Middle East beyond the prism of the Iraq War, as if history stopped in 2003. Leftism is supposed to be about support for…

If you’re born in a country that, at the moment of your birth, already grants you your fundamental rights, you’re already more privileged than over half the population of the planet. Other people elsewhere have to literally die so that their children get a shot at these rights. I recognize of course that many countries…

I was struck by a recent report in the LA Times – some residents of Mukalla, al-Qaeda’s former capital in southern Yemen, express nostalgia for the terror group. How is it that groups such as al-Qaeda continue to outdo local governments in providing basic services? The answer is governance. Governance is key to deal with…

What happens when MBS imprisons and tortures billionaires into giving up most of their wealth? A newspaper in Sisi’s Egypt is running the headline “Why don’t Egypt’s billionaires give up half their wealth to the state?”, whilst others are also attacking the Egyptian super rich and calling for them to give up a big portion of their wealth to the state.

It’s easy to be a feminist where everyone is a feminist. But to be an outspoken, successful, and effective feminist in Saudi Arabia – that takes a whole different level of courage. And right now, the courage of Saudi Arabia’s prime women’s rights activists is being tested.

The anger against globalization is, in no small part, a reaction against its triumph, and a testament to how profoundly it has changed our world. The world changed fast, so fast that our social and political institutions have been struggling to keep up, and it feels like nobody is in control…