Global Faultlines

Jordan rarely dominates the headlines, yet it sits at the heart of some of West Asia's biggest geopolitical faultlines. Bordering Israel and the occupied West Bank, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, the kingdom has been...

The war on Iran may be over, but its consequences are only beginning to reshape the Persian Gulf. For decades, Gulf monarchies have balanced security partnerships with the United States, pragmatic engagement with Iran...

Since October 7, West Asia has witnessed a cascade of crises, from the war in Gaza, attacks on Red Sea shipping, to the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and direct military confrontation between Israel and Iran...

The Iran-Israel-U.S. war may have ended with a ceasefire, but many of the questions that drove the conflict remain unresolved. After months of direct confrontation involving Iran, Israel and the United States, the...

<p>The October 7 attacks triggered a wave of changes across West Asia, transforming conflicts, alliances, and the balance of power in the region. What began as a war in Gaza soon expanded into a wider regional crisis...

<p>Lebanon’s civil war ended in 1990, but many of the country’s deeper fault lines remained unresolved. In the decades that followed, Lebanon rebuilt its cities and economy, yet sectarian politics, weak institutions...

<p>Lebanon was once seen as a rare success story in West Asia, a country that appeared stable on the surface. However, beneath that image lay deep structural fault lines.</p> <p>In Part 1 of our Lebanon series at Global...

<p>As tensions in West Asia spiral into one of the most dangerous confrontations in recent years, this episode of Global Faultlines breaks down the 2026 Iran–Israel–U.S. war, starting from the U.S.-led “Operation Epic...

<p>The 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq marked a decisive break in the country’s modern history. It removed the regime of Saddam Hussein, but also dismantled the institutions that had held the state together.</p> <p>In...

<p>Modern Iraq was not born in 2003. Its origins lie in the aftermath of the First World War, when the collapse of the Ottoman Empire led Britain to assemble a new state. The borders were drawn quickly. Building a...

<p>In late December 2025, Iran was hit by a nationwide uprising triggered by the collapse of the Rial and deepening economic distress. What began as anger over inflation and currency instability quickly broadened into...

<p>Saudi Arabia is recalibrating its role in a region defined by protracted wars, shifting alliances, and declining faith in military solutions. After years of assertive intervention, Riyadh has begun to pull back from...

<p>Saudi Arabia emerged from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire not as a colonial creation, but through conquest and consolidation, anchored in an alliance between political power and religious authority. This distinct...

<p>The Islamic State emerged from years of war, political collapse, and sectarian violence in Iraq and Syria. Shaped by the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the chaos of the Syrian civil war, the group evolved...

<p>By 2015, Syria’s civil war had reached a turning point. Russian military intervention reversed the regime’s fortunes, Iran entrenched itself through militias and economic networks, and the armed opposition steadily...