Middle East Dossier

Before Hamas’ attacks on Israel on 7 October and the ensuing war in Gaza, most of the policy discussions in the Middle East focused on the process of normalisation between Israel and the Arab world. The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020 between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, seemed to herald a new era for the region. In his book, Hope & Despair, Michael A. Horowitz tells the stor...

A year ago, the Middle East region was in a state of flux in certain ways, but seemed to be stabilising in others. Confrontation paradigms were giving way to what seemed to be de-escalation plans: Normalisation of relations between Saudi and Iran, and the widening of the Abraham Accords, among others.  October 7 upended all of that – or did it? Dr HA Hellyer will examine how things have changed –...

A year ago, the Middle East region was in a state of flux in certain ways, but seemed to be stabilising in others. Confrontation paradigms were giving way to what seemed to be de-escalation plans: Normalisation of relations between Saudi and Iran, and the widening of the Abraham Accords, among others.  October 7 upended all of that – or did it? Dr HA Hellyer will examine how things have changed –...

Between Xi Jinping’s December 2022 visit to Riyadh and the August 2023 expansion of BRICS to include several Middle Eastern countries, China’s power and influence in the MENA region appeared to gain significant momentum. Regional expectations of China as a major external actor also grew, with many countries deepening their bilateral cooperation with Beijing across economic, technological, diplomat...

On March 1, 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran will hold elections for the sixth term of the Assembly of Experts. The major responsibility of this 88-man institution, comprising qualified clerics, is to choose the future supreme leader after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death, or is rendered incapable of fulfilling the position’s responsibilities. Tehran’s political system, which relies on a complex s...

The post-Arab Spring collapse of decades-old regimes inaugurated a decade of re-shaping for the geopolitical order in the Middle East and North Africa region. A multipolar disorder ensued, solidified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Amid general bewilderment, the small monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) spent the decade between 2011 and 2022 tryin...

Between November 30 and December 12, 2023, the United Arab Emirates hosted the 28th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). A major outcome of COP 28 was the conclusion of the first-ever Global Stocktake — a mechanism to measure collective progress towards meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. For fossil fuel...

The aim of the S R Nathan Distinguished Lecture is to provide greater awareness and understanding of the modern Middle East. This lecture provides a forum for statesmen, internationally prominent scholars and public intellectuals to express their views on key issues. The lecture series is named in honour of Singapore’s late former president, Mr S R Nathan, who encouraged a deeper understanding of...

Between November 30 and December 10, 2023, the United Arab Emirates will host the 28th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It becomes the fourth Arab country to host the event. COP 28 brings the world together at a critical moment for humanity, as we stand at the halfway point between the Paris Agreement and the 2030...

Throughout history, the Middle East has been locked in engagements with the West through crusades, wars, colonialism and terrorism. However, beyond the clichés and convenient facades lie many lesser known facets from economic transformation to climate change. This last closing lecture aims to summarise the different sessions and give you an overview of the region, its impacts on Singapore and why...

Are Islam and Malay culture in Southeast Asia becoming more Arabised? Several academics and policymakers reckon that Muslims in Southeast Asia, whom they once regarded as the “smiling face of Islam”, are now alienating their cultural practices by mimicking Middle Eastern fashion and lifestyle. They shun Malay words, dressing, and food, in favour of Middle Eastern lifestyles in the name of being be...

The lecture will discuss shifting patterns of further and higher education choices of young people in Saudi Arabia under Vision 2030 and how these shifts influence and are influenced by new labour market trends in the Kingdom.

This talk offers a lively discussion of five common stereotypes of oil/gas in the Middle East including ‘Oil and gas is just about the only thing the Middle East exports’; ‘The decline of oil demand in future is bad for the Middle East’, ‘The oil and gas exporting states in the Middle East are climate deniers’. Participants should come away with a clearer understanding of the role of hydrocarbons...

Marked by hot and arid climate and vast disparities of security and wealth, climate change brings unique challenges to the Middle East. The region is already battling with common challenges of water scarcity, desertification, biodiversity loss and low levels of food self-sufficiency, aggravated by climate change. Temperatures in the region have already risen by 1.5°C — twice the global increase ov...

This lecture will provide insights into the latest developments in the socio-cultural landscape of the Gulf Arab states. Conceptually, the long-held rentier model in academic scholarship no longer has the same purchase that it once did, owing to a slew of domestic reforms implemented notably in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Economic diversification and urbanisation have also altered societal attitudes...

In the last decade, rulers in Gulf regimes have aspired to greater strategic autonomy and putting some distance between them and the West. Coined the “Gulf moment” by local commentators, this regional trend reflects a redistribution of power in the Arab world. This new book from Jean-Loup Samaan, Senior Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute, is the first to examine the military dimensions o...

This lecture will cover the latest developments in the great power competition – namely between the US, Russia, and China – and its effects on the Middle East. It will study the current foreign policy agenda of Washington, Beijing, and Moscow towards the Middle East and assess how this rivalry takes different forms, be it military, diplomatic, economic, or informational. Meanwhile, it will discuss...

This lecture will study and compare the evolution of the foreign policies of Israel and Turkey. As two non-Arab Middle Eastern countries, Israel and Turkey historically built a bilateral partnership that went through multiple crises in the past decade. However, the recent warming-up of ties between both governments suggest a restoration of the bilateral military and economic cooperation. Against t...

China’s growing footprint in the Middle East culminated in March 2023 when Saudi Arabia and Iran announced a historic rapprochement in Beijing. The PRC was not just the host but directly mediated the final rounds of talks between the two Persian Gulf rivals. Only a few months later, building on the momentum of the KSA-Iran diplomatic success, China doubled down, proposing itself as a mediator betw...

The Syrian civil war, which began over a decade ago, created a massive humanitarian crisis which displaced more than five million people, with many escaping into neighbouring countries. Turkey harbours the most Syrian refugees, at three million, while Jordan and Lebanon have taken in over a million each, respectively. Their plight has attracted the attention of many humanitarian agencies around th...

The launch of the Hope probe in July 2020 made the United Arab Emirates the first Arab nation to undertake inter-planetary exploration. The unmanned spacecraft has been in orbit around Mars since February 2021, and reports have it that the mission is now studying the moons of the Red Planet. The UAE’s space agenda does not stop there: Sultan Al Neyadi, now a cult figure in Emirati society, became...

Countries around the world – from oil-producing Gulf Arab states to net-energy importers in South-east Asia – have turned to hydrogen for energy security, environmental, and economic reasons. Hydrogen has been largely seen as a clean fuel with potential to decarbonise sectors such as transportation (shipping and aviation) and industry (e.g., steel and chemicals), keeping global warming in check. B...

Qatar’s newly-appointed Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who is also the country’s foreign minister, recently reaffirmed the importance of soft diplomacy in an interview, adding that it “contributes greatly” to Doha’s “position as a major and important player in the region and the world”. Qatar’s quest to cement its place in the international arena was also boosted by its...

Qatar’s newly-appointed Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who is also the country’s foreign minister, recently reaffirmed the importance of soft diplomacy in an interview, adding that it “contributes greatly” to Doha’s “position as a major and important player in the region and the world”. Qatar’s quest to cement its place in the international arena was also boosted by its...

To match the breakneck speed of their progress, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have both initiated bold social reforms recently. In its drive to attract foreign talent, a condition for stronger competitiveness, the Emirates relaxed laws banning the cohabitation among unmarried couples and alcohol consumption. In Saudi Arabia, freedom for women to drive, and to decide whet...