Faster and faster still, the Arctic is melting. This fact is an unhappy one, especially for the region’s animal population. In part due to the slow progress made in combating that crisis, the Arctic is more an more an ocean all year round. This environmental disaster has led, however, to interesting and unexpected political and…

  In the first part of our discussion about the changes incipient on the Arabian Peninsula, we focused on the more straightforward economic issues of transitioning out of a petroleum export economy. There were many options available, from manufacturing to financial services to tourism[1], but all could be accomplished, with enough time and money, aside…

In 2014, Vladimir Putin’s Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, kicking off a conflict that has burned through the eastern part of the country since. This action on its own means little. However, in the context of Black Sea economic and political competition, it was the opening move of Russia’s new regional gambit. Since…

The largest state on the Arabian Peninsula, the eponymous Saudi Arabia, has dominated the region’s news in 2018, largely due to the progressive consolidation of power by Mohammad bin Salman, a prominent princeling of the Saud family, who has been the heir apparent for the past two years. While his political regime is interesting, his…