Read DI Fellow Stephen Ramos' new policy brief "Generative Infrastructural Urbanism in Dubai" here.
Upcoming Events
- DI Fellow Bryan Early will discuss trading with sanctioned states on February 6, 2009
- Mohamad Al-Ississ, DI Fellow and HKS doctoral candidate, will present on financial tremors of violence on February 18,2009
- DI Fellow Justin Dargin will discuss Islamic financialization of the GCC energy sector on March 11, 2009
FEATURED PUBLICATIONS
AP Photo
January 5, 2009
"Why Hamas (and Hizbullah) Will be Difficult to Defeat"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
Hamas and Hizbullah are the ideological step-children of the Likud Party and Ariel Sharon, and they are movements which fill the vacuum created by failed secular governing entities that have been inept, often corrupt, and sometimes Israeli puppets.
AP Photo
December 31, 2008
"Hanukkah and Hamas"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
The correct context in which to understand and analyze the current situation is that it is a war -- an active, bilateral Palestinian-Israeli war -- not unilateral Hamas rocketry. Imperial power and indigenous nationalism can go on fighting for decades, to no avail.
AP Photo
December 30, 2008
"A Marginalized Region"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
A year-end analysis of the global status of the Arab world -- its problems and trends.
AP Photo
December 29, 2008
"Punishing Gaza in Vain"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
History shows Israel's insistence on military overkill (literally) will only cause the Palestinians to come back stronger and with more political will. Its insistence on Middle East military dominance results in fewer friends and more enemies.
AP Photo
December 22, 2008
"The Coming Fall of Resource Nationalism"
Nuova Energia
By Justin Dargin, Research Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
"It seems as if the world has not learnt that the oil industry, much like every other sector of the economy, goes through periodic busts and booms, even though it has been happening since the dawn of the oil industry. John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil, the spiritual ancestor of OPEC, was created to combat these market bumps. The current fall in oil price, which may have been precipitated more by fear of a sustained global economic crisis, rather than the actual market fundamentals, shows the fragility of the current global economic order."
Read the full text here.
November 25, 2008
"Lights out in the Gulf"
Alexander's Gas & Oil Connections
By Justin Dargin, Research Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
"It seems surprising that an area which has the world waiting breathlessly for any opaque statement about increases in oil and gas production should face a domestic energycrisis at home. In dealing with the crisis, the Gulf has turned to everything from building civilian nuclear plants, engaging in solar energy, looking for renewables and educating the public about conservation.Their reaction to the power crisis concerns the world, because much of our additional gas and oil supplies will be coming from the Gulf, so their reaction directly impacts the rest of us."
Access the full text here.
December 17, 2008
"Respect Will Decide the Gaza Ceasefire"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
"Reasonable people would expect that Israelis and Palestinians alike prefer a ceasefire to active warfare, especially since mutual attacks have never resolved the core conflict. Hamas' decision to extend the ceasefire is not going to be made on the basis of what makes its people more or less comfortable, or what entices Israelis into opening the gates a little bit wider to allow more consumer goods to enter Gaza. The basis on which Hamas makes such decisions reflects its wider worldview of the character and aims of Israel, and the nature of its confrontation with Israel."
AP Photo
December 1, 2008
"Law Over Gun"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
"Three separate developments now taking place in different parts of the Arab world might have real consequences for this region's future: the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment against the Sudanese president Omar Hassan Bashir, the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) approved by the Iraqi parliament to see the United States withdraw fully by the end of 2011, and the mixed Lebanese-international special tribunal that will try those to be accused of killing former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and a dozen other public figures."
AP Photo
December 3, 2008
"Watching Washington Come into Focus"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
"Henceforth, foreign policy-making will reflect the collective views of the national security-foreign policy team led by Barack Obama -- one which is impressive for its sobriety and experience."
