Over the past decade the Arab world has witnessed a shifting of not only hard power — which saw the traditional armies of the Arab world in Syria, Egypt and Iraq consumed in internal turmoil — but also of what Harvard professor Joseph Nye termed “soft power,” which has moved from these countries to the resource rich Gulf states. Read more »
Arab World
Regional strife destroying historical Arab treasures
Sadly, over the past few decades, much of the heritage of the Arab world has come under threat or has been destroyed. During the 1990-1991 Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, the National Museum was ransacked and looted. Even today, hundreds of treasures remain lost, possibly forever. Read more »
Can Mathaf Restore a Pan-Arab Artistic Identity?
In 2010, Mathaf (the Arab Museum of Modern Art) was opened in the Gulf state of Qatar. In his essay, I provide an overview of pan-Arabism in recent decades and looks at what this museum can do to restore a pan-Arab cultural identity that has been neglected and in some cases even vilified for decades. Read more »
Thriving Gulf Cities Emerge as New Centers of Arab World
An old Arab saying goes, “Cairo writes, Beirut publishes and Baghdad reads.” These three capitals, along with Damascus, were long the hubs of culture and education in the Arab world. However, over the past few years, as these traditional Arab capitals became more embroiled in civil strife, a new set of cities started to emerge in the Gulf, establishing themselves as the new centers of the Arab world. Abu Dhabi, its sister emirates of Dubai and Sharjah and the Qatari capital, Doha, have developed as the nerve center of the contemporary Arab world. Read more »
Democracy Under Pressure
On September 16, 2013, the IHT Global Conversation travels to Athens to look at the state of democracy in the world and how the economic, social and religious crisis are putting “Democracy under pressure”. Read more »
The Future of News Reporting and Consumption
ArabNet speaks to Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, prominent commentator on Arab affairs, about the future of news reporting and consumption in the region. Read more »