by Henelito A. Sevilla, Jr. The complexity of issues surrounding the Syrian civil war requires not only diplomatic negotiations at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) but also through multilevel consultations of many important actors that have significantly contributed to either finding the solution or to worsening of the problem. What we have seen in Read more
Continue ReadingSovereignty, Legitimacy and the Responsibility to Protect: Who is responsible and who is legitimate in Syria? by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Syria and the New Middle East Western leaders’ conflicting statements underscore the unease about change in the Arab world. Unless one believes that diplomats speak unscripted, an earlier statementby U.S. secretary of State, John Kerry Read more
Continue ReadingAnd what do the P5+1 want from Iran? by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Iran and the P5+1 group (United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany) are to resume negotiations in Almaty, Kazakhstan on February 26. Their last meeting was eight-month ago in Moscow. That meeting did not produce a breakthrough and that was expected because, Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Those who doubt Lakhdar Brahimi’s assessment of the crisis in Syria ought to rethink their position. His ostensibly naïve initiative for a ceasefire over the Eid holidays might have been a brilliant maneuver that ended the existence of the Syrian National Council, the previously prominent face of the Syrian Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Since the start of the uprising in Syria, countries supporting the opposition groups wanted to unify them. They organized a series of the so-called “Friends of Syria” conferences one after another only to adjourn without realizing their objective. In most cases, the meetings created more discord than opportunities for Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* For the second time in several months, Russia and China have vetoed a UNSC resolution concerning Syria. The double veto last Saturday especially irritated U.S. and European leaders because they thought that the Arab League’s proposal was revised several times to meet Russia’s demands. Russia argued that Western states rushed the Read more
Continue ReadingDespite Turkish politicians’ efforts to downplay the diplomatic rift with Iran, more evidence has emerged suggesting otherwise. The main reason is Turkey’s increased role in supporting the groups that want to topple the regime in Syria. Iran considers that to be a red line and they seem to have communicated that to the Turkish prime Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* For the second time in several months, Russia and China have vetoed a UNSC resolution concerning Syria. The double veto last Saturday especially irritated U.S. and European leaders because they thought that the Arab League’s proposal was revised several times to meet Russia’s demands. Russia argued that Western states rushed the Read more
Continue ReadingPolitics of nuclear arms issue complex By Jacob Maxson For the Press-Citizen This week’s Q&A is with Dr. A. E. Souaiaia. He is a professor of Modern Religious Thought at the University of Iowa. He teaches and researches on the subjects of Islamic ethics and moral philosophy, Islamic law, human rights, and religion and politics. Read more
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