Lebanese President Hassan Diab has signed a decree under which the Lebanese state claims an additional 1,430 square kilometres of the Mediterranean Sea. These are in the maritime border area with Israel, with which the country is in dispute regarding their maritime borders. Extensive natural gas deposits have been found in the eastern Mediterranean in… Continue reading Lebanon expands its maritime borders
Category: Middle East/ Levante
Latin: levare “to rise, elevate”; French: levant “East, Orient”
Another Test of Endurance
At present, the eyes of the world are once again on Ukraine, on the eastern provinces and Crimea in the light of an increasingly confrontational attitude between Russia and its allies and Ukraine and the NATO countries. In addition to these central aspects, however, there is another relationship of interest in this constellation, namely that… Continue reading Another Test of Endurance
A Country as a Bridge
Italy has often acted as a bridge, between the Mediterranean states of North Africa and West Asia and the European continent. The Roman Empire adopted large parts of Greek culture, Christianity found its way from the Middle East to Rome and from there across the continent and the whole world. Augustine, the forefather of the… Continue reading A Country as a Bridge
A document of fainting power
At a donor conference of the European Union and the United Nations, Germany has pledged a total of 1.7 billion euros in aid for Syrians. This is to be handed over either directly to Syria's poor population via non-governmental organisations or to neighbouring countries hosting refugees from the civil war country. However, it seems somewhat… Continue reading A document of fainting power
The Power of the Conservatives
In addition to these weaknesses of the reform-oriented forces, the strong position of power of the more radical faction also plays a major role. The country's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, who is both head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, politically dates back to the time of the revolution. He has been in… Continue reading The Power of the Conservatives
Elections in Iran
On 18 June 2021, the Islamic Republic of Iran will hold presidential elections. The reform-oriented forces are likely to have a difficult time. After Hassan Rouhani, a president who himself started as a reformer, has been in office since 2013, the conservative and radical foreign policy faction now sees itself in the stronger position. There… Continue reading Elections in Iran
The USA stepping down
While the USA had to combine all its forces in the first decade of the new century to fight its wars in the "Broader Middle East", China gradually rose to become the Americans' new adversary. Obama reacted to this development and initiated the "Pivot to Asia", the strategic realignment with a focus on the Asia-Pacific… Continue reading The USA stepping down
The USA stepping up
After Britain, France and also Israel had to withdraw from the Sinai, there was no longer any doubt about the new pecking order in the Middle East. The time of the European colonial empires was over, the Cold War the new reality, with the USA and the Soviet Union as its main protagonists. That was… Continue reading The USA stepping up
Quo Vadis, Saudi Arabia?
Mohammed bin Salman, defence minister, deputy prime minister, crown prince and designated successor to the king, currently finds himself in a complicated situation. On the one hand, there is the unfavourable geopolitical starting position, with the great rival Iran, which has been able to expand its positions in a number of Arab states in the… Continue reading Quo Vadis, Saudi Arabia?
Three of a kind
The relations between Erdogan´s Turkey and Putin´s Russia are among the most interesting in current world-affairs. Either part is threatening the vital interests of the other one, in special in the Caucasus and in Syria, but, through a diplomacy of balance, they nontheless manage to both strengthen their positions in relation to third powers involved.… Continue reading Three of a kind
Simon Dierich 