Ali Bakir is a Research Assistant and Professor at Ibn Khaldun Center for Humanities and Social Sciences. He is following geopolitical and security trends in the Middle East, great power politics, small states' behaviors, and emerging unconventional risks and threats with a special focus on Turkey’s foreign and defence policies, Turkish-Arab and Turkey-Gulf relations. He writes regularly for several Arabic, English, and Turkish platforms, and he has contributed to English-language outlets including Al-Jazeera English, Middle East Institute, The Atlantic Council, Carnegie Endowment MEC, Al-Monitor, and TRT World. He tweets @AliBakeer.
In February 2022, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, became the first Gulf leader to meet President Biden since he took office in 2021. Recognizing Qatar’s critical diplomatic and security role on the regional and international level, President Biden announced during that meeting the designation of Qatar as a Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA). Three months later, Sheikh Tamim visited several key countries in the region and beyond.
In order to listen to the article, click on the audio clip below: On February 24, 2022, Russia’s President ordered its armed forces to launch a full-scale military operation to invade Ukraine. The Western countries, primarily the European countries and the US, responded by imposing the strongest sanctions yet against any other country. Russia swiftly rose to become the number one sanctioned nation in the world. Although relatively far
More
In February 2022, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, became the first Gulf leader to meet President Biden since he took office in 2021. Recognizing Qatar’s critical diplomatic and
More
In order to listen to the article, click on the audio clip below: On February 24, 2022, Russia’s President ordered its armed forces to launch a full-scale military operation to invade
More
On November 9, UAE Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Zayed (ABZ), visited the Syrian capital, Damascus, along with several Emirati officials, for the first time since 2011. During the visit, ABZ met with
More
On August 31, the US decided to withdraw its last soldier from Afghanistan. The scene was chaotic, as foreign diplomatic missions scrambled to secure a way out of the country, and the
More
With a record low voter turnout, Iranians elected the ultraconservative cleric and judiciary chief, Ebrahim Raisi, as their new president. Raisi’s victory came as a surprise to no one. As critics say, the elections were
More