James M. Dorsey A podcast version is available on Soundcloud,Itunes, Spotify, Spreaker, and Podbean. Malaysia has emerged as a potential...

By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story please click here. This is Qatar's year to put its best foot forward. A major...

By James M. Dorsey The Ukraine crisis may constitute a more impactful, historic watershed than the 1989 fall of the Berlin wall in the...

By James M. Dorsey Struggling to remain on the sidelines of the 21st century’s watershed war in Ukraine, Middle Eastern nations are...

James M. Dorsey Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have drawn praise for social reforms that have domestically reduced the role of...

November 30, 2021 By James M. Dorsey Mohammed Ali al-Husseini, one of Saudi Arabia’s newest naturalized citizens, ticks all the boxes...

November 25, 2021 By James M. Dorsey It has been a good week for United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed. Headline-grabbing,...

November 23, 2021 By James M. Dorsey When seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton wore a helmet this weekend featuring the...

November 17, 2021 By James M. Dorsey Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has tamed his kingdom’s ultra-conservative religious...

November 08, 2021 By James M. Dorsey As Middle Eastern states attempt to manage their political and security differences, Muslim-majority...

October 27, 2021 By James M. Dorsey The Taliban and Pakistan, both viewed warily by the West and others in the international community,...

By James M. Dorsey Two separate developments involving improved relations between Sunni and Shiite Muslims and women’s sporting rights...

By James M. Dorsey When Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed Abdulrahman Al-Thani this week described the Taliban’s repressive...

by James M. Dorsey The US withdrawal from Afghanistan will likely clarify what the Gulf’s security options are. Gulf states are likely to...

By James M. Dorsey A recent analysis of Middle Eastern states’ interventionist policies suggests that misguided big power approaches have...

By James M. Dorsey Recent announcements by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of plans to turn the kingdom into a transportation and...

Dear All, Thank you for being patient and loyal readers. That means a lot to me as I recover from surgery and more than a month in...

By James M. Dorsey Sports governance worldwide has had the legs knocked out from under it. Yet, national and international sports...

By James M. Dorsey As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov embarks on a four-day visit to the Gulf, Middle Eastern leaders are either...

This article first appeared on Play the Game 13.01.2021 Analysis by James M. Dorsey Hosting major sports tournaments can confer prestige...