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Omar Ashour

Omar Ashour

27 commentaries

Omar Ashour, Professor of Security and Military Studies and Founder of the Security Studies Programs at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, is the author of How ISIS Fights: Military Tactics in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Egypt (Edinburgh University Press, 2021).

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  1. Why ISIS Attacked Russia – and Why Russia Blames Ukraine
    ahour28_STRINGERAFP via Getty Images_crocus STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images

    Why ISIS Attacked Russia – and Why Russia Blames Ukraine

    Mar 25, 2024 Omar Ashour considers how Vladimir Putin, an exemplary cynic, could capitalize on the carnage at Crocus City Hall.

  2. A Game Changer for Syria?
    Syria gas attack Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

    A Game Changer for Syria?

    Apr 12, 2017 Omar Ashour thinks the Trump administration's recent missile strike hurt Russia more than the Assad regime.

  3. Syria’s Balance of Terror
    Syrian women hang laundry in Aleppo George Ourfalian/Stringer

    Syria’s Balance of Terror

    Feb 20, 2017 Omar Ashour believes foreign meddling and shifting alliances will derail even the best-intentioned ceasefire.

  4. The Islamic State’s European Strategy
    ashour25_ludovic marin_AFP_Getty Images_eiffel flag Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

    The Islamic State’s European Strategy

    Sep 1, 2016 Omar Ashour explains why ISIS is singling out France and Turkey for its terror campaign in Europe.

  5. Egypt’s Security Harvest
    ashour24_Khaled Desouki_Stringer_Egypt Military Khaled Desouki/ Stringer

    Egypt’s Security Harvest

    Jul 11, 2016 Omar Ashour chronicles the declining faith in civil resistance – and rising violence – since the 2013 coup.

  1. blanchard17_Money SharmaGettyImages_von_der_leyen_modi Money Sharma/Getty Images
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    Maintaining Progress in a Post-American World

    Olivier Blanchard & Jean Pisani-Ferry identify four big global challenges that can still be tackled through “coalitions of the willing.”
  2. mueller58_Win McNameeGettyImages_trump_address_to_cognress Win McNamee/Getty Images
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    America’s Grotesquely Mediocre Emperor

    Jan-Werner Mueller

    Is Caesarism – a term invented in the nineteenth century to describe Napoleon’s particular form of rule – a good analogy for understanding Donald Trump and his political project? Despite some striking parallels, the illusion that America’s president has created lacks any basis in genuine achievements.

     considers whether there is anything to lean from analogizing Donald Trump to Napoleon.
  3. jheine3_ DANIEL SLIMAFP via Getty Images_OAS Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images
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    Trump and the Defense of Democracy in the Americas

    Jorge Heine attaches special importance to this month's Organization of American States leadership election.
  4. davies93_ Harold CunninghamGetty Images_BIS Harold Cunningham/Getty Images
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    Can Global Banking Rules Survive in a Fractured World?

    Howard Davies warns that changes in US foreign policy jeopardize efforts to create a common regulatory framework.
  5. varoufakis125_NICOLAS TUCATAFP via Getty Images_vonderleyen Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Case Against European Rearmament

    Yanis Varoufakis

    If we truly want to strengthen Europe, the first step is not to rearm. It is to forge the democratic union without which stagnation will continue to erode Europe’s capacities, rendering it unable to rebuild what is left of Ukraine once Vladimir Putin is finished with it.

     argues that Europe's security depends above all on forging the democratic union that true strength requires.
  6. rogoff259_Kayla BartkowskiGettyImages_javier_milei Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
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    What Trump 2.0 Means for Africa and Latin America

    Kenneth Rogoff highlights the far-reaching implications of the new administration’s move to slash foreign-aid funding.
  7. madgavkar21_Picture AllianceGettyImages_demographic_crisis Picture Alliance/Getty Images
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    Emerging Economies Must Get Rich Before They Get Old

    Anu Madgavkar & Marc Canal Noguer recommend policies that would mitigate the impact of increased longevity and declining birth rates.
  8. coyle42_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_muskchainsaw Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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    Musk and DOGE Are Doing It Wrong

    Diane Coyle highlights the fundamental flaw in the Trump administration’s push to cut red tape and curb wasteful spending.
  9. buruma224_WPA PoolGettyImages_europe_summit WPA Pool/Getty Images
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    Who Will Lead the Democratic World?

    Ian Buruma thinks the onus of defending our political freedoms will be on two countries that once tried to destroy them.

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