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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. gelfand4_Andrew HarnikGettyImages_trump_gesture Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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    It’s Time to Abandon Trump’s Flawed Negotiation Playbook

    Michele Gelfand points out that the best dealmakers strive for win-win outcomes, not zero-sum Pyrrhic victories.
  2. bajraktari3_NICOLAS TUCATAFP via Getty Images_fusionreactor Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images
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    America’s Last Chance to Lead in Fusion Energy

    Ylli Bajraktari warns that China's domination of the sector would give it massive economic and geopolitical leverage.
  3. rogoff260_ STRAFP via Getty Images_chinarealestate STR/AFP via Getty Images
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    China Can’t Spend Its Way Out of Trouble

    Kenneth Rogoff

    China’s prolonged reliance on fiscal stimulus has distorted economic incentives, fueling a housing glut, a collapse in prices, and spiraling public debt. With further stimulus off the table, the only sustainable path is for the central government to relinquish more economic power to local governments and the private sector.

     argues that the country’s problems can be traced back to its response to the 2008 financial crisis.
  4. mohieldin33_Xie EXinhuaGettyImages_guterres_debt_report Xie E/Xinhua/Getty Images
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    This UN Debt Initiative Is Different

    Mahmoud Mohieldin, et al. tout an Expert Group’s efforts to prevent a full-blown solvency crisis in developing countries.
  5. fbirol4_UCGGettyImages_south_africa_power_grid UCG/Getty Images
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    What African Electrification Requires

    Fatih Birol & Alain Ebobissé highlight the need for greater private-sector participation to boost investments in power grids.
  6. nye268_John MooreGetty Images_trumpUN John Moore/Getty Images
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    How World Order Changes

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

    World order is a matter of degree: it varies over time, depending on technological, political, social, and ideological factors that can affect the global distribution of power and influence norms. It can be radically altered both by broader historical trends and by a single major power's blunders.

     examines the role of evolving power dynamics and norms in bringing about stable arrangements among states.
  7. buruma226_Picture AllianceGettyImages_tel _aviv_antiwar_protests Picture Alliance/Getty Images
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    Israel’s Blind Spot

    Ian Buruma explains the lack of sympathy, even among the country’s many anti-war protesters, for Palestinian suffering.
  8. sirimanne1_Visual China Group via Getty ImagesVisual China Group via Getty Images_robotelderly Visual China Group via Getty Images
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    Will AI Close or Widen the Development Gap?

    Shamika Sirimanne & Xiaolan Fu call for multilateral action and grassroots pressure to ensure that the technology serves all countries.
  9. dickinsongoodman1_DrAfter123Getty Images_datasurveillance DrAfter123/Getty Images
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    Don’t Let Governments Break Encryption

    Jessica Dickinson Goodman & Ezequiel Passeron Kitroser urge citizens and lawmakers to fight for the privacy that previous generations took for granted.

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