• Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaEnergy and Economics

    Saudi Arabia’s Nuclear Turn: Power Beyond Electricity

    Aug 27, 2026Jim Krane

    The US-Saudi Arabia Nuclear Cooperation Agreement caused some observers to scratch their heads. Why would a country bother with nuclear energy when it holds a …

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaSecurity and Defense

    Diversification Without Substitution: What the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement Offers Saudi Arabia

    Aug 19, 2026The Unit for Political Studies

    Despite the headlines, the Mecca agreement is unlikely to produce a real military response if an attack happens. Not only has the text of the accord not been m…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Saudi Arabia’s Yemen Dilemma

    Aug 5, 2026The Unit for Political Studies

    On July 13, 2026, bombs struck the runway at Sanaa International Airport as an Iranian plane arrived carrying a Houthi delegation that had attended the funeral…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Neither Iran nor Israel: Saudi Arabia’s Vision for Lebanon

    Jul 28, 2026Giorgio Cafiero

    Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (MBS)’s recent reaffirmation of support for Lebanese President Joseph Aoun underscores an increasingl…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Limiting the Damage: Saudi Arabia and the Islamabad Memorandum

    Jun 24, 2026The Unit for Political Studies

    The war affected Saudi Arabia and further complicated its economic diversification plans, which were already facing setbacks. Iranian missiles and drones hit s…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaEnergy and Economics

    Vision 2030 and the Iran War: Saudi Arabia’s Resilience Under Strain

    Three months after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, 2026, the conflict is at stalemate: The ceasefire that began on April 8, 2026, ha…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Saudi Arabia’s Strategic Dilemma in the Iran War

    May 21, 2026The Unit for Political Studies

    Saudi Arabia finds itself in the center of a storm not of its choosing and its choices in confronting that storm are narrow and costly.

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Saudi Arabia Confronts the Israel–UAE Alignment in Somalia

    Feb 26, 2026Giorgio Cafiero

    Israel’s December 2025 decision to recognize Somaliland’s unilateral declaration of independence was of grave concern to Saudi Arabia. Riyadh sees Somalia’s te…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Constraint and Competition: Saudi Arabia’s Regional Policy in a Shifting Middle East

    Feb 17, 2026The Unit for Political Studies

    In a striking episode that captured the delicate intersection between domestic transformation and foreign policy, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih pub…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Egypt: Partnering with Saudi Arabia on Security in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

    Despite its extensive economic relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt appears to be hitching its wagon to Saudi Arabia in the kingdom’s dispute w…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    The Trump Administration and the Fracturing Saudi-UAE Alliance

    Jan 21, 2026Giorgio Cafiero

    The historically close alliance between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is under strain because of diverging strategic priorities and competiti…

  • Viewpoint
    YemenRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Saudi–Emirati Drama in Yemen

    Jan 13, 2026Nabeel A. Khoury

    Of the three interrelated levels of conflict at play in Yemen—local, regional, and international—it was the regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the Unite…

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