Edmund O'Sullivan's Last Word
FREE content for MEED.com visitors. Read Edmund O'Sullivan's views on the region's most important events and trends in the Middle East.
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Chairman of MEED Events and
author of
The Last Word column and the book
The New Gulf - How Modern Arabia is Changing the World for Good.
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Edmund O'Sullivan
If this is spring for the Arab world, summer should never come
Force and the gun are coming out on top from this year’s turmoil in the Arab world
Votes for Saudi women and Arabia’s feminine revolution
King Abdullah’s announcement that Saudi Arabian women are will be allowed to vote has been the subject of sceptical and patronising comment. The truth is that women’s rights are advancing quicker in Arabia than practically anywhere on earth
Vickers banking report pleases practically no one
It is the most important report on the future of banking for half a century. But the report on the recommendations of the UK’s Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) will not prevent a new global banking crisis.
Iraqi echoes in Nato’s Libya adventure
It is said that Libya in 2011 is different from Iraq in 2003, but there are striking similarities
Lessons from Libya
Events in Libya since February have told us nothing we didn’t already know. The road to a new Middle East is as obscure as ever
Dispelling the myth of the oil price shock
US politicians are angry about Opec and gasoline prices, but there is new evidence that oil price increases do not seriously damage the world economy
GCC dollar peg in question again as American debt worries mount
The currency question will be back on the Gulf economic agenda in 2012
Backing Qatar
Qatar is the target of a campaign of vilification and rumours, but its plans for the World Cup in 2022 are a gift to football and the world. Doha deserves our support
New agenda for the Middle East
Political instability and the death of President Obama’s Arab-Israel peace initiative are dominating the world’s headlines. But a new Middle East may emerge from the turmoil of 2011
Obama’s conundrum
President Obama’s address on 19 May failed to disguise the incoherence of America’s Middle East policy. Events are speaking louder than words
Fear, not hope, is driving the politics of the Middle East
Rattled by events in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Syria, Middle East governments are tightening their grip on power and their people
Wishful thinking will not help the Arab uprisings
The death toll is mounting as the reaction to Arab uprisings unfolds. Champions of change are learning that lasting reforms will not come quickly
New democracy test for the Middle East
Elections are coming in Egypt and Tunisia. They will determine democracy’s prospects in the Middle East for years
Counting the cost of the Arab uprising
The Middle East has lost more than it has gained during three turbulent months. There must be a better way
A Libyan adventure that may end in tears
The West’s Libyan initiative is an ill-considered reaction. The consequences could be dire
Bahrain’s journey from kingdom to province
Saudi troops on the streets of Manama suggest that Bahrain’s independence is at an end
US policy on the move as Arab spring draws to a close
American Middle East policy since 1945 has been driven by practical factors more than principle. Events in 2011 suggest Washington’s approach to the region is shifting
Middle East governments will have to give up power to stay popular
Muammar Qaddafi’s televised national address on 22 February showed the old power formula no longer works
The uncertain consequences of the long Middle East war between freedom and stability
Hosni Mubarak’s resignation as Egyptian head of state is not the end, or even the beginning of the end. It’s the start of the long war between freedom and stability in the Arab world
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