The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey

James M. Dorsey
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Dr. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, co-director of the University of Würzburg’s Institute for Fan Culture, and co-host of the New Books in Middle Eastern Studies podcast. James is the author of The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer blog, a book with the same title as well as Comparative Political Transitions between Southeast Asia and the Middle East and North Africa, co-authored with Dr. Teresita Cruz-Del Rosario and Shifting Sands, Essays on Sports and Politics in the Middle East and North Africa.

  1. Indonesia’s writing on the wall-Gaza drives hardening Muslim public opinion

    2D AGO

    Indonesia’s writing on the wall-Gaza drives hardening Muslim public opinion

    A recent opinion poll in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority state and democracy, throws a damper on Israeli and US hopes that Middle Eastern and Muslim states may recognise the Jewish state without a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Even more concerning, the poll suggests that public opinion is turning against a compromise two-state solution that would see the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel as advocated by an overwhelming majority of the international community, including Arab and Muslim states. The poll indicates that Israeli plans for a ground occupation of Gaza, Israel's US-backed devastation of Gaza to create an environment conducive to depopulation of the Strip, and its repressive West Bank settlement policy are driving the hardening of public attitudes.

    13 min
  2. Pushing Saudi Arabia to be an Israeli copycat

    5D AGO

    Pushing Saudi Arabia to be an Israeli copycat

    With Saudi recognition of Israel off the table, pro-Israeli and Israeli pundits and far-right and conservative pro-Israel groups in the United States are pushing the kingdom to become an aggressive regional player in Israel's mould. The pundits and groups want Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to abandon his de-escalation policy, including the kingdom's fragile freezing of its differences with Iran, and to reignite his ill-fated 2015 military campaign against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen that sparked one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Proponents of a Saudi Arabia, that like Israel would impose its will with military force, believe that a more assertive kingdom would allow Israel to outsource its fight with the Houthis, revive the notion of an Israeli-Gulf anti-Iran and anti-Turkey alliance, help Saudi Arabia resolve differences with the United Arab Emirates, Israel's best Arab friend, and potentially give the possibility of Saudi recognition of Israel and a key role in post-war Gaza a new lease on life. To garner support among US administration hawks and President Donald J. Trump's isolationist Make America Great Again (MAGA) support base, the pundits and conservative think tanks argue that Saudi Arabia's de-escalation policy and informal ceasefire with the Houthis have enabled rebel missile attacks against Israel and US naval vessels and commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

    12 min
  3. Re-occupying Gaza-From the fire into the frying pan

    6D AGO

    Re-occupying Gaza-From the fire into the frying pan

    In a reversal of repeatedly stated policy that Israel would not re-occupy Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is signalling that he is mulling Israel’s re-occupation of the Strip. Mr. Netanyahu suggested as much in a Hebrew-language statement issued by his office. Israel’s Security Cabinet this week discussed the proposition with the full Cabinet scheduled to debate it in the coming days. The statement announced that Mr. Netanyahu had decided to "occupy all of the Gaza Strip, including areas where hostages may be held." Even so, it remains unclear whether Mr. Netanyahu wants to re-occupy Gaza or is hoping that the threat will persuade Hamas to bow to Israeli demands in stalled ceasefire negotiations.

    12 min
  4. Trump’s focus on food for Gaza promises to be problematic

    AUG 2

    Trump’s focus on food for Gaza promises to be problematic

    US President Donald J. Trump's acknowledgement of Israel's throttling of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza is more than a rebuke of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's denials of starvation in the Strip. It also signals the president's temporary retreat from grandiose visions of reshaping the Middle East. Mr. Trump’s switching of gears to focus on Gaza’s humanitarian crisis was likely prompted by images of Palestinians, particularly babies and children, emaciated by Israel’s refusal to allow the unfettered flow of humanitarian aid into the Strip. Even so, the president’s focus also serves to entrench Israeli control and stymie a brewing generational revolt in his support base and the recognition of Palestine as a state by key US allies, including France, Britain, and Canada.

    14 min
  5. Breaking up Syria

    JUL 31

    Breaking up Syria

    A far-right pro-Israel think tank has put flesh on suspicions that Israel is seeking to weaken the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, if not break up Syria as a nation state. The Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum revived a years-old call for a “freedom corridor” that would link the Druze community in southern Syria with the Kurds in the north. The Forum’s call came as senior Israeli and Syrian officials negotiate security arrangements aimed at staving off further Israeli military strikes and limiting interference in Syria’s domestic affairs.

    12 min
  6. Gaza ANews 30072025

    JUL 30

    Gaza ANews 30072025

    James discusses on aNews mounting pressure on Israel to allow unfettered humanitarian aid into Gaza and to end the devastating war.

    9 min
  7. Testing Israel’s Limits

    JUL 28

    Testing Israel’s Limits

    US-mediated talks between Israel and Syria serve as a bellwether for the extent to which Israel can reshape the Middle East and impose its will on the region. They also are likely to indicate the degree to which US and Israeli interests diverge in Syria. Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaiibani and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a confidante of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, focussed this week on security arrangements in southern Syria in a round of talks in Paris chaired by Tom Barrack, the US Ambassador to Turkey and the Trump administration's Syria envoy. The talks were the highest-level meeting between officials of the two countries in 25 years and the first since the latest clashes in the southern Syrian city of As-Suwayda between the country’s Druze minority, Bedouin militias, and Syrian security forces, and Israel’s bombing of military targets, including the defence ministry, in the capital Damascus. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the clashes’ death toll at 1,399 people, 196 of whom were summarily executed. Mr. Netanyahu dispatched Mr. Dermer to Paris following several meetings in Azerbaijan between Mr. Al-Shaibani and the prime minister’s national security advisor, Tzachi Hangebi, that fuelled Israeli and US hopes that security arrangements could be a first step toward Syrian recognition of Israel. The Paris talks are likely to establish whether Israel can dictate to President Ahmed al-Sharaa where in Syria his military can operate and the degree to which Israel can successfully project itself as the protector of Syrian minorities, such as the Druze, a secretive monotheistic group based In Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel, and the Kurds in the north.

    20 min
  8. Instability Spreads As Israels Military Campaigns Escalate_BFM 23072025

    JUL 24

    Instability Spreads As Israels Military Campaigns Escalate_BFM 23072025

    Instability Spreads As Israels Military Campaigns Escalate_BFM 23072025 by James M. Dorsey

    11 min
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About

Dr. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, co-director of the University of Würzburg’s Institute for Fan Culture, and co-host of the New Books in Middle Eastern Studies podcast. James is the author of The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer blog, a book with the same title as well as Comparative Political Transitions between Southeast Asia and the Middle East and North Africa, co-authored with Dr. Teresita Cruz-Del Rosario and Shifting Sands, Essays on Sports and Politics in the Middle East and North Africa.

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