AboutArticles by Michael Jansen

A question of reviewing traditional relations

11 Dec 2022

Last week’s triple summits with China in Riyadh reinforced Arab unity and proclaimed Arab support for a multipolar world rather than the unipolar model exploited by the US after the...

An end in sight

08 Dec 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is “open to negotiations” to end the Ukraine war if the West accepts Moscow’s maximalist demand for recognition of Russian sovereignty over Ukrainian...

Iran: Disbanding morality police first sign of letup

04 Dec 2022

In response to 11 weeks of sustained popular protests against the requirement that Iranian women must wear headscarves in public, the clerical government seems to be making concessions with the...

Beyond the meal

01 Dec 2022

Three women chefs have changed the way millions in the West eat and have, to a certain extent, affected their perceptions of distant cultures and peoples. The first of these...

Orthodox settlements top priority for Netanyahu

27 Nov 2022

Israel could pay a high price if its longest serving prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, succeeds in forming a new government which includes the extreme right-wing Jewish Power and Religious Zionism...

Pledges under heat

24 Nov 2022

The November 2023 UN climate change conference, COP28, hosted by Dubai is certain to be an historical gathering because it will have to build on Egypt’s disappointing COP27. The Dubai...

Protests could be a long-drawn-out affair in Iran

20 Nov 2022

The protests in Iran are entering their tenth week without securing any concessions from the reigning clerics. Instead, security forces have been ordered to step up their crackdown, creating more...

Blatant outrage

17 Nov 2022

When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan the movement began to turn back the clock by reverting to the harsh practices imposed during its 1996-2001 reign. The Taliban commenced...

Three policies of Biden that dented his popularity

13 Nov 2022

While Washington’s conduct of foreign affairs rarely impacts popular voting in US elections, President Joe Biden’s Democratic party might have retained clear majorities in the both Houses of the legislature...

Treasure-trove of artefacts

10 Nov 2022

The discovery a century ago of the well-preserved tomb of ancient Egypt’s Boy Pharaoh Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings was a global sensation. The splendid treasures found by...

Michael Jansen

The author, a well-respected observer of Middle East affairs, has three books on the Arab-Israeli conflict.