With a $1 trillion modernisation programme signed off and atomic scientists deeply worried about the future, American policy on nuclear weapons is pretty much business as usual.
World powers including Russia, the US and Turkey all have a stake in the Syrian conflict – but the networks they rely on for influence are constantly in flux.
Once seen as a diplomatic victory, the nuclear deal of 2015 is now perceived as a failure by conservatives who reject President Rouhani’s message of moderation as economic recovery remains elusive.
The tentative Boeing jet deal prompted outrage among Republicans but barely a peep among Iran’s own conservatives, despite their aversion to warmer economic ties with the U.S.
Escalating clashes between herders and farmers in Nigeria threaten the country’s national and food security. A response based on innovation, sustainability and political will is urgently needed.
The rise of Islamic State and its declaration of the caliphate can be read as part of a wider story that has unfolded since the formation of modern nation states in the Muslim world.
Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Deputy Director (International) at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University