James M. Dorsey

3 days ago | southasiajournal.net | James M. Dorsey |James focuses

by James M DorseyFive months after toppling President Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is struggling to hold the state together and fend off financial collapse. Mr. Al-Shara’s efforts to prevent Syria from splintering into ethnic or sectarian statelets are complicated by the country’s powerful neighbours, Israel and Turkey. The two countries exploit Syrian minority aspirations in competition with one another and want to shape the country in their mould.

4 days ago | jamesmdorsey.substack.com | James M. Dorsey

Welcome to The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey, a media initiative focused on the Middle East and the Muslim World that seeks to empower readers, listeners, and viewers to form informed opinions of their own. Equitable, fair, and honest analysis that lets the chips fall where they fall has seldom been more important in a world wracked by brutal wars, unimaginable humanitarian crises, and increasing authoritarianism.

1 week ago | jamesmdorsey.substack.com | James M. Dorsey

Alarm bells went off in Jerusalem and pro-Israel circles in Washington when US President Donald J. Trump this week announced a truce in America’s Red Sea tanker war with Yemen’s Houthi rebels that failed to take Israeli interests into account.

1 week ago | jamesmdorsey.substack.com | James M. Dorsey

US President Donald J. Trump and Hamas have separately opened a Pandora’s Box that could fuel Middle Eastern fires for years to come. Hamas did so when it unleashed Israel’s assault on Gaza with its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. With more than 50,000 dead and tens of thousands wounded and/or maimed for life, Palestinians have paid a stark price.

1 week ago | jamesmdorsey.substack.com | James M. Dorsey

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s embrace of the global far-right faces a difficult choice. The question for Mr. Netanyahu is whether to maintain Israel’s boycott of Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD), the country’s second-largest political party, and Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ) amid an escalating feud between the Trump administration and Germany over attitudes toward the far right. The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey is a reader-supported publication.