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Omar Ashour

Omar Ashour

27 commentaries

Omar Ashour, Professor of Security and Military Studies and Founder of the Security Studies Programs at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, is the author of How ISIS Fights: Military Tactics in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Egypt (Edinburgh University Press, 2021).

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  1. Why ISIS Attacked Russia – and Why Russia Blames Ukraine
    ahour28_STRINGERAFP via Getty Images_crocus STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images

    Why ISIS Attacked Russia – and Why Russia Blames Ukraine

    Mar 25, 2024 Omar Ashour considers how Vladimir Putin, an exemplary cynic, could capitalize on the carnage at Crocus City Hall.

  2. A Game Changer for Syria?
    Syria gas attack Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

    A Game Changer for Syria?

    Apr 12, 2017 Omar Ashour thinks the Trump administration's recent missile strike hurt Russia more than the Assad regime.

  3. Syria’s Balance of Terror
    Syrian women hang laundry in Aleppo George Ourfalian/Stringer

    Syria’s Balance of Terror

    Feb 20, 2017 Omar Ashour believes foreign meddling and shifting alliances will derail even the best-intentioned ceasefire.

  4. The Islamic State’s European Strategy
    ashour25_ludovic marin_AFP_Getty Images_eiffel flag Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

    The Islamic State’s European Strategy

    Sep 1, 2016 Omar Ashour explains why ISIS is singling out France and Turkey for its terror campaign in Europe.

  5. Egypt’s Security Harvest
    ashour24_Khaled Desouki_Stringer_Egypt Military Khaled Desouki/ Stringer

    Egypt’s Security Harvest

    Jul 11, 2016 Omar Ashour chronicles the declining faith in civil resistance – and rising violence – since the 2013 coup.

  1. velasco147_Tomas CuestaGetty Images_argentinapesos Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images

    Argentina’s Inflation Paradoxes

    Andrés Velasco asks whether President Javier Milei's administration can sustain its initial economic-policy successes.
  2. buruma213_Stephanie KeithGetty Images_palestine college Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

    The Privileged Gaza Protesters

    Ian Buruma argues that fear of losing rank could be driving students to demonstrate their intersectional bona fides.
  3. krueger54_ Anna MoneymakerGetty Images_CHIPS Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    What Mission-Driven Government Means

    Mariana Mazzucato & Rainer Kattel correct common misconceptions about a particular form of state participation in the economy.
  4. haldar33_Sean GallupGetty Images for Burda Media_kahneman Sean Gallup/Getty Images for Burda Media

    The Psychologist Who Convinced Economists that to Err Is Human

    Antara Haldar reflects on the pioneering work and legacy of one of the world’s most influential social scientists.
  5. bremmer29_Nathan HowardGetty Images_ukraine aid Nathan Howard/Getty Images
    Free to read

    Will the Renewed US Support for Ukraine Be Enough?

    Ian Bremmer

    Sixteen months of congressional inaction in the United States has left Ukrainian forces exhausted and short on ammo. Although America has now finally enacted another package of financial and military aid, the best that the Ukrainians can hope for is another stalemate, rather than another major offensive against Russian lines.

    explains how an additional $61 billion in aid and arms will, and will not, change the course of the war.
  6. hamada64_Franck Robichon - PoolGetty Images_abe Franck Robichon/Pool/Getty Images

    The Lasting Legacy of Abenomics

    Koichi Hamada highlights two important aspects of the late Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzō’s policy agenda.
  7. bollmohr2_ Dan KitwoodGetty Images_fetilizier Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
    Free to read

    Fertilizers Will Not Fix Africa’s Food Crisis

    Silke Bollmohr & Harun Warui refute the idea that industrial inputs will increase yields and alleviate hunger on the continent.
  8. qian36_ Jens Kalaenepicture alliance via Getty Images_tiktok Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images

    What TikTok Got Wrong About America

    Nancy Qian thinks the company sealed its fate by aggressively interfering in the US political process.
  9. nye257_MARK SCHIEFELBEINPOOLAFP via Getty Images_blinkenxi Mark Schiefelbein/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

    US-China Cooperation Remains Possible

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

    Although the US has abandoned its policy of engagement with China, the strategy of great-power competition that has replaced it does not preclude cooperation in some areas. A good analogy is a soccer match, where two teams battle fiercely but abide by certain rules and boundaries, kicking only the ball, rather than each other.

    identifies seven areas where the two countries can still work together toward mutually beneficial outcomes.

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