Lebanon: There are no Drums without War

Written by J. Comins 

Translation: María Blanco Palencia

During the last weeks, the city of Tripoli has become the scenario of confrontation between Sunnis and Alawis, this is, between those who support the Syrian revolts and those who support Bashar al Assad’s regime. When everything seemed to indicate that sectarianism would be the most probable factor of instability in Lebanon, a new rhetoric escalation from Israeli armed forces has contradicted all forecasts. Since 2006, the shadow of a new war episode has been present in strategic plans; however now, given the Syrian crisis, Israel and Hezbollah are ready to show the international community that they are willing to start the third war in Lebanon. (more…)

King Abdullah 2 – Crown Princes 0

Written by: Jordi Comins 

Translation: María Blanco Palencia

Until the beginning of the revolts at the end of 2010, the hereditary transmission of political power took a privileged position in the majority of analyses of the Arab countries. From Tripoli to Sana’a, the illustrious and long-lived rulers seemed to have secured their sovereignty inside their families. However, as this moment arrived, the Arab street has not permitted the perpetuation of names like Gaddafi, Mubarak, or Abdullah Saleh –among others– as rulers of their countries. This situation has nothing to do with the one in Saudi Arabia, where the latest events signal that it will continue being ruled by the consensus of its owners –the Saud family–, in the name as well as in reality. (more…)

The Southern Question: Political Exclusion, Economic Marginalization and Internal Division in Yemen

Written by J. Comins 

Translation: María Blanco Palencia

More than two decades have passed after the unification of the Yemeni territory into one country under the umbrella of common political institutions. Officially, the integration was effective on the 22nd May 1990, a date still celebrated by the population and on which two different political and economic models ceased to exist: the Yemen Arab Republic –North­-West– and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen –South-East–. With nearly no time for the project to mature, the outbreak of the 1994 Civil War broke the wanted equilibrium. Since then, the victory of the Northern Army has been politically translated into lack of attention towards political, economic, and social demands from the southern population.

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