The season of peace and goodwill has produced little of either in the Middle East. But as a negotiated peace between Israelis and Palestinians looks ever more remote, no-one seems willing to spell out the alternatives.
Category: Middle East
Trump, and other updates
Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee, after his last major rival conceded in Indiana. That, plus updates from Ireland, Iran and Equatorial Guinea.
Words that kill: terrorism and “Islamism”
Why "Islamist" is the wrong word to use to describe terrorists, and why some people want us to use it anyway.
Results roundup
An irregular feature updating world electoral news. This week, the United States, Iran, Spain, Ireland and Jamaica.
Holiday reading
As usual, news is a bit thin at this time of the year, but for those who are looking for holiday reading in the political sphere I've put together some links to interesting stuff that I've come across recently.
Turkey, again
Another Turkish election looks like throwing up the same options as the last one.
We warn the Turks
Turkey is headed back to the polls, in an election that's unlikely to solve anything but may give the country's fractious opposition parties another opportunity.
If not peace, what?
Opponents of the Iran nuclear deal have good reasons for not being too explicit about what their alternative is.
The limits of Europe, part I
So is Azerbaijan in Europe or not? What about Turkey? Iceland? Morocco? The questions are never purely geographical, but they raise some difficult political problems.
Democratic surprise in Turkey
Turkey may be set for minority government and political instability, but democracy has again shown how effective it can be in checking over-ambitious rulers.
The World is Not Enough 