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Opinion: Peace in Yemen appears to be more distant
9 February 2024
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Analysis: Origins of the Houthi supremacist ideology
23 August 2022
One of the several, often overlooked, challenges facing Yemen is the supremacist and divisive ideological basis of the Houthi movement. The movement’s ideology has rebellion and violence at its core, a recipe that can perpetuate crises within a society. In this analysis for commonspace.eu, Noman Ahmed and Mahmoud Shamsan shed light on the ideological fault lines that fuel the current conflict in Yemen, highlighting the nature of this ideology, which suggests that Ahl al-Bayt — descendants from the family of the Islamic Prophet — are, by divine decree, considered to be more deserving of the right to greater political and religious rule than other socio-political components. The analysis then looks into the background of the Houthis and argues that the ideology is a catalyst for conflict rather than peaceful political competition, and that so long as the Houthi political goal of Hashemite dominance remains unrealised, Houthi desire for conflict will not recede.
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Opinion: The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a life-changing moment for many of us
7 March 2022
"Looking at the current situation in Ukraine, there is no room for myself and other young people from the Middle East to think positively anymore about the Russian state and regime", writes Noman Ahmad in this op-ed. "As a young man from the Middle East, and much as I dislike foreign interventionism, I do not want the Ukrainians to suffer from what many people in the Middle East faced for the past twenty some years, and I also hope that people in the region stop admiring Russia unjustifiably."
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Opinion: It is too early to call the Libya peace process a success
17 May 2021
Exhausted by a decade of conflict, Libyans have moved surprisingly fast to implement a peace deal that some thought impossible only a few months ago. Deep-rooted internal divisions, greed among leaders, and the shadow of external patrons, may yet frustrate the quest for peace.
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Opinion: Resolving the crisis of legitimacy in Yemen is essential for any peace process to succeed
9 February 2021
The State’s lack of legitimacy in Yemen over many decades created a vacuum which has been exploited by key socio-political groups that felt marginalised, resulting in the erosion of the country’s sovereignty. In this op-ed Noman Ahmed argues that addressing this issue is key for any future peace process to succeed.
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Opinion: Yemen's grim reality
12 January 2021
Despite the recent expressions of unity within the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) following the al Ula summit, a unified approach towards Yemen appears unlikely. Continued external interference will exacerbate the political stalemate and add to the suffering of the Yemeni people, argue Mahmoud Shamsan and Noman Ahmed in this op-ed.
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Commentary: GCC leaders will meet this week to seek a unified approach to tackle many challenges ahead
4 January 2021
Leaders from the six nation Gulf Co-operation Council meet in Saudi Arabia this week. After months of discussions the rift between Qatar and other GCC members appears to have been healed, opening the prospect for a unified approach to the challenges ahead.
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Analysis: Hopes for a new beginning for the GCC once Qatar crisis is resolved
8 December 2020
In this analysis, Noman Ahmed and Dennis Sammut discuss recent moves to end the diplomatic crisis between Qatar and several other Arab states ahead of a crucial summit of the Gulf Co-operation Council in Bahrain later this month.
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Burkina Faso votes despite violent insurgency
22 November 2020
Voting took place on Sunday (22 November) in presidential and parliamentary elections in Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in the Sahel Region of Africa. The elections were overshadowed by violence from an Islamist insurgency. President Kabore is expected to win reelection, while opposition candidates have warned of "massive electoral fraud." Official results are not expected for some days