Energy Archive

The Arab League’s economic boycott of Israel stretches back to the state’s founding in 1948. Today, only two Arab countries, Egypt and Jordan, have formal relations with Israel as a result of peace treaties, while the Arab League’s boycott remains in place for its other members. Yet backdoor cooperation with Israel is growing among some Arab states, creating the prospect of more economic and trade relations. The king of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, reportedly even called for an end to the boycott of Israel in September. In an email interview, Paul Rivlin, an economist and senior research fellow […]

Bolivian President Evo Morales is forging ahead with a plan to get around constitutional limits to stand for a fourth term in 2019, despite losing a February 2016 referendum on whether he could run again. His party, the Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, presented a petition to Bolivia’s elected constitutional tribunal in late September requesting that four articles of the country’s constitution be declared “inapplicable,” allowing Morales to stand for president indefinitely. The MAS also wants the court to scrap term limits for other elected officials, including governors, mayors and members of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, Bolivia’s legislature. A decision […]

On Monday, Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, accepted the resignation of the country’s entire Cabinet, dissolving it amid political infighting but with no official explanation. The move reflects Kuwait’s contentious political system, which has jeopardized the country’s recent efforts to stave off a financial crisis through needed economic reforms. In an email interview, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a Middle East fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute and an associate fellow at Chatham House in London, explains what was behind the Cabinet’s resignation and what it means for Kuwait’s political and economic future. WPR: What led Kuwait’s emir to dissolve the […]