Sitemap - 2013 - The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey

Gulf states line up as targets of trade unions and human rights groups

Human rights groups blast Qatar with a silver lining

World Cup emerges as agent of change in Qatar

Gulf Security: A Risky New US-Saudi Blueprint

Investment in soccer: A double-edged sword for Gulf states

The Iran Nuclear Deal: Rewriting the Middle East Map

American Pharaoh: Ex-U.S. coach Bradley has Egypt on brink of WCup (JMD quoted in SI)

What Role for World Cup in Arab Spring? (JMD in Global Brief)

Qatar launches politically sensitive survey into low soccer match attendance

What it means to call the bombing of Iran's embassy in Beirut 'sectarian violence' (JMD quoted on Global Post)

Potential German soccer star joins list of players-turned-jihadists

Amnesty International report undermines Qatar’s soft power defense strategy

Saudi survey: Majority of Saudis favor women’s right to sports

Banning of Egyptian player highlights problems of sports governance

Middle East becoming a graveyard for Socceroos (JMD quoted in The Guardian)

Al Ahli turns African championship into anti-government protest

Charting the shift in Olympic power and sport’s future challenges (JMD at Play the Game)

Soccer and autocracy: Who do national football teams represent?

Drone strikes take out key members of Somali terror group (JMD on Russia Today)

Critics of Qatari sports, labor and foreign policy target its commercial interests

Egyptian stage set for confrontations with ultras

Soccer's Impact on Middle East Politics (JMD at WINEP)

Thursday October 17, 2013

Middle East's Sunni-Shiite divide spills on to the soccer pitch

Turkish soccer’s financial crisis potentially sharpens political divide

Egyptian ultras’ fight for existence is a struggle for public space

Qatar: Perfecting the art of scoring own goals

Turkish and Egyptian ultras fight for their existence

Harsh Qatari labor conditions move center stage as FIFA debates World Cup

Turkish soccer pitches re-emerge as political battlefields

Decision to change date of Qatari World Cup risks political and legal rows

Middle Eastern investors target lower tier European clubs

Saudi Arabia mulls granting women access to stadia

Wahhabism vs. Wahhabism: Qatar Challenges Saudi Arabia (Part 2)

Singaporean dark horse in IOC race campaigns on promise of change (JMD on Play the the Game)

Qatar 2022 – A mixed blessing

Turkey moves to prevent protests in stadiums and on campus

Pressure for labor reform in Qatar increases amid calls to move World Cup to winter

The politics of Indonesian and Turkish soccer: a comparative analysis (with Leonard Sebastian)

Turmoil in Egypt: Learning lessons from the Philippines

Soccer militants put their mark on Egyptian protests

US Tightrope Walk: Arab Autocrats Try to Redefine Terrorism

Tuesday August 13, 2013

‘Brotherhood United’ as Egypt Islamists stage football friendly (JMD quoted on Al Arabiya)

UAE exploits soccer to counter charges of human rights abuse

Turkish government bans political slogans during soccer matches

Lebanese sports scandals fuel tensions

Whither the Arab Revolts? – A Response to Ali A. Allawi

Egypt’s Third Way: A Blend of Islamism and Militarism

MEI Insight: Facing One's Demons: The Egyptian Military and the Brotherhood at a Crossroads

Gulf rivalries spill on to the soccer pitch

The US Bogeyman in Post-coup Egypt

Football: a sporting barometer of European integration policies (ICSS Journal)

The Struggle for Egypt: Saudi Arabia’s Regional Role

FIFA reaffirms its role as pillar of established order

Tactical retreat: Ultras absent from protests in Egypt and Turkey

Egypt on the Brink: The Military’s Dilemma

Military Coup in Egypt: A Recipe for Failure

Planned mass protests in Egypt echo Cairo’s Tahrir Square uprising

Transition in Qatar: Will he or won’t he?

Egyptian soccer matches foreshadow mass anti-government protest

Iran’s New President: Averting a Popular Revolt

Egypt’s Morsi turns to Syria and soccer to polish his tarnished image

Soccer threaten to spark protests as Iran goes to the polls

Mega sports events: A double-edged sword

Tahrir’s lesson for Taksim: Police brutality unites battle-hardened fans

Taksim is not (yet) Tahrir

UEFA decision on Gibraltar opens AFC prospects for Kurds

Syrian Civil War: Russia Forges Risky Ties with Islamists

Quartz: US intelligence sees soccer as indicator of discontent

Saudi Arabia to allow women into stadiums

Algeria: Middle East’s next revolt if soccer is a barometer

Reform of Middle Eastern Militaries: Lessons from Indonesia

Soccer emerges as focal point of dissent in Saudi Arabia

How life (and death) change Egyptian soccer and its American coach (JMD quoted)

FIFA anti-racism campaign has work cut out for it in the Middle East

»Die Ultras hatten eine Schlüsselrolle« (Interview JMD Suedwind(

New AFC president sets about reform as battle for change looms

Asian soccer elects controversial Bahraini as president

Soccer fans in the Gulf vote with their feet

Academic Dorsey allowed to appeal High Court ruling

JMD on Xinhua: AFC to elect new chief in first post-Hammam election

Players’ complaints overshadow Qatari attempts to project improved workers’ rights

AFC election marred by interference allegations and candidates’ track records

Egyptian soccer TV rights aim to alleviate financial crisis

Trade unions call on FIFA to deprive Qatar of World Cup

ASEAN Super League offers World Sport Group potential fallback

The Shia-Sunni divide: Tunnel vision prevails

Bahrain soccer chief faces tough questions in AFC election

Egypt’s banning of soccer fans from matches likely to boomerang

AFC presidential candidates’ promises of reform put World Sport Group in the crosshairs

Al Jazeera targets Spain amid dropping viewer numbers in its heartland

Turkey gears up to give Gulf states a run for their money

Qatar broaches sensitive demography through soccer

Egyptian crackdown on soccer fans likely to unite militants

International sanctions: Iran feels the psychological impact

Rioting ultras and striking police officers may ease security reform

Persian Gulf Futures (on Global Brief)

Civil war in Syria: The Spillover Threat

Soccer protests highlight Egyptian president Morsi’s fragile ties to the military

AFC election-lineup: little real promise of badly needed reform

Militant Jerusalem fans challenge founding principle of Israeli foreign policy

Port Said unites key Egyptian government critics: workers and soccer fans

Soccer fans defy emergency rule, force work stoppage in Port Said

In Egypt, the kids are not all right (JMD quoted in The Washington Post)

Post-revolt Arab Transitions: Driven by Distrust and Inexperience

Qatar announces planned migrant workers charter to fend off World Cup criticism

Push for World Cup workers’ rights challenges Qataris and activists alike

Police refusal to secure Egyptian matches spotlights rift with military

Matchstruqués : un système au-dessus des joueurs, des arbitres et surtout desinstances du football

UEFA inquiry into sponsorship deals highlights problematic fight against corruption

Rowdies with a Cause (JMD quoted in Foreign Policy)

Match fixing scandal could be monkey wrench to change soccer governance

Fan Culture – a social and political indicator

Egypt league to restart amid protests and finger pointing of police

AFC announces litmus test post-Bin Hammam presidential election

Bradley fighting to give fractured Egypt World Cup hope (JMD quoted on ESPN FC)

Unsere Freunde aus (JMD quoted in Tagespiegel)

Egyptian military authorizes resumption of soccer, confrontation with ultras looms

Soccer and Egypt (JMD quoted in The Nation)

Qatar’s Challenge to Saudi Arabia: An alternative view of Wahhabism

Beyond The Pitch

Beitar Jerusalem and Egypt’s President Morsi: two vignettes of racism

Morsi opts for law enforcement, not inevitable reform

Egyptian soccer violence: a test of Morsi’s political savvy

Alles kleine Fische - JMD on Deutschlandfunk

Soccer violence puts Egyptian president Morsi between a rock and a hard place

FIFA reviews Qatar’s World Cup bid

Is the “Azeri spring” starting?

University of Würzburg: Prominent Researcher Joins the University

Egypt declares 74 dead soccer fans martyrs of the revolution

Middle East and North Africa:Another year of Upheaval

Egyptian prosecutor submits new evidence in bid to preempt violent soccer protests

Trade unions accuse Qatar of forced labor in ILO process

Qatar turns to football for fame and fans (JMD quoted)

Pyro technics, Police, Political demonstrations -- JMD on Deutschlandfunfk (in German)

Middle East soccer associations campaign for women’s right to play

Port Said clashes: A foretaste of Egyptian soccer violence to come

Re-launching the Egyptian premier league: a barometer for Morsi’s performance