Dr Robert Mason

Best Articles of 2025: New Regional (Dis)order - Middle East Policy Council President Donald Trump has signed a law ending all American sanctions on Syria, one month after the Islamist former rebels who now run the government joined the fight against the Islamic State. Throug...

Best of ’25, cont.: the new (dis)order, from Iran-Israel to a WMD-free zone, new approach to collapsed states, Saudi hedging, regional corporate elite. With
@thomasjuneau.bsky.social
@banafshkeynoush.bsky.social
@hannesbaumann.bsky.social
@drrmason.bsky.social
& many more
mepc.org/commentaries...

Negotiating the Impossible? A WMD‐Free Zone in the Middle East The wars in Ukraine and Gaza have drawn attention to the role that nuclear weapons can play during periods of conflict and how regional crises can bar preventive diplomacy. Work toward establishing a...

While Trump decides whether to launch a war on Iran, @drrmason.bsky.social focuses on the potential for a new nuclear deal to be a "platform" for the effort to turn the Middle East into a WMD-free zone. But this requires incentives for Israel to cooperate.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

It's been a pleasure to be a Visiting Professor at the University of Helsinki these past 2 weeks. I have engaged with faculty, students and the wider business and policy communities here and look forward to building on these ties in future.

Hot off the press: 'Beyond import dependence: defence industry localisation strategies in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states' with Ali Bakir et al www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

My latest with Umer Karim looks at the Saudi - Pakistan defence deal and Gulf security www.eurasiareview.com/06102025-gul...

3 weeks left to submit an abstract for this workshop on GCC state mediation gulfif.org/app/gss-work...

Call for abstracts out now. Deadline 31 October: gulfif.org/app/gss-work...

The Vienna Convention Needs an Update to Protect Against AI Threats As AI transforms warfare and diplomacy, revising the Vienna Convention could provide the legal foundation to counter cyber threats, deepfakes, and digital sovereignty disputes.

'As AI transforms warfare and diplomacy, revising the Vienna Convention could provide the legal foundation to counter cyber threats, deepfakes, and digital sovereignty disputes.'

My latest oped for The National Interest Techland:
nationalinterest.org/blog/techlan...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

The September 2025 issue of the JASIA [12:3] is now available online. You can access it directly by following this link:

journals.sagepub.com/toc/AIA/curr...

How the Trump-Musk Feud Could Reshape Space Policy and Rein in SpaceX Trump’s feud with Musk opens a window to curb SpaceX’s unchecked power and protect US national security interests. President Donald Trump’s feud with Elon Musk might enhance US national security inter...

My latest co-authored piece is 'How the Trump-Musk Feud Could Reshape Space Policy and Rein in SpaceX' nationalinterest.org/blog/techlan...

Very good to have presented my paper that reassesses Buzan and Wæver's Regional Security Complex Theory as it relates to the Middle East at #isavirtual2025

Two’s a crowd: the strategy of forward defence in the Middle East Arming proxies and launching pre-emptive strikes was Iran's 'forward strategy' model since the devastating Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88. Then, from October 2023, Israel copied it. A recipe for disaster?

Useful analysis of risks associated with Israel and Iran's forward defence strategies en.majalla.com/node/326515/...

Early intelligence suggests Iran’s uranium largely intact, European officials say Preliminary assessments suggest Tehran was able to move much of its stockpile

“Preliminary intelligence assessments provided to European governments indicate that Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile remains largely intact following US strikes on its main nuclear sites, two officials have said.”

Andrew England & Henry Foy, @financialtimes.com

on.ft.com/4kSoxUW

The Splintering of the Axis of Resistance - Gulf International Forum Two days before the sixth round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks in Oman, Israel launched a series of strikes on June 13, 2025, abruptly halting the...

My latest piece is 'The Splintering of the Resistance Axis'. It argues that groups such as the Houthis are already building alliances with other non-state actors such as Al Shabaab, ensuring its survival and growth should further conflict cut support from Iran. gulfif.org/the-splinter...

Middle East Policy has just published a special issue, The Israel-Iran War, which includes my spring 2025 article, "Negotiating the Impossible? A WMD-Free Zone in the Middle East." It's outside the paywall for at least the next four weeks. @mideastpolicy.bsky.social

Exclusive: Early US intel assessment suggests strikes on Iran did not destroy nuclear sites, sources say | CNN Politics The US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, according to an e...

Important. "The US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, according to an early US [DIA] intelligence assessment" edition.cnn.com/2025/06/24/p...

US strikes against Iranian nuclear sites have drawn urgent international attention to the Iranian nuclear issue. | Robert Mason FRSA FHEA US strikes against Iranian nuclear sites have drawn urgent international attention to the Iranian nuclear issue. In this edition of Middle East Policy below, my article on establishing a NWFZ in the M...

My latest article on establishing a nuclear free zone in the Middle East has a fresh lease of life given the evolving facts on the ground in Iran.

www.linkedin.com/posts/robert...

From “Relative Autonomy” to “Relational Autonomy”? A Reappraisal of GCC State-Building and Foreign Policy Our conceptual understanding of the international relations of the Arab Gulf States has been hitherto dominated by great power engagement in a fluid and fragmented Middle East, accompanied by Gulf ...

Delighted to see this article is now out: 'From “Relative Autonomy” to “Relational Autonomy”? A Reappraisal of GCC State-Building and Foreign Policy'

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Still free to read in the Spring 2025 Middle East Policy: the Iran-Saudi dilemma in Gaza by @banafshkeynoush.bsky.social, busting Syria myths by Rob Geist Pinfold, Turkey’s ascendance by Saban Kardas, and curbing WMD by @drrmason.bsky.social. Plus many more.
t.co/QbrR4fy6DP

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Call for papers: journals.sagepub.com/home/WAJ

The United States of America and Eastern Mediterranean Security The Mediterranean has often been a contested space, affected by the demise of the Ottoman Empire and the end of European empires in North Africa after the Second World War.

My recent intervention on the US and Eastern Mediterranean Security is available here mecouncil.org/publication_...

Home - Orient Online German Journal for Politics, Economics and Culture of the Middle East, published by the German Orient-InstitutennLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur

In my latest article for ORIENT, I write about 'President Trump’s Return to “Maximum Pressure” Against Iran.'

orient-online.com

Middle East Policy: Vol 32, No 1 Click on the title to browse this issue

All readers can access the news issue of Middle East Policy without charge through May 1! Check out analyses of Syria, Gaza, the US-Saudi deal, and reconciliation in conflict zones by @drrmason.bsky.social, @banafshkeynoush.bsky.social, and many others.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14754967...

This is a work in progress but as it stands offers in broad strokes what negotiations towards a Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East could look like.

Read more here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...

It's arrived! It's always satisfying to see a new book in print for the first time! Great chapters from co-authors @drrmason.bsky.social and Banafsheh Keynoush as well.

Oman’s Bid to Attract Investment As Oman pursues its Vision 2040 reform agenda, many opportunities could stem from closer economic and long-term alignment with neighbors and other major trading partners.

My latest piece on Oman’s economy argues that making key Omani industries as attractive as possible as FDI destinations will translate into more equitable deals and help further integrate Oman into the global economy.

agsiw.org/omans-bid-to...