The essential guide to geopolitics in the modern Middle East

The Middle East is in crisis. The shocking events of the war in Gaza have rocked the entire region.

More than a decade ago, the Arab Spring had raised hopes of a new beginning but instead ushered in a series of civil wars, coups, and even harsher autocracies. Tensions were exacerbated by the meddling of outsiders, as regional and global powers sought to further their interests.

The United States, for so long the dominant actor, had stepped back, leaving a vacuum behind it to be fought over