Author: James Dorsey

James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies as Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, co-director of the Institute of Fan Culture of the University of Würzburg and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, and a forthcoming book with the same title.

Turkish soccer supports Erdogan’s war against the Kurds

August 27, 2015August 28, 2015 James Dorsey 1 Comment

By James M. Dorsey The Turkish Football Federation (TFF), in a demonstration of the inseparable ties between sports and politics, has effectively declared its support for renewed Turkish-Kurdish hostilities designed to enhance the prospects of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party in forthcoming snap elections. With armed Kurdish youth effectively taking control of at least one…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Sports, Syria, Turkey

Militant soccer fans claim responsibility for Cairo bombing

August 19, 2015June 12, 2019 James Dorsey No Comments

By James M. Dorsey A shadowy group of militant soccer fans that has largely lied low since it participated in mass anti-government protests in 2013 that led to the military overthrow of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has claimed responsibility for a car bomb near a Cairo security building that injured at least six policemen. Whether…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, North Africa, Sports

Saudi Arabia and Iran: Volatile Political Geography of Oil and Minorities

August 18, 2015June 12, 2019 James Dorsey No Comments

By James M. Dorsey Discontent is bubbling over among the majority Shiite population in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, home to the kingdom’s major oil fields and petrochemical industry. Disgruntlement is no less in the Iranian province of Khuzestan where up to 90 percent of Iran’s oil reserves are located. Iranian Arabs, who account for approximately…

Arab World, Bloggers, Christian & Muslim, Commentary, Gulf States, religion

A Turkish stadium harbours a stark message for multiculturalism

August 16, 2015August 16, 2015 James Dorsey No Comments

By James M. Dorsey A condemned Turkish stadium harbours a dark warning of the long-term consequences of ethnic cleansing or what Turks euphemistically call the population exchange almost a century ago when Turkey and Greece expelled their respective Greek and Turkish minorities. It is a message that has not lost its urgency as Turkey fights…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Gulf States, Sports, Syria

Israel and Palestine play high stakes soccer

August 11, 2015June 12, 2019 James Dorsey No Comments

By James M. Dorsey Israel and Palestine are playing political soccer with Palestinian football as the ball. It is a match which Israel is unlikely to win and that could prove to produce a bruising loss. The stakes for Israel‎ are far higher than for Palestine. Israel is effectively on probation as it seeks to…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Editors Picks, Israel, Palestine & Jordan

Israel struggles with racist underground

August 5, 2015September 24, 2018 James Dorsey No Comments

By James M. Dorsey Israel is struggling with how to deal with groups some of which are underground that are linked to a banned nationalist political party that has emerged at the core of recent racist, anti-Palestinian incidents and include a militant soccer fan group that was responsible for last month’s violent clashes during a…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Israel, Palestine & Jordan

Yemen and Arab Uprising: Fissures and Repercussions

August 3, 2015August 4, 2015 James Dorsey No Comments

By James M Dorsey Saudi Arabia’s four-month old bombing campaign against Houthi rebel forces in Yemen has had mixed results beyond devastation in the region’s poorest country. The insertion of Saudi-trained Yemeni ground forces that support exiled president Abd Rabbah Mansour Hadi led last month to the capture of the port city of Aden from…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Gulf States

Mega Events: Qatar is too hot, Beijing has no snow

August 1, 2015September 29, 2018 James Dorsey No Comments

International sporting associations struggle to balance adherence to human rights with hosting events in autocratic countries

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Editors Picks, Gulf States, Sports

Qatar’s quagmire: existential fears and missed opportunities

July 31, 2015September 29, 2018 James Dorsey No Comments

Access to soccer fields not available to everyone in Qatar where economic and social class distinction is still the rule. Migrant worker populations continue to increase, but not the benefits By James M. Dorsey Walking around Qatar’s monumental Aspire Dome sports academy, coach Fred Engh noticed kids playing soccer on an indoor field big enough…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Gulf States, Sports

The Cairo derby: Politics vs. repression

July 29, 2015September 29, 2018 James Dorsey No Comments

By James M. Dorsey This month’s premier league final between Cairo’s two storied clubs, Al Ahli SC and Al Zamalek SC, once the world’s most violent derby, was more than a clash between two soccer giants. It was a clash between management styles and diametrically opposed approaches towards militant, highly politicized, street battle-hardened soccer fans….

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Editors Picks, North Africa, Sports