سایمون هندرسون

The Gulf nation of Oman has been ruled by Sultan Qaboos since 1970, when he overthrew his own father. The seventy-nine-year-old leader has enjoyed wide popularity, but he has a history of illness. To ensure national stability and continued progress, his successor will have to enact far-reaching economic reforms, aimed especially at broadening the economy beyond its current oil dependence. At the same time, a new sultan will need to navigate challenges posed by powerful neighbors such as Iran, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

Qatar's break with Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbors remains unresolved, and rumors circulate of bids to replace Tamim bin Khalifa al-Thani, Qatar’s forty-year-old emir, with one of his historically marginalized rivals.

Bahrain’s prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, has held his position since 1971, the year his country gained independence from Britain, but he is now eighty-four and evidently in uncertain health. Potential candidates to replace him include Crown Prince Salman or even a much younger nephew, Nasser bin Hamad, mirroring the generational handover in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. But the Khawalids, an influential, once-sidelined branch of the ruling family, also merit attention as Bahrain nears the end of an era.

In a Gulf region experiencing sharp tensions, how might a leadership transition in Kuwait affect a much-needed node of stability?

تلاش‌های رهبر بالفعل امارات متحده عربی، محمد بن زاید آل نهیان، برای تحکیم قدرت و اتخاذ یک سیاست منطقه‌ای فعال باعث انتقاداتی از سوی امیرنشین‌های دیگر از جمله دبی شده است. اگر یک نامزد توافقی در نهایت برای رهبری امارات متحده ظهور کند، می‌تواند موضع این کشور در منطقه و همین‌طور رابطه‌اش با آمریکا را شکلی تازه ببخشد.

Whether the young Saudi crown prince ultimately ascends to the throne will entail plenty of plot twists, but it also holds serious implications for the kingdom, the region, and U.S. interests.

Thanks to technical innovation, and despite oil price fluctuations, the United States is producing more of its own oil and

Understand the details of debates over Iran's nuclear program and the international response with this interactive glossary that translates technical jargon into language comprehensible even to the layperson.