middle-east

Since the events of the 2011 Arab Spring were set in motion, a debate has continued over how powerful a role the Internet itself can play in bringing about tangible social change. Evidence may continue to emerge that challenges any current theory. But in any case, new intellectual frameworks are required to analyze this question and guide further study.

Relations between the governments of the United States and Iran have been tense, often hostile, since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. After Iran began to develop a uranium enrichment program, however, tension has again risen acutely, and increasingly strict economic sanctions have been put in place — particularly on Iran’s crucial energy sector — by the U.S. and some of its Western and East Asian allies.