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Global Affairs Session 76 11 August 2026 STORY OF POLITICAL ISLAM Muslims, Arabs, Religion & Politics Session 76 explains political Islam as a broad and varied field rather than a single ideology. It distinguishes Islam, Muslim and Arab identities; surveys the spectrum and major strands of political Islam; explains Muslim, Arab and GCC groupings; examines the Sunni–Shia divide and the memory of Karbala; and ends with the persistent fractures and regional organisations shaping the Muslim world. The presentation opens with the 2026 Mecca Joint Defence Agreement as an immediate geopolitical context.

Global Affairs Session 22 24 April 2026 THE GULF STATES: BETWEEN DEVIL AND THE DEEP SEA How prosperity, geography and security dependence expose the Gulf during a regional crisis The Gulf states convert energy wealth into high living standards, modern infrastructure and global influence. Yet the same geography that makes the region strategically valuable also exposes it to disruption at the Strait of Hormuz, military escalation, supply-chain shocks and dependence on external security guarantees.