2012

A year after the Jasmine Revolution, can the country's new government ... herald a return to narrow, sectarian rule or consensual leadership?

With so much still undecided, did Egypt experience a popular uprising, Islamic revolution or military coup?

As global and regional powers fight their own battles, will Syria's revolution succeed before the country falls apart?

As Vladimir Putin won a third term as president, we ask if Russia can become a superpower once again.

As Europe's crisis worsens without any solution in sight is a shift in political power a sign of hope on the horizon?

After the first truly democratic elections in a generation, will Egypt become a secular, religious, or military state?

Just how much does money distort the political process? Marwan Bishara investigates the power of money and the true cost to democracy of campaign funding in the US elections.

The Middle East has served as a setting for the grand narratives of American imperial power for generations. Empire examines the complications that shape Washington's Middle East doctrine following the Arab Spring.

The voters have chosen, but what will the next four years bring?

The dawn of a Palestinian state has been a long time coming. After 65 years of dispossession, 45 years of occupation, and 20 years of failed peace attempts, on Thursday Palestine took one step closer to joining the community of nations. With a final vote of 138 to 9, an overwhelming majority of nations at the UN General Assembly voted to recognise Palestine as a non-member state. This upgrade puts Palestine on par with the Vatican, and also could allow Palestinian claims to be filed in the International Criminal Court. This recognition came just days after another in the long line of catastrophes Palestinians have faced. Under a brutal Israeli bombardment of Gaza, nearly 200 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more were wounded. Empire asks: Must the Palestinian dream of a state be Israel's nightmare? And what does the path to a just solution look like?

Empire explores the politics and power of the world's most popular sport, and the global implications of the game.