Monday 23 July
In the Monocle Guide to Being a Dictator the final chapter is devoted to the one thing that all autocrats would rather not think about but most will have to one day face: what to do when the game is up.
Syria is moving away from the staunch socialist principles that dominated the country for decades. President Bashar al Assad has created a new merchant class and forged business links with neighbour Turkey. Nowhere has…
A look at the continuing political isolation of president Bashar al-Assad, we learn how Robert Mugabe could help tourism, and explore the moons of Jupiter.
Why Syria’s Christian population might support President Bashar Al Assad and we find out how Lyon’s Festival of Lights can blow away winter blues.
Professor Fawaz Gerges reflects on Russian TV’s interview of Bashar al-Assad, we mark 10 years of East Timor’s independence, and talk media with Stephen Armstrong.
Wednesday 30 March
In a small Lebanese restaurant on London’s Edgware Road two Syrian chefs sat sipping tea as they watched President Bashar al-Assad deliver his first speech since the anti-regime protests began last week.
Friday 12 August
Some members of Syria’s opposition movement give their president less than a month before he falls.
Monday 22 August
There was no coverage of Libya’s rebel forces taking over great parts of Tripoli in the Monday edition of Syria’s Tishreen, the national daily.
Thursday 21 April
A popular joke going around in Arab countries goes like this. A genie comes out of his bottle and asks the head of government (usually going through a rough patch) to make a wish. The politician pauses to think a second,…
Sunday 8 July
At some stage in the future there will be major political scandal about the West’s long-term funding and arming of a dictatorial regime that embezzles aid and oil money and kills its own people.
Syrian first lady Adma Al-Assad's outfits; wine-tasting classes for poor South Africans.
Thursday 26 April
Dressed all in white, promising a crowd of adoring supporters he would one day return, Charles Taylor boarded a private jet to Nigeria where a comfortable life in exile awaited.
Monday 6 May
The atrocities in Syria might soon provoke the US into supplying arms to its rebel fighters but the same tactic in 1980s Afghanistan meant arms recipients soon turned against the hand that feeds.
Wednesday 28 April
The hookahs have been packed away and cigarettes stubbed out. Damascus, like Paris and New York, now has a smoking ban.
An interview with the Geneva-based, football-playing Brazilian permanent representative to the WTO.
Monday 28 March
Syria has always been considered an island of stability in a sea of Middle Eastern turmoil.
An interview with the Swedish Navy defence attache in Washington, Qatar's position on Syria, and China and Japan put the spooks on each other on joint exercises.
Are you familiar with all of these leaders? Monocle profiles three whose influence will continue to grow and grooms two necessary leaders of its own.
A strengthening economy and new confidence have made Turkey a diplomatic rising star. And as the revolts play out across the Middle East, everyone is paying court and wanting the ear of the country’s ambitious foreign…
It’s a short drive from the sleek corniche in Beirut to the bountiful souk in Damascus but the residents of these two great cities eye each other with a distinct lack of neighbourly affection. It doesn’t help when you…
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