Diplomacy
Rising rhetoric and deepening Gulf tensions push the Middle East to the brink
As the US-Israeli war against Iran drags on, the rhetoric among the latter’s fellow Gulf states is beginning to reach fever pitch.
Latest
The Board of Peace: Inside Trump’s global power play and Gaza plans
President Trump’s much-ballyhooed Board of Peace offers little indication of being what it purports to be, resembling a clubhouse for the authoritarians he finds most appeasing.
‘We’ve seen the opposite of peace’: Kosovo’s president, Vjosa Osmani, on her nation’s commitment to democratic values
At the World Governments Summit, the Balkan leader spoke to Monocle about pursuing diplomacy outside of Europe, joining the EU and why she doesn’t take democracy for granted.
Neutrality is not passive: Dr Anwar Gargash explains the UAE’s diplomatic stance
The adviser to the UAE president explains how Abu Dhabi earned the trust to host conversations between Washington, Moscow and Kyiv.
Amid heightened geopolitical tensions, the World Governments Summit is a masterclass in soft power
The World Governments Summit (WGS) is taking place this week at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. The annual gathering has become one of the most packed fixtures on the diplomatic calendar, with attendees including…
A look inside Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter: A community of political transients
Embassy staff are used to postings around the world but in Riyadh, they live alongside government ministers in the Diplomatic Quarter district. We pass the security checkpoints to meet its residents.
Gulf states project an image of unity but a proxy media war tells a different story
Under normal circumstances, the Gulf monarchies are at pains to project an image of calm, cohesion and predictability. Disputes are managed quietly and disagreements smoothed over with summitry and ritual declarations of unity. But…
Last weekend’s events in Venezuela were a textbook US intervention. But how long can Trump stick to the script?
We've seen this all before, but is this president patient enough to stick to the playbook of interventionism seen in Panama and beyond?
Opinion
The Gulf is finally launching a unified tourist visa – but why did it take this long?
2 min read
Inside Hanaholmen, the secretive Nordic retreat where diplomats shape Europe’s future
On a small island off Helsinki is an institution where key political figures from Finland and Sweden meet to discuss geopolitical issues, in a space away from the pressurised corridors of power.
Monocle’s 2025 Soft Power Survey – who is quietly gaining or losing influence in a multipolar world
Which country’s cultural influence grew and whose slumped in the past 12 months? We take a look at six nations.
