This paper provides a commentary on the value of knowledge in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The semantics of knowledge provides the backdrop to the paper. The paper also dwells on the characteristics of the contemporary economy powered by knowledge and the frameworks that govern and manage it. The role that information and communication technologies have played in facilitating the knowledge management paradigms in recent decades is highlighted before...

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A consensus has grown among experts and policymakers that emerging technologies have the potential to change the character of war. Indeed, rapid advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, data processing, quantum computing, and other emerging technologies seem to be taken warfare into new and unexpected directions. As with previous era of rapid progress in science and technology, military organizations will be expected to evolve, adapt, and innovate in order to maintain...

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Abstract Education is a global endeavor, bringing governments and the private sector together to provide education across the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors. However, education provision, funding, and status vary and are subject to increasing global inequity and opportunity. The global Covid pandemic has shone a light on education, highlighting weaknesses in the sector and the ability of some educationalists to change practice for the better in a concise time...

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Assessing Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office is by no means a definitive judgment of his administration. It sheds some light on where his administration is heading. The grace period for an incoming president, commonly referred to as the ‘honeymoon period,’ has now come to an end. Biden had pledged to return the office of the presidency to the status that it enjoyed before his predecessor took office. Many...

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Abstract This study aims to enable readers outside the United States to better understand Washington DC’s events on January 6, 2021. The invasion of the US Capitol Building with the intent to force legislators to reject the electoral college delegates is unprecedented in American history. It opens with a brief introduction describing the attack followed by explanations of the primary ideological strands that motivated the protestors: American populism, conspiratorialism, and...

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This book offers a detailed review of Covid-19 pandemic, its impact on the world and the global efforts to develop effective vaccines against the virus. There has been a competitive race between countries and pharmaceutical companies to create a vaccine to end this pandemic. This raises a debate about the true intentions behind this race: Is it for profit, political influence or for recognition? The book presents the most important...

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Various efforts by US lawmakers and the executive during the Trump administration to move toward technological decoupling with China betray a deep-rooted and pathological misunderstanding of how the global technology industry works. They also risk backfiring on five counts. First, it is too little too late. If the United States was serious about policing what it refers to as China’s “innovation mercantilism,” it should have taken steps in this direction...

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Introduction The inequalities saddling many countries today, including income, health, gender, wealth, and opportunity, stem from different, multifaceted root causes. For this paper’s purpose, the use of inequality will be largely about economic inequality. Global inequality matters as social, political, and economic factors have created environments so unequally divided and skewed that many believe it to be society’s organic nature if there is any at all. Assuming that society is...

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Since the announcement of the US presidential election results, on November 3, 2020, the US and international political circles started discussing US domestic and foreign policies. During the electoral campaign, Biden had relentlessly rejected Trump’s approach on some foreign policy issues. He also declared his intention to reverse his decisions, which harmed US interests. Speculation was rife over Biden’s approach to the Middle East after demonstrating his willingness to take...

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The most important source of sustainable economic growth in advanced economies is homegrown innovation, underlain by high allocations of resources to research and development. The Gulf economies realize this and have set out economic visions that target improving homegrown innovation as part of a transition to a knowledge economy. However at present, the Gulf economies realize low levels of homegrown innovation and technological advancement, indicating the need for further reforms....

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Much has been said about the military modernization and expansion of the armed forces of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in recent years. Central to this is the growth of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) fleet and its increased tempo of operations in contested areas such as the Taiwan Strait and the East and South China Seas. But most concerning for the US Navy and American policy planners...

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This book presents original research by TRENDS Research & Advisory aimed at enriching understanding of the Covid-19 crisis and highlighting the pandemic’s many significant consequences. This compilation’s main objective is to aid the global community in devising effective policies and strategies to help address and overcome the many challenges posed by the effects of the crisis and its implications. On both the geostrategic level and in terms of sectoral impacts...

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The scale of the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy has not been witnessed since the Great Depression. Isolation measures, implemented across the globe to contain the virus, confined hundreds of millions of people into their homes, bringing economic activities to a standstill. This crisis has impacted the oil and gas industry in an unprecedented manner. A massive decline in oil demand and a large oversupply,...

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Abstract The Coronavirus pandemic has had a severe impact on the member states of the European Union (EU). In addition to the health impact, the Union’s economies will fall into recession as a result of the lockdown and other measures taken to contain the virus. After an uncertain initial reaction, the EU’s main institutions have coordinated deliveries of medical aid and provided a substantial financial package to assist the recovery...

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Abstract China’s immediate and future role in global affairs in post-pandemic times is an extension of its engagement in global issues before the Covid-19 outbreak. This role is enhanced by an urgent need for new voices in global affairs that emphasize dialogue and cooperation based on global standards. Covid-19 has exposed a deficit in the Western liberal order. A lack of collaboration and lack of leadership in fighting the pandemic...

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Executive Summary The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the global financial system severely causing a sharp decline in the financial markets since early March 2020. These conditions have been accompanied by a steep drop in oil prices due to the collapse of OPEC+ agreement and expectations of the US economy entering into a recession. The pandemic has caused a sharp decline in stock prices and indices and increased price volatility. Risk...

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This book examines the guiding philosophy behind the Muslim Brotherhood’s establishment of the Special Apparatus. The Brotherhood has often used the Apparatus to mislead governments and to ensure the Group’s leaders retain control over its activities. The book also sheds light on several significant findings suggesting that the Special Apparatus is the Muslim Brotherhood’s military arm. It indicates that the Apparatus started based on “the pledge of allegiance” as a...

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The organizational structure of Muslim Brotherhood Group (MBH), including its institutional and administrative units, has an exceptional importance for MBH leaders. It is considered the main tool to manifest the principles and ideas of the group in reality, on one hand. On the other hand, it is the tool to implement its political project towards capturing power of the state, and empowering the group in the whole society. Since its...

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The Muslim Brotherhood is a phenomenon worthy of investigation given its geographical reach and the depth of its social and political influence, not only in the Arab and Muslim regions, but throughout the whole world. An analytical view of the historical circumstances surrounding the Group's emergence in Egypt is key to understanding the factors that have shaped its followers, its ideological vision and its tools of change. An examination of...

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The threat posed by extremism and terrorism is no longer limited to a country or region. Extremist organizations working across borders do not spare anyone while carrying out their operations. The complexity of the threat is reflected, one way or another, in the nature of strategies adopted by countries to address these phenomena. The UAE has been at the forefront of efforts to tackle this problem: efforts made by various...

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The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was announced by the Chinese government in 2013. This grand project aims to improve international cooperation across regions and continents, linking together more than 60 countries through both maritime (the “belt”) and terrestrial (“the road”) routes of trade, finance, infrastructure, energy, communication, and investment. By examining the BRI’s economic geography and architecture, it is possible to assess the project’s overall objectives. BRI’s geography stretches...

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The US was right to pull out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran Deal, in order to re-orientate thinking and action towards Iran. The Iran Deal was necessary to curb Iran’s development of nuclear weapons, as well as being a step towards limiting Iran’s actions in destabilizing regional and international peace and security. However, it appears that neither objective has been met in...

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Since Chinese leader Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, Beijing’s policy has been to work for a new type of globalization and a new community of shared human destiny. As an example, the country is pushing forward the Belt and Road Initiative or One Belt One Road (OBOR) mainly in the Eurasian continent to promote investment in infrastructure. China is also proposing new concepts of international relations and global...

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Political organizations often play with history. Terrorist groups are, of course, organizations with political agendas and it should come as no surprise that the use and abuse of history as a tool also applies to Salafi-Jihadist terrorist groups. Islamic State (IS) largely ignores or distorts the period of more than thirteen centuries of Islamic history since the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Propaganda based on this period illustrates how...

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Following the defeat of Islamic State (IS), it is important to think of post-conflict priorities for several reasons. Leaving cities demolished or destabilized in Iraq and Syria risks several detrimental possibilities. The most dangerous of these would be for IS to regroup, re-strategize, and return to its former strongholds by filling the vacuum in the destroyed cities. A lack of basic resources, food and employment could lead to the community’s...

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According to the World Economic Forum, the top five international security threats are large-scale involuntary migration, extreme weather events, failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation, interstate conflict with regional consequences and major natural catastrophes. Efforts to develop Global Water Governance (GWG) have been hindered by problems with the two existing GWG frameworks: the Nexus Approach and Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), which for several reasons do not offer an...

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The Gulf states have entered a period of unprecedented uncertainty when the three key pillars underpinning the region’s stability and development appear less dependable than in the past. To overcome these multiple challenges the GCC will need to re-examine the bases of its domestic, regional and global policies. Faced with all these potential extra sources of oil-supply, and the possibility of future cyclical sharp increases and dips in global oil...

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Reports of armed conflicts around the world have become a familiar headline on the television, in the newspapers and online. Much of the reporting includes the impact that violence and war have on children, often containing graphic images of children in horrendous circumstances. For example, images of child soldiers holding large guns in Sierra Leone, or cold and frightened children  that are fleeing from the fighting in Syria on inflatable...

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Recent initiatives by the Saudi government and other GCC governments clearly demonstrate the need for economic diversification in the region. Fluctuating oil prices and the growing youth demographic in the region have given a new impetus to efforts to develop new economic sectors. The Gulf is already producing highly educated, highly skilled graduates for the government, the professions and the service sector. Vocational training will also be necessary if a...

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In spite of its effectiveness at removing terrorists from the battlefield, terrorist organizations powerfully use the civilian deaths that US drone strikes cause to recruit new members and gain popular support. Ultimately the US government will need to make its targeted killing program more transparent to demonstrate to audiences in the West, and where these strikes occur, the care it undertakes to avoid civilian casualties. Though this transparency may never...

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The shifting contours of the global order since the late 1990s and early 2000s intersected with changes to the very concepts of power and influence. Joseph Nye has defined ‘soft power’ as the ability to appeal to and persuade others using the attractiveness of a country’s culture, political ideals, and policies. For states, the employment of soft power means getting other states to work towards desired mutual outcomes through co-option...

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With regards to Libya, French interests center on stabilizing the fragmented situation that has existed in the country since the fall of the Qaddafi regime in 2011. Along with other international actors, Paris is deeply concerned about the danger of a terrorist haven emerging on the southern shore of the Mediterranean. France is also concerned about the danger of a spillover of insurgency into the Sahel after Tuareg fighters employed...

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Controlling oil fields does not automatically bring gain to terrorist groups such as Islamic State (IS) if the oil can only be sold illegally in the market place. Given that there is a black market for stolen crude, it is instructive to examine how these illegal methods, which can involve unwitting legitimate companies, terrorist affiliates and other entities are involved in the trade in the cases of Turkey and Mexico....

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Terrorist organizations seek to use children in combat situations due to a range of motives, including their inexpensive and undemanding recruitment and the strategic aim of indoctrinating children to ensure the longevity of the organization. In conflict zones and failed states, the illegal use of children for military operations has generated a growing problem that increasingly poses a significant security threat. The employment of children is also calculated to reinforce...

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This essay in the terrorism futures series will highlight the emergence of fifth dimensional battlespace, its implications for both the conduct of terrorism and counterterrorism operations, and, to some extent, interactions with terrorist disruptive targeting capabilities. Additionally, the larger civilizational context in which a dynamic yet little recognized terrorism and counterterrorism ‘fifth dimensional capabilities race’ that is taking place will be highlighted. While initially this concept may seem abstract, the...

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