Centre for Muslim States and Societies

The Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan fiascos are a powerful reminder of the moral lapses and human tragedies that the US and some of its allies were responsible for in those countries.

Serious questions are raised about the ability and efficacy of the Russian military under Vladimir Putin in comparison to the forces his Soviet predecessors commanded during the Afghan war.

The Ukraine crisis has confronted three Middle Eastern countries—Turkey, Israel and Iran—as well as India, with serious policy quandaries.

Oil and gas prices can be expected to soar worldwide in the years ahead

Lebanon is in a dire situation. It is in a most difficult phase of its evolution as an independent state since the mid-1940s.

The Afghanistan debacle has shaken many of America’s allies around the world, making them wonder about the US’s reliability as a partner.

The diplomatic tug-of-war between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States over restoration of the Iran nuclear agreement seems almost perennial.

A number of variables underpin US failure in Afghanistan. But the most salient ones are three that also explain America’s Vietnam fiasco and the Soviet Union’s Afghanistan debacle.

President Donald Trump set in motion the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan by sealing the flawed February 2020 peace agreement with the Taliban. But the way Biden has handled the departure stands to be more catastrophic.

Professor Samina Yasmeen, Director at the Centre for Muslim States and Societies, talks to ABC News on the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan and the implications to the region.

UWA Adjunct Professor Amin Saikal writes in The Strategist on The Taliban’s return and America’s strategic setback

Congratulations to Dr Carol Kaplanian who won the 2020 Churchill Fellowship at Government House in Perth, WA. Dr Kaplanian completed a PhD at The University of Western Australia with The Centre for Muslim States and Societies under Director, Dr Samina Yasmeen.

Prof Amin Saikal AM on Trump’s perilous approach to Afghanistan for ASPI's The Strategist

Professor Amin Saikal AM writes in The Strategist on the potential for regional stability with Biden's departure from Trump's 'divide and rule' approach.

Rory Hewson joins the growing list of keen CMSS interns. Rory is interested in the role of religion in shaping the foreign policies of Muslim majority states.

Winston Twigg joins the CMSS team as an intern. Winston is completing a Bachelor of Commerce at UWA and is interested in deradicalization.

Trump’s accelerated Middle East policy actions, when combined with making peace with America’s past ‘terrorist’ enemy, the Taliban, to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, are more geared towards enabling Trump to score domestically than marking the dawn of peace in the region. They are bound to deepen hostile lines between the US and its allies on one side and Iran and its supporters on the other.

Prof Amin Saikal AM for ASPI writing on the domestic & geopolitical drivers of the USA & Israel's peace deals with Bahrain & the UAE as painful for Palestine's cause & pushing Iran further away

Eliza is a UWA Pol-Sci & IR Undergraduate. Eliza is interested in marginalised groups and social justice issues. Eliza's research interests lie in the exploration and explanation of the radicalisation of Islamic women in both Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority nations

Parisa is a Ph.D. candidate in International Relations at Murdoch University with a focus on Iranian American relations after the Islamic Revolution. Parisa studied both B.A and M.A at the University of Tehran in Political Science and Global Studies (British Studies). Parisa's M.A thesis was based on the Coverage of the Iraq war in the British media particularly the Guardian newspaper. Parisa's interests are Middle East studies, Islamic studies, and Iranian politics

"the memory of 9/11 should warn us not to be complacent about the need for a viable world order that can lift us out of the geopolitical and ideological conflicts in favour of shared human values."

Prof Amin Saikal AM, writing in The Strategist, discusses the dangers and geopolitical implications of the recent and ongoing Turkish-Greek dispute over natural gas

Prof Amin Saikal AM, writing in The Strategist, considers the various prospects of a political settlement after a US withdrawal from Afghanistan

Prof Amin Saikal AM writes about the many factors confounding Lebanon's fragile state and society during this recent crisis.

Ella is an undergraduate student in her final semester of her Bachelor’s degree, majoring in Marketing, and Political Science and International Relations. Ella’s interest areas include the politics of Africa, the politics of Islamic states, and Australia’s engagement with developing nations in the Asia Pacific.

CMSS Director Dr Samina Yasmeen highlighting women in a guest spot discussion about their cultural and economic relationship to gold on Pakistan's Indus News.

James is an Honours student researching the role Pope Francis plays as a facilitator of interfaith dialogue, specifically his travels to the Middle East

CMSS Director Dr Samina Yasmeen discusses recent tensions over religious pluralism in Pakistan between Islam and Hinduism

The CMSS is proud to welcome Dr Alexander E. Davis to the CMSS. His current research projects look at India’s borderlands, particularly the Indian Ocean and the Himalaya.

The Director of the Centre for Muslim States and Societies congratulates this year’s winner of Joan Trevelyan Prize in Women in Muslim States and Societies, Sarah Myers. The Prize is awarded to the student enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) with the highest mark in an honours dissertation in the area of Women in Muslim States and Societies

James is an Honours student working on Australia’s bilateral Strategic Partnerships with Indonesia and Vietnam. He has worked as an electrical communications technician, copywriter, journalist and research assistant in Australia, Vietnam and Indonesia, respectively

Professor Amin Saikal AM, discusses the key factors driving structural instability and insecurity in Libya.

The Centre for Muslim States and Societies is pleased to announce that Professor Amin Saikal AM, a member of the Advisory Group for the CMSS, has been appointed as Adjunct Professor in School of Social Sciences. He will be actively involved in the research, supervision and community engagement undertaken at the CMSS. As an internationally renowned scholar of the Middle East and the Gulf region, Professor Saikal has written numerous books, journal articles and played a pivotal role in shaping policies towards the countries of the region.

Professor Amin Saikal AM, discusses how US-China competition is becoming an increasing source of instability for the geopolitics of the Persian Gulf.

Dr Azim Zahir explains how ISIS supporters in the Maldives may be exploiting coronavirus pandemic after ISIS claims responsibility for its first attack in the country

Dr Azim Zahir talks to the ABC on radicalisation in the Maldives and the stabbing of three foreigners.