By Dr Benjamin Houghton: This article was written on 18th June 2025. Amid a stark escalation in violence between Israel and Iran over the last week, Beijing has not been pushed too far out of its comfort zone. Ties with Israel have not been in the best of states for the last couple of years, with China making no secret of its disdain for Tel Aviv’s war on Gaza since October 2023. Relations with Iran have progressed with few substantial roadblocks in the same period. According

By Dr Kasia A. Houghton: When Bashar al-Assad’s regime finally collapsed a year ago on 8 th  December 2024, the world witnessed what many believed impossible: the end of one of the Middle East’s most enduring authoritarian dynasties. For the first time in more than a decade, diplomats dared to imagine a Syria no longer defined by stalemate, siege, and geopolitical paralysis. Over the course of the Syrian conflict the UNSC was divided over how to deal with al-Assad; often pa