Nowadays, Islam is gaining popularity in everyday life in North Caucasus. The Islamic revival that started with the collapse of the Soviet Union has led to a rapid Islamization of the society and has provided a fertile ground for political Islam as well. The language of political Islam is used extensively and in various forms, with local authorities and the religious opposition both deriving their arguments from Islam. Hence, in North Caucasus Islamic discourse unfolds on various levels, from Ramzan Kadyrov’s “official state” Islam in Chechnya up to the radical salafi-jihadi Islamism espoused first by the Caucasus Emirate and, more recently, by ISIS affiliates.

The way the Arab and Muslim people in the region react to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)reveals the boundaries of the Islamic State (IS) identity formation. Even though ISIS aspires to supplant other religious, Arab and national identities, in reality the IS cannot unshackle itself from these identities.

Although a thorough analysis of the political situation in the Horn of Africa needs to take Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Yemen, Kenya, Somaliland and Puntland, as well as colonial history into consideration, this article will merely stress the recent developments in Somali government reconstruction and the end of the civil war in a background of ensuing Islamic militancy present in the whole of East Africa.

Last year’s events have caused a domino effect in the region of the Middle East and the developments could not have left the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan unaffected. The impact of these events became apparent both on the domestic issues and on the relations of the Kingdom with other states and actors. To some extent the developments in Jordan resembled those in the rest of the Arab World. On the total, though, Jordan’s case is different.

Three main factors seem to affect the stance of Iran towards the wave of uprisings that have shaken the Arab world since January. The first is the ideological paradigm of the Islamic revolution while the second comprises the real strategic possibilities for Iran to exploit the situation and gain pre-eminence in the region. The last factor is the internal political situation, which has demonstrated that the regime is not immune to similar popular upheavals.

Away from the spotlight on the Arab revolutions, trouble is brewing in Pakistan, as a multitude of internal challenges threaten the stability of the state. Rising radicalization and Islamization of society has been encouraged by poor governance, misallocation of state resources, insecurity, a failing economy, and low development levels. Pakistan’s strategic importance to the region, to the war in Afghanistan, and in the fight against terrorism renders it an essential asset to Western powers, and a state that cannot be allowed to fail.

Όπως κάθε γεγονός, η Αραβική Άνοιξη έχει αφήσει πολλούς κερδισμένους και πολλούς χαμένους. Από τους περιφερειακούς παίκτες όμως, ποιοι κερδίζουν και ποιοι χάνουν; Θα προσπαθήσω να απαντήσω στην ερώτηση, μιλώντας κυρίως για την περίπτωση της Συρίας η οποία βρίσκεται στην κρισιμότερη ίσως καμπή της σύγχρονης ιστορίας της.