• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Richard Sokolsky"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "North America",
    "United States",
    "Middle East",
    "Saudi Arabia",
    "Gulf"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

Time to Get Tough on Saudi Arabia

The United States has significant leverage over Saudi Arabia; it just needs the political will to use it.

Link Copied
By Richard Sokolsky
Published on Jan 6, 2016
Program mobile hero image

Program

Middle East

The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

Learn More

Source: Foreign Affairs

Saudi Arabia’s execution last week of a prominent Saudi Shiite cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, for peacefully protesting the kingdom’s discriminatory anti-Shiite policies has escalated sectarian tensions in the Middle East and plunged Saudi-Iranian relations to a new low. The rupture in diplomatic ties between the two countries could worsen the conflicts in Syria and Yemen and complicate efforts to end them; it could also undercut the U.S.-led campaign against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (also known as ISIS) in Syria and Iraq...

This article was originally published by Foreign Affairs.

Read Full Text

About the Author

Richard Sokolsky

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program

Richard Sokolsky is a nonresident senior fellow in Carnegie’s Russia and Eurasia Program. His work focuses on U.S. policy toward Russia in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.

    Recent Work

  • Paper
    Russia’s National Security Narrative: All Quiet on the Eastern Front
      • Eugene Rumer

      Eugene Rumer, Richard Sokolsky

  • Commentary
    Putin’s War Against Ukraine and the Balance of Power in Europe
      • Eugene Rumer

      Eugene Rumer, Richard Sokolsky

Richard Sokolsky
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program
Richard Sokolsky
Political ReformForeign PolicyNorth AmericaUnited StatesMiddle EastSaudi ArabiaGulf

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Research
    Book Review of Enduring Hostility: The Making of America’s Iran Policy

    A review of a detailed account of how antipathy toward Tehran has assumed a life and logic of its own in Washington, DC.

      • Jane Darby Menton

      Jane Darby Menton

  • Turkish President and Leader of the Justice and Development (AK) Party Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the AK Party Ankara Branch gathering at ATO Congresium in Ankara, Turkiye on June 22, 2026
    Paper
    The Dual Imperative in Turkish Foreign Policy: Right-Wing Populists and Their Opposition

    Turkish right-wing populists have been trying to advance the country’s middle-power goals based on perceptions of what the public wants, but they have been doing so in ways that reinforce their project of autocratic political consolidation.

      • Murat Somer

      Murat Somer

  • De la Espriella moving through a crowd and smiling
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Trump Can Play Kingmaker in Latin America. He Can’t Build Lasting Influence.

    In Colombia and elsewhere in the region, the United States is trying to shape election outcomes—but at what cost?

      Oliver Stuenkel, Adrian Feinberg

  • Aerial view of Yemeni refugee tents displaced by war
    Article
    In Yemen, Climate Finance Must Respond to Entrenched Instability

    The world’s climate adaptation funds must adapt to address the ways that climate change is deepening state fragility.

      Ray Salvatore Jennings, Paul Andrew Mayewski

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Iran War Fallout Gifts Putin Diplomatic Victory at ASEAN Summit

    Russia looks set to reap economic benefits from closer ties with Southeast Asian countries that are keen to find reliable energy suppliers and diversify trade ties.

      • Alexander Gabuev

      Alexander Gabuev

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.