The murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the future of Middle East politics

The murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent journalist of Saudi nationality, has caused a grave fracture in global and regional politics in terms of both its method and its impact. The respected journalist who was accepted in the intellectual circles particularly in the United States (U.S.) was killed in Turkey, at the compound of the consulate of his own country. The killing of Khashoggi has thrusted Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the U.S. to the center of the global agenda. From the beginning, Turkey ensured by its strategy that the incident took an international dimension, and thus exerted serious pressure on the administrations of both Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Ankara aims to bring the incident to full light and ensure the punishment of those responsible in the shortest term, and is using all of its means to that end.

Eighteen days after the incident, the Saudi Government announced that Khashoggi died during a brawl at the consulate and that a group of Saudi intelligence agents were the responsible party. It was implied in the statement that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had nothing to do with the murder; this caused the reactions of experts and analysts who are closely following the case. The international community, unsatisfied with this announcement, took steps in the presence of both the U.S. and Turkey, and demanded the revelation of the identities of those who ordered the killing of Khashoggi. Every passing day, a new development occurs regarding the incident. Apparently, it will continue to set the agenda of Middle Eastern politics in the upcoming period. This analysis examines the details of Khashoggi’s heinous murder, the reactions of international actors to the incident, and its possible implications in Middle Eastern politics. The analysis also discusses the developments, in the above context, since October 2, the day Khashoggi walked into the consulate building..