January 19, 2021
Pompeo’s Departing Sabotage in Yemen
Imad K. Harb writes that Secretary Pompeo’s designation of Yemen’s Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization indicates foreign policy malfeasance and represents an act of sabotage. He contends that the decision promises dire consequences for...
Learn more »January 13, 2021
China’s Belt and Road Initiative and US Middle East Policy
Charles W. Dunne discusses China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as an ambitious venture that would boost the country’s political and economic influence around the world. He states that BRI’s shortcomings offer an opportunity to...
Learn more »January 13, 2021
Kurdish Dilemmas in Syria
Gregory Aftandilian writes that the Syrian Kurds were pleased that Joe Biden was elected president of the United States. However, he contends that the Kurds’ goal of autonomy in a federated Syria is unlikely to...
Learn more »January 12, 2021
The arrogance of invoking ‘Syria’ or ‘Bogota’ as political violence in the U.S. unfolds
Our foreign affairs conversation has become so dominated by the association of political violence with the Middle East that we are almost incapable of conceptualizing one separate from the other
Learn more »January 11, 2021
Al-Ula GCC Summit Ends the Blockade of Qatar
Three and a half years after the crisis that struck the core of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the 41st GCC summit, held on January 5, 2021 in the Saudi Arabian city of al-Ula, brought the...
Learn more »January 11, 2021
The GCC Reconciliation: An Assessment
After three and a half years, the Gulf Cooperation Council crisis of 2017 has finally come to an end. Disputants have signed a “solidarity and stability” accord that restores diplomatic relations between them and lifts...
Learn more »January 08, 2021
As 2021 Begins, Rival Populisms Menace Tunisia’s Democracy
Daniel Brumberg examines how the slow disenchantment with democracy in Tunisia is encouraging the rise of competing populist trends. He details the behavior of President Kais Saied and the leaders of both Islamist and secular...
Learn more »January 07, 2021
Saudi Arabia Ends the GCC Crisis
Imad K. Harb reprises reasons for the resolution of the GCC crisis at this time, since its original causes have not been satisfactorily addressed. He writes that Saudi King Salman shepherded an agreement to prepare...
Learn more »