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- Policy AnalysisSyriaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs
Refugees Return to Syria: Challenges and Uncertainties
Aug 1, 2025Heba GowayedGlobally the human displacement crisis has reached unprecedented heights, with one in every 67 people forced from their homes. During its 14 long years of civi…
- ViewpointSyriaIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
The Clashes in al-Suwayda: New Possibilities and Old Ghosts in Syria
Jul 31, 2025Rami G. KhouriThe July 2025 violence in southern Syria’s al-Suwayda region that killed 600 people and displaced thousands more traces its origins back to April 2025, when Su…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptEnergy and Economics
Sisi’s Foreign Policy Fails to Obscure Egypt’s Festering Economic Problems
Jul 23, 2025Gregory AftandilianAlthough Egypt’s economy has seen several improvements over the past year, namely a fall in the inflation rate and an infusion of external financing, it is sti…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelIsraeli War Tactics and Genocide
Starved, Ruined, and Displaced: What’s Next for Gaza?
Jul 18, 2025Mohammed SamhouriIn recent weeks, two significant developments have dominated the news from Gaza. One is the daily deadly violence surrounding the operations of the new Gaza Hu…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaUS Foreign Policy
Lifting US Sanctions on Syria: A New Chapter for Damascus and Beirut?
Jul 18, 2025Patricia KaramIn a May 13, 2025, speech in Riyadh, President Donald Trump surprised the world by pledging to lift all US sanctions on Syria. Trump’s unexpected announcement …
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Palestine and the Middle East After the Iran-Israel war
Jul 15, 2025Rami G. KhouriThe Middle East in recent months has witnessed multiple military and ideological confrontations. Historic changes in regional power balances signal new strateg…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
A Trump-Netanyahu New Middle East?
Jul 9, 2025Nabeel A. KhouryThe Trump administration and the right-wing government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been following a roadmap toward their own version of a…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Trump Must Push for a Gaza Ceasefire Without Indulging Netanyahu’s Iran Strategy
Jul 7, 2025Daniel BrumbergWe may never, or at least not anytime soon, know definitively how much of Iran's nuclear program Israel and the United States destroyed. But even if the attack…
- Policy AnalysisTunisiaDemocracy and Governance
Repression and Judicial Struggles in Kais Saied’s Tunisia
Jul 3, 2025The Unit for Political StudiesAlmost four years into President Kais Saied’s imposition of one-man-rule in Tunisia, his effort pivots around a process of “executive aggrandizement” that is d…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Israel-Iran Confrontation Tests Saudi Arabia’s Quest for Neutrality
Jul 2, 2025The Unit for Political StudiesOvernight on June 21-22, American military aircraft launched strikes on three nuclear facilities inside Iran, most notably the fortified Fordow plant. To reach…
- Policy AnalysisIranConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The GCC States and the US-Iran Dance Near the Abyss
Jul 2, 2025Kristian Coates UlrichsenYears of shadowboxing and increasingly direct skirmishing between Israel and Iran erupted into 12 days of conflict that began in the early hours of June 13 and…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
Syrian Kurds Attempt to Maneuver Amid New Realities
Jun 27, 2025Gregory AftandilianSyrian Kurds face new realities that have put their experiment in autonomy in serious doubt. Although in March 2025 they signed an agreement with the new Syria…
- Research PaperPalestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics
The Shifting Sands of European Diplomacy: The EU’s Evolving Alignment with Israel
Jun 24, 2025Isabel RuckAbstractThis paper examines the evolution of the European Union's (EU) foreign policy stance toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, specifically focusing on …
- Policy AnalysisIranUS Foreign Policy
Perspectives on the US Attack on Iran and Its Repercussions
Jun 23, 2025Charles W. Dunne Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Tamara Kharroub Assal Rad Annelle Sheline Kristian Coates UlrichsenAfter waiting for a week following Israel’s June 13 attack on Iran, US President Donald Trump decided to involve the United States directly in the Israeli-Iran…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelIsraeli War Tactics and Genocide
Hunger in Gaza and the Ongoing Weaponization of Aid
Jun 20, 2025Yara M. Asi“Hunger slowly crushes you. It feels like dying alone in a desert that no foot has ever touched. I cannot sleep properly or sit still long enough to read. I fe…
- ViewpointIranUS Foreign Policy
President Trump’s Iran War
Jun 20, 2025Yousef MunayyerAs the smoke rises above Iran and Israel after waves of Israeli airstrikes and Iranian retaliation, only one thing is immediately clear: President Donald Trump…
- ViewpointIranUS Foreign Policy
Political Divisions Over Israel’s Iran Attack Highlight Tough Choices for Trump
Jun 19, 2025Charles W. DunneIsrael’s attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities and an ever-expanding list of targets has exposed fundamental disagreements among Americans over support for Isr…
- Policy AnalysisTurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Turkey’s Repositioning in the Middle East’s Emerging Order
Jun 17, 2025Salim ÇevikThe Middle East has undergone a profound upheaval following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and the fall of the Assad regime in Syria in December 2…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance
The Significance of Hussein al-Sheikh’s Appointment as PLO Vice President
Jun 17, 2025Rami G. KhouriWhen Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appointed Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), he sent many signals to …
- ViewpointIranUS Foreign Policy
Israel’s Iran Assault Has Created a Crisis for Which Trump Is Not Prepared
Jun 16, 2025Daniel BrumbergOver the last 18 months, Iran quadrupled its stock of 60 percent enriched uranium. Yet however “successful,” this effort was fraught with danger for the Islami…
- ViewpointIranUS Foreign Policy
The 2025 Israel-Iran War: The American Dimension
Jun 16, 2025Khalil E. JahshanFor the past three decades as a political figure, Benjamin Netanyahu has been obsessed with Iran’s perceived existential threat to Israel, particularly its eme…
- Policy AnalysisUS Foreign Policy
Trump’s Cuts Badly Affect Promoting International Democracy and Human Rights
Jun 16, 2025Charles W. DunneThe Trump administration’s swift demolition of key governmental and government-funded institutions promoting democracy abroad is a clear attack not just on imp…
- Policy AnalysisYemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Yemen’s Houthi Movement Reconsidered
Jun 12, 2025Nabeel A. KhouryIn January 2019, this author posed the question, “can one make peace with the Houthis of Yemen?” In the six years since, the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah…
- From our AffiliatesPalestine/IsraelThe War on Gaza
Transformations in European Attitudes toward the Genocidal War on Gaza
Jun 4, 2025The Unit for Political StudiesRecent weeks have seen a remarkable shift in European policy on Gaza. After more than 18 months of support for, silence on, or, at the very least, turning a bl…
- ViewpointLebanonSecurity and Defense
The Prickly Issue of Disarming Palestinian Factions in Lebanon
Jun 4, 2025Imad K. HarbLebanese President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recently reached an agreement to regulate the presence of armed Palestinian factions in …
- Policy AnalysisLevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
Israel’s Justice System and the Genocidal War on Gaza
May 30, 2025Nareman Shehadeh-ZoabiIntroductionDespite attempts to portray it as liberal, many consider the justice system in Israel to be part of Israel’s illiberal political system. This is b…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelIsraeli War Tactics and Genocide
Israel’s New Gaza Food Plan: Military-Directed Starvation
May 30, 2025Jonathan KuttabOn May 5, 2025, Israel announced that it had reversed its position on prohibiting all food and other humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, and is launching a ne…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy
Will Trump’s Gulf Trip Exacerbate or Mitigate the Arab World’s Three Plagues?
May 22, 2025Rami G. KhouriThe lasting effects of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf region may only become clear in the year ahead, making any suggestions of profound changes…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
Deals Without Guarantees: Trump’s Gulf Visit and the Future of US–Saudi Relations
May 22, 2025The Unit for Political StudiesOn May 13, US President Donald Trump began a four-day tour of Gulf countries, during which he traveled to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UA…
- Policy AnalysisYemenUS Foreign Policy
Implications of the US-Houthi Ceasefire Deal
May 21, 2025Gregory AftandilianPresident Donald Trump’s surprise announcement on May 6 of a ceasefire deal with Yemen’s Houthis—in which the militant group pledged not to target American shi…
- Intern CornerPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Occupation Funded, Development Denied: How American Aid Cuts Affect the West Bank
May 16, 2025Adriana HashemOn his first day back in the White House, President Donald Trump made his opening moves to dismantle the fiscal and ideological foundations of American foreign…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
Resumption of Beirut Port Blast Investigation Offers Lebanon New Hope
May 15, 2025Patricia KaramNearly five years after the devastating explosion at the Port of Beirut that killed some 220 people, injured some 7,000, and left a large portion of the city i…
- ViewpointSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
President Trump Does Business in Saudi Arabia
May 13, 2025Imad K. HarbIn front of a packed hall hosting an investment forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, US President Donald Trump spoke of an ironclad American-Saudi relationship that …
- ViewpointIranUS Foreign Policy
Already Focused on Iran, Congress Looks at a New Phase in US-Iran Relations
May 9, 2025Ethan Mayer-RichLawmakers returned to Washington after a short break away from the Capitol. Their two-week recess coincided with major developments in the Middle East. The Uni…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance
Has Netanyahu’s Government Become More Cohesive and Stable?
May 8, 2025Mtanes ShihadehIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has worked in recent weeks to put his government coalition in order, reintegrating Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and h…
- Policy AnalysisIranUS Foreign Policy
Changing GCC Outlook Toward US-Iran Talks
May 7, 2025Kristian Coates UlrichsenLeaders of the six GCC states have worked assiduously since 2021 to repair and rebuild ties with Iran as part of a ‘de-risking’ strategy designed to take the s…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelIsraeli War Tactics and Genocide
Israeli Practices in the Occupied West Bank: A Prelude to Annexation
May 7, 2025Jonathan KuttabWhile world attention has focused on the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip for the past year and a half, significant events in the occupied West Bank have gone les…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy
US Policy and Gulf Arab Interests: More Clash, Less Harmony
May 6, 2025Jim KraneGulf sovereign wealth funds are grappling with zig-zagging share valuations, while the falling oil price—compounded by a falling dollar—is throttling capital f…
- Policy AnalysisUS Foreign Policy
Restructuring the US Department of State: The De-prioritization of Human Rights?
May 2, 2025Annelle ShelineOn April 22, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a proposed “comprehensive reorganization plan” of the US Department of State. The information that he pos…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Israel’s False Paramedics Story Exemplifies Its Information War Against Palestinians
May 1, 2025Yara M. AsiOver the past 18 months, a seemingly unending stream of horrific stories has emerged from Gaza, publicized across social media and in humanitarian reports.Thes…
- Policy AnalysisUS Foreign Policy
One Hundred Days of Trump’s Foreign Policy: US Reputation and the World Order Take a Hit
Apr 29, 2025Charles W. DunneThe onslaught of US President Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy has surprised the world with its depth and ferocity.
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
Trump’s Upcoming Trip to Saudi Arabia Amid Regional Uncertainties
Apr 25, 2025Gregory AftandilianPresident Donald Trump plans to make Saudi Arabia the first country he will visit during his second term in office—after his visit to the Vatican to take part …
- ViewpointLebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Legacies of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 Civil War
Apr 25, 2025Imad K. HarbOn April 13, 2025, the Lebanese, to the day, commemorated the 50th anniversary of the start of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war that, with hindsight, can be seen …
- ViewpointLebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Lebanese Civil War in Iran’s Narrative of Resistance
Apr 25, 2025Assal RadAs Lebanon marks 50 years since the start of its devastating civil war of 1975-1990, it finds itself at another inflection point. Israel occupies parts of sout…
- Policy AnalysisIranUS Foreign Policy
Trump Might Go for a Nuclear Deal Without a Larger Middle East Strategy
Apr 22, 2025Daniel BrumbergOver the last week, Iran hardliners in Washington have issued dire warnings about the Trump administration’s launching of nuclear talks with Iran. Iranian lead…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelThe War on Gaza
A Calculus of Conflict: Netanyahu’s Political Survival Through Extended War
Apr 16, 2025Thair Abu RasAfter nearly two months of ceasefire, the Israeli government resumed its genocidal campaign in Gaza in March 2025. The Israeli government’s decision was not su…
- Policy AnalysisSudanConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Is Sudan Approaching a Resolution of Its Two-Year Crisis?
Apr 15, 2025Imad K. HarbSudan’s ‘war of the generals’ between the Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) …
- ViewpointEducation and Development
Where Are Our College Leaders? The Danger of Anticipatory Obedience in Higher Education
Apr 9, 2025Tariq HabashSince October 7, 2023, American colleges and universities have repeatedly found themselves at the center of escalating political pressure amid student activism…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Saudi Arabia’s Calculated Re-engagement in Syria and Lebanon
Apr 8, 2025Unit for Political StudiesOn March 28, the Syrian and Lebanese defense ministers signed an agreement in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, affirming the importance of demarcating borders between the…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaDemocracy and Governance
Challenges Facing Syria’s Constitutional Declaration
Apr 4, 2025Radwan ZiadehFollowing the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime on December 8, 2024, Syria’s new administration announced on January 29, 2025, the appointment of Ahmed al-Shara…
- ViewpointUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Special Elections: What They Portend
Apr 4, 2025Ethan Mayer-RichOn April 1, the United States closely followed special elections in Florida and Wisconsin. Under ordinary circumstances, an April election to fill two House se…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelUS Domestic Politics and Elections
The United States Is a Frontline in the Palestine vs. Israel Conflict
Apr 3, 2025Rami G. KhouriIn the past year—especially over the last two months—unprecedented developments in the Middle East and the United States have pulled the Palestinian struggle f…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelInternational Law
Denying Genocide through Terminological Hairsplitting
Apr 1, 2025Azmi BisharaGenocide is a denial of the right of existence of entire human groups, as homicide is the denial of the right to live of individual human beings; such denial o…
- Policy AnalysisTurkeyDemocracy and Governance
The Arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu: A Critical Turning Point in Turkey’s Politics
Mar 29, 2025Salim ÇevikTurkey's political landscape has undergone a dramatic shift with the recent arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's most form…
- Policy AnalysisLibyaConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Libya’s Deep Divisions Show No Sign of Abating
Mar 27, 2025Gregory AftandilianLibya has fallen off the international radar screen as other crises in the region—the Israel-Hamas and Israel-Hezbollah wars, the Sudanese civil war, and the c…
- Policy AnalysisIranUS Foreign Policy
Trump’s Impulse-Driven Middle East Policy Creates Dangers and Opportunities
Mar 27, 2025Daniel BrumbergA recent report by a pro-Israel think tank in Washington cautions against making any deal with Iran that does not provide for the total dismantlement of Tehran…
- Policy AnalysisYemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution
A Decade after the Saudi Military Intervention in Yemen: An Assessment
Mar 25, 2025Afrah NasserExactly a decade ago, Saudi Arabia announced the launch of a military intervention in Yemen, promising to lead a coalition of more than 10 nations—although som…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Does Trump Still Want to “Clean Out” the Gaza Strip?
Mar 25, 2025Khalil E. JahshanAs the January 15, 2025 ceasefire agreement that had brought limited calm to Gaza fell apart in early March when Israel resumed its air and land military onsla…
- Policy AnalysisUS Foreign Policy
What Trump’s Aid Cuts Mean for the Middle East and North Africa
Mar 21, 2025Amy HawthorneAlthough the Trump administration exempted Israel’s $3.3 billion and Egypt’s $1.3 billion in annual foreign military financing (FMF)—the majority of US assista…
- ViewpointSyriaDemocracy and Governance
Timeline of the Recent Sectarian Strife on Syria’s Coast
Mar 19, 2025Radwan ZiadehOn March 6, loyalists to Syria’s former President Bashar al-Assad attacked the new government’s troops in the coastal areas of Syria where Assad’s Alawite sect…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Israel’s Center-Right and Leftist Parties Have Always Supported Displacing Gaza’s Palestinians
Mar 12, 2025Mtanes ShihadehIntroductionDuring his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 4, US President Donald Trump announced a plan to displace the residen…
- Policy AnalysisTurkeyDemocracy and Governance
A New Phase in Turkey’s Kurdish Conflict: Ocalan’s Call and Its Implications
Mar 12, 2025Salim ÇevikOn February 27, 2025, Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), made a historic call, through a letter, for the organizatio…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Trump Sidesteps Congress, Giving Billions to Israel
Mar 7, 2025Ethan Mayer-RichFor the second time in six weeks, the Trump administration has bypassed Congress to send Israel billions of dollars of weaponry. Continued US military support …
- Policy AnalysisIraqEnergy and Economics
Geopolitical Dynamics Surrounding Iraq’s Ambitious Development Road Project
Mar 5, 2025Giorgio CafieroLeveraging its geography and resources to serve as an economic bridge between Asia and Europe is not a new concept for Iraq. In the 1980s, the country promoted…
- From our AffiliatesSecurity and Defense
The Beautification of War: Digital Communications, Public Indifference, Rebel Journalism, and Civilian Resistance in the Age of Meta Wars
Mar 3, 2025John KeaneDigital communications technologies are nowadays enabling not only frightening transformations of the modes and weapons of warfare but also, paradoxically, med…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptUS Foreign Policy
Trump’s Favorite Dictator Feels the Heat
Feb 28, 2025Imad K. HarbUS President Donald Trump appears to have developed different ideas about Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi upon whom he bestowed the moniker “favorite d…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
The Lessons from Gaza Manifest in the West Bank: Israel’s Escalating Threats to Palestinian Life
Feb 26, 2025Yara M. AsiPalestinian fatalities from Israeli military actions and settler violence have reached unprecedented heights since October 2023.
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelUS Domestic Politics and Elections
The Crackdown on Pro-Palestine Activism Intensifies in the United States
Feb 26, 2025Ethan Mayer-RichThe new Trump administration has made it clear that repressing pro-Palestine activism is a priority. Trump issued an executive order that the White House said …
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Recent Arab Moves Deserve Bold Follow-Up
Feb 21, 2025Rami G. KhouriFour key political actors in the Middle East have recently made surprising moves that offered hints of how Arab states and non-state actors can collectively en…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
Normalization and Displacement: Saudi Arabia and Trump’s Gaza Proposal
Feb 20, 2025The Unit for Political StudiesSaudi Arabia is deeply concerned about the risks that Trump’s Gaza project poses to Egypt and Jordan and are uneasy about repeated American and Israeli stateme…