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- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Middle East Leaders Contend with Strains in an Evolving Regional Entente
May 13, 2022Daniel BrumbergIn its unfolding bid to expand ties with Middle East governments, Israel must grapple with a basic challenge: how to ensure that events in the Palestinian-Isra…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Israel and the US Visa Waiver Program: Not a Done Deal
May 12, 2022Yousef MunayyerIsrael has long sought entry into the United States Visa Waiver Program (VWP) with limited success, despite years of efforts and the close strategic and bilate…
- ViewpointLebanonDemocracy and Governance
Lebanon’s Voters Would Do Well to Support the Forces of Change
May 10, 2022Imad K. HarbOn May 15, resident Lebanese go to the polls to elect a new 128-member parliament to replace the one elected four years ago. Given the right to vote in 2018, e…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Gulf Countries’ Aid to Egypt: It Is Politics, Not the Economy, Stupid!
May 5, 2022Khalil Al-AnaniOn April 4, 2022, Gulf Arab countries pledged $22 billion to help Egypt avert a currency crisis resulting from the Russian war on Ukraine. The Egyptian pound l…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Israel Is Stepping Closer to Controlling al-Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem
May 3, 2022Jonathan KuttabJonathan Kuttab examines the current conditions on Jerusalem’s al-Haram al-Sharif where Israeli authorities and settlers are trying to change the status quo go…
- Policy AnalysisIraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
Iraq’s Government Formation Hindered by Intra-Group Political Competitions
May 2, 2022Zeidon AlkinaniZeidon Alkinani argues that the current political deadlock in Iraq in choosing a president and a prime minister is fueled by intra-group competitions in the Sh…
- Policy AnalysisWomen & Gender Issues
Women at Work in the Arab World: Trends, Gaps, and Effects on the Region
Apr 27, 2022Yara M. AsiFor centuries, women have fought uphill and often overlooked battles to attain rights equal to those afforded to men—through books, songs and poetry, artwork, …
- Policy AnalysisThe Horn of AfricaEnergy and Economics
Horn of Africa’s Security Concerns and Economic Crises
Apr 27, 2022Gregory AftandilianThe current Russia-Ukraine crisis has overshadowed another troubled region of the world, namely the Horn of Africa, which encompasses Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti,…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaReligion and Politics
The Evolving Relationship Between Religion and Politics in Saudi Arabia
Apr 20, 2022Jon HoffmanSaudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MbS) rise to power has resulted in what are arguably some of the most significant political transformations …
- Policy AnalysisYemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution
A Ceasefire and a Presidential Council, but Uncertainties Abound in Yemen
Apr 18, 2022Imad K. HarbAnother chapter in Yemen’s domestic developments and regional entanglements seems to have begun, but with no assurances that it will have a happy ending. Follo…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
The Bennett Coalition Crisis in Israel
Apr 14, 2022Khalil E. JahshanThe abrupt resignation on April 6 of Idit Silman, a key member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Yamina Party and de facto whip for the Bennett-Lapid coaliti…
- Policy AnalysisTunisiaDemocracy and Governance
Kais Saied Continues His Assault on the Tunisian State
Apr 8, 2022Daniel BrumbergIt is difficult to say whether Tunisian President Kais Saied’s March 30 announcement that he is dissolving the country’s parliament represents a turning point …
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
A Month of Fasting…and Bracing in Jerusalem
Apr 7, 2022Yousef MunayyerRamadan, the Islamic holy month, is a cherished time for hundreds of millions across the globe, featuring fasting, reflection, recitation of religious verse, a…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptThe War in Ukraine
Russia’s War on Ukraine: Egypt’s Limited Room for Maneuver
Apr 6, 2022Khalil Al-AnaniThe Russian war on Ukraine will have significant impacts on countries in the Middle East, ranging from strategic realignments to energy security and food suppl…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
Key Messages from the Oppressed
Apr 6, 2022Dana El KurdIn the last few weeks, there has seen an uptick in armed attacks by Palestinians within the green line. From the Palestinian perspective, these attacks deliver…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelThe War in Ukraine
The Russian Invasion of Ukraine and International Law
Apr 1, 2022Jonathan KuttabSince its launching on February 24, the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has truly put different aspects of international law to the test. The international…
- Policy AnalysisThe War in Ukraine
The Water’s Edge: Ukraine, the United States, and the Middle East
Mar 30, 2022Charles W. Dunne“Politics must stop at the water’s edge,” Republican Senator Arthur Vandenberg famously asserted in1947, as he helped Democratic President Harry S. Truman lay …
- Policy AnalysisIranSecurity and Defense
Israel-Iran Shadow War in Syria intensifies Amid International Developments
Mar 23, 2022Gregory AftandilianThe ongoing military conflict between Israel and Iran (along with Iran-backed Shia forces like Hezbollah) in Syria show no signs of easing despite the Russia-U…
- Policy AnalysisIraqRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Current Iraq-Gulf Relations: Economics over Politics?
Mar 23, 2022Zeidon AlkinaniThe Gulf Arab states practiced an almost unified approach to post–2003 Iraq, which was generally derived from their established alliance following the 1990–199…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfThe War in Ukraine
The GCC and the Russia-Ukraine Crisis
Mar 22, 2022Kristian Coates UlrichsenThe six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council have responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine according to their interests and preferences. While the fig…
- Policy AnalysisGlobal Health and Health Policy
Increasing Awareness of Mental Health Needs in Arab Populations
Mar 18, 2022Yara M. AsiTwo years after the initial lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic, biomedical advancements like vaccinations and pharmaceutical treatments began to allow countrie…
- Policy AnalysisLibyaDemocracy and Governance
Libya: A Return to Uncertainty
Mar 16, 2022Imad K. HarbIt appears that all bets are off in Libya. Elections that were scheduled for last December were postponed as competing institutions and individuals interpret p…
- Policy AnalysisIranConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Iran and Israel Deal with the Rampaging Russian Bear
Mar 16, 2022Daniel BrumbergRussia’s invasion of Ukraine has produced some unusual bedfellows, the strangest of whom are Iran and Israel. Perhaps the term “bedfellows” is an exaggeration,…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Sisi Intensifies Arms Imports to Secure External Support for His Policies
Feb 28, 2022Khalil Al-AnaniEgypt has become the third largest arms importer in the world, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The institute’s “Trends i…
- Policy AnalysisTurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Israel and Turkey Ponder the Costs and Benefits of Rapprochement
Feb 25, 2022Daniel BrumbergOn February 6, Haaretz reported that Israeli President Isaac Herzog called to wish Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife a speedy recovery, after…
- Policy AnalysisLevantViolent Extremism
Is the Islamic State Rebounding in Syria and Iraq?
Feb 25, 2022Gregory AftandilianThe nearly two-week siege in January of the Ghuwayran prison and parts of the town of Hasaka by fighters of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in northeastern Sy…
- Policy AnalysisIraqDemocracy and Governance
The Quiet Kurdish Rivalry over Iraq’s Presidency
Feb 9, 2022Zeidon AlkinaniZeidon Alkinani discusses the rivalry between Iraq’s main Kurdish parties—the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)—and i…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance
Prospects for the Israeli Governing Coalition
Feb 9, 2022Yousef MunayyerYousef Munayyer evaluates the prospects of survival of Israel’s current governing coalition, whose partners have little in common except that they coalesced ar…
- Policy AnalysisQatarUS Foreign Policy
Qatar’s New Designation as US Non-NATO Ally Serves Multiple Purposes
Feb 4, 2022Imad K. HarbLess than five years after the eruption of the Gulf crisis of June 2017 that seriously threatened Qatar’s security, President Joe Biden designated the Gulf Ara…
- Policy AnalysisMedia and Technology
Mapping Digital Authoritarianism in the Arab World
Feb 3, 2022Tamara KharroubThe Arab uprisings of 2011 gave rise to a utopian vision of information and communication technologies (ICTs), highlighting their abilities to bypass governmen…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
After Parting Ways: The Coming Frosty Entente in Saudi-Turkish Relations
Feb 2, 2022Jana J. JabbourThis is likely to be Turkey’s year of normalization with regional counterparts, as 2021 was one of diplomatic restoration for Turkish foreign policy. While in …
- Policy AnalysisJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
A Bleak Landscape for Democracy and Human Rights in the MENA Region in 2022
Feb 2, 2022Charles W. DunneAny survey of human rights in the Middle East and North Africa at the start of 2022 has to open with the bad news.Promising protest movements that began in 201…
- Policy AnalysisGlobal Health and Health Policy
Two Years of COVID-19 in the Arab World: Social, Economic, and Political Effects
Jan 31, 2022Yara M. AsiIt was just over two years ago—on January 5, 2020—that the World Health Organization (WHO) reported “cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology” based on informati…
- Policy AnalysisUS Foreign Policy
Biden’s Non-Doctrine in the Middle East: One Year On
Jan 27, 2022Daniel BrumbergTo understand the actual forces shaping US foreign policy, it is imperative to put aside the alluring but misleading notion that a “doctrine” provides a useful…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
Sisi’s Transnational Repression: Silencing Political Dissidents in Exile
Jan 26, 2022Khalil Al-AnaniOn January 6, the FBI arrested Pierre Girgis, an Egyptian American, for spying on critics of Egypt’s president in the United States. According to the US Depart…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Abbas-Gantz Encounter: Much Ado about Nothing in the Middle East
Jan 18, 2022Khalil E. JahshanOn December 28, 2021, a surprising development took place in the Middle East: Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas held a rare meeting in Israel,…
- Policy AnalysisDemocracy and Governance
The Democracy Deficit in the Arab World
Jan 14, 2022Imad K. HarbImad K. Harb examines the democracy deficit in the Arab world and the associated widespread violations of human rights, probing possible explanations of what h…
- Policy AnalysisIranRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Ukraine’s Geostrategic Tremors Reach into the Middle East
Jan 13, 2022Daniel BrumbergDaniel Brumberg disentangles the complications arising from the current tensions between Ukraine and Russia and their impact on US-Russian relations as well as…
- Policy AnalysisLibyaDemocracy and Governance
Libya: Political Paralysis and Continued Uncertainty
Jan 11, 2022Gregory AftandilianGregory Aftandilian writes that the postponement of Libya’s presidential and parliamentary elections has helped plunge the country into another crisis that thr…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Biden and the Israeli Settlement Elephant in the Room
Jan 5, 2022Yousef MunayyerOne of Barack Obama’s first acts as president was to create the position of envoy for “Middle East peace.” George Mitchell, whom the president named for this p…
- ViewpointSudanDemocracy and Governance
Sudan’s Revolution Must Be Allowed to Continue
Jan 4, 2022Imad K. HarbIn a move that reflected his failure to garner the support of the Sudanese public, Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok submitted his resignation on January 2…
- Policy AnalysisMedia and Technology
Between Conflicts, Politics, and COVID-19: Challenges for Arab Journalists
Dec 30, 2021Sahar KhamisThe number of imprisoned journalists worldwide reached a record high in 2021. As one of the more dangerous regions, the Arab world poses abundant threats for…
- Policy AnalysisTunisiaDemocracy and Governance
Can Tunisia’s Leaders Forge a New Democratic Bargain?
Dec 29, 2021Daniel BrumbergNothing captures Tunisia’s crisis of democracy better than this act: the sentencing, in absentia, of former President Moncef Marzouki to four years in prison. …
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
US-Palestinian Economic Talks Serve Israeli Interests
Dec 29, 2021Jonathan KuttabThe recent resumption of discussions about economic ties between the US government and the Palestinian Authority (PA) after a five-year hiatus must be understo…
- Policy AnalysisIraqDemocracy and Governance
Iraq’s Post-Election Government Formation: Political Deadlock
Dec 28, 2021Zeidon AlkinaniMajor changes to the Iraqi political scene are awaiting the formation of a new government following the results of the early parliamentary election that took p…
- Policy AnalysisEducation and Development
What Future Exists for the Arab Youth of Today?
Dec 22, 2021Yara M. AsiIn December 2021, an unprecedented event happened in Saudi Arabia: a rave just north of Riyadh. Men and women danced in mixed company, alcohol and marijuana we…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
Politics, Geopolitical Conditions Pushing Lebanon into a Death Spiral
Dec 22, 2021Imad K. HarbConditions in Lebanon today betray a slide toward the total failure of state institutions amid a precipitous downturn of the country’s economic and social indi…
- Policy AnalysisYemenUS Foreign Policy
Houthi Intransigence Is Changing the US View of the Conflict in Yemen
Dec 21, 2021Gregory AftandilianA combination of offensive military actions by the Houthi rebels and stalled peace talks to try to end the civil war in Yemen have changed the way the United S…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Mohammed bin Salman’s Regional Rebranding Campaign
Dec 16, 2021Kristian Coates UlrichsenSaudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) toured the five smaller Gulf states between December 6, when he visited Oman, and December 10, when he arr…
- Policy AnalysisDemocracy and Governance
Biden’s Summit for Democracy Ignored the Middle East
Dec 15, 2021Charles W. DunneThe Biden Administration’s recent Summit for Democracy should be regarded as a modest success, fulfilling a campaign promise by President Joe Biden and decisiv…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Rehabilitation of the Assad Regime
Dec 15, 2021Radwan ZiadehWith the approaching date of the next Arab Summit to be hosted by Algeria in March 2022, some member countries of the League of Arab States have become more vo…
- Policy AnalysisSudanRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Sudan Coup: The Regional Interference behind a Faltering Transition
Dec 11, 2021Khalil Al-AnaniOn October 25, 2021, Sudan’s General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan staged a coup, declared a state of emergency, dissolved the power-sharing Sovereign Council, sacked…
- Policy AnalysisJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
Twenty Years After 9/11: A Reckoning for Anti-Muslim Hostility in the United States
Dec 10, 2021Patricia JannackIn his human rights speech at the University of Connecticut in October, President Joe Biden argued that the best way for the United States to fight for global …
- Policy AnalysisIranUS Foreign Policy
High Stakes at the Vienna Nuclear Talks with Iran
Dec 8, 2021Daniel BrumbergThe ongoing indirect US-Iran negotiations in Vienna on the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) have thus far made little progress. Already…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Turkey and the Gulf States: A New Era of Détente
Dec 8, 2021Mustafa GurbuzTurkish officials celebrated the November 24 visit of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Ankara as the beginning of “a new era” between Tur…
- ViewpointDemocracy and Governance
Is Biden Serious about His Summit for Democracy?
Dec 6, 2021Khalil E. JahshanSince his inauguration on January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden has been hinting at a renewed focus on democracy by his administration to reverse the dismal re…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptUS Foreign Policy
Agreements and Tensions in US-Egyptian Relations
Dec 2, 2021Sahar KhamisThe US-Egypt strategic dialogue was held in Washington, DC in early November between Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his American counterpart, Secre…
- Policy AnalysisRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Is There a Macron Doctrine in the Middle East?
Dec 2, 2021Joe MacaronUnder President Emmanuel Macron, French foreign policy in the Middle East went through a transformative shift, revealing a clear break with his two predecessor…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Russia’s Multifaceted Policy in Syria
Nov 23, 2021Gregory AftandilianMore than six years after Russia began its military intervention in the Syrian civil war, President Vladimir Putin has chalked up some important victories amid…
- Policy AnalysisTunisiaDemocracy and Governance
Is Tunisia Transitioning to a Liberalized Autocracy?
Nov 18, 2021Daniel BrumbergIf in the coming months Tunisia undergoes a transition, given current conditions, it will probably not be along a path back to democracy. Indeed, while Preside…
- Policy AnalysisGlobal Health and Health Policy
The Overlooked Threat of Cancer in the Arab Region
Nov 18, 2021Yara M. AsiSince its founding in 1985, Breast Cancer Awareness Month has been held in October every year. Originally an American enterprise, the event has become global, …
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Tip of the Spear: Israeli Settler Terror
Nov 17, 2021Yousef MunayyerFor people around the world, autumn brings cooler temperatures and bright orange leaves on trees. But for Palestinians in the Israeli occupied West Bank, autum…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs
The Nakba in Israeli Public Discourse and School History Curriculum
Nov 17, 2021Amal JamalThe ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their villages by Israel’s armed forces during the 1948 war and the creation of the ongoing refugee problem is rarely…
- ViewpointSyriaConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Failure of Syria’s Constitutional Committee
Nov 16, 2021Radwan ZiadehIn October 2019, Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres enthusiastically welcomed the creation of Syria’s Constitutional Committee that would…
- Policy AnalysisLibyaDemocracy and Governance
Uncertainty Overshadows Libya’s Elections
Nov 11, 2021Imad K. HarbThe agreement governing Libya’s advancement toward presidential and legislative elections, which are slated to be held in December, ran into serious trouble th…