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  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    Trump, Congress Lay Out Election Year Foreign Policy Priorities

    Mar 11, 2020Marcus Montgomery

    Marcus Montgomery discusses how the Trump Administration is pressing forward with its campaign against Iran as many in Congress are trying to constrain the pre…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Russia Has Limits on Its Influence in the Middle East

    Mar 10, 2020Charles W. Dunne

    Charles W. Dunne argues that despite Russia’s success in Syria and stealthy gains in the Middle East since 2015, the limits on its capabilities have become inc…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Idlib Developments Usher in a New Phase in Syria’s War

    Mar 6, 2020Radwan Ziadeh Imad K. Harb Marwan Kabalan Mustafa Gurbuz

    The Syrian civil war entered a new phase when Bashar al-Assad’s regime began an assault on the northwestern Idlib province, eliciting a Turkish response. ACW a…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    The Bernie Sanders Factor in US Policy toward Israel

    Mar 4, 2020Yousef Munayyer

    The Sanders candidacy represents a shift in public opinion on Israel and that Sanders’s position on Palestinian rights opens a political space that is increasi…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    What Does Bipartisan Support for Israel Look Like?

    Mar 4, 2020Marcus Montgomery

    The AIPAC and CPAC conferences in Washington became the venue for the Republican Party to seek to redefine the parameters of bipartisan support for Israel.

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Lebanon’s Imminent Collapse: How Can It Be Prevented?

    Mar 3, 2020Imad K. Harb

    The dissolution of confessional politics in Lebanon and the political coalescence of the street opposition to negotiate for social change are key to addressing…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance

    The Palestinian Arab Vote in Israel: Facing the Ultimate Test of Inclusion

    Mar 2, 2020Khalil E. Jahshan

    The Palestinian Arab vote can challenge the Palestinians’ disenfranchisement but that they will never be welcome as full partners in the Israeli political syst…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Struggle over Syria’s Idlib

    Feb 28, 2020Radwan Ziadeh

    The Syrian regime’s killing of scores of Turkish soldiers in Idlib province will aggravate Turkish-Russian relations and take the crisis in Syria in a complete…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    State Terror in Egypt: Is It Time for Accountability?

    Feb 28, 2020Khalil Al-Anani

    This article by Khaill Al-Anani examines the Egyptian regime’s tools for such repression and the lack of pressure by western governments to hold it accountable…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranDemocracy and Governance

    The Uncertain Victory of Iran’s Hardliners

    Feb 26, 2020Daniel Brumberg

    The backing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will allow Iran’s conservatives to use their victory in the parliamentary elections to prevent reformists from deman…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    The Economic Prospects of the White House’s New Plan for Peace

    Feb 25, 2020Colin Powers

    Evaluating the economic portion of Trump’s plan for Palestinian-Israeli peace, Colin Powers argues that for its economics as much as for its politics and immor…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The United States and Iran Continue to Maneuver in Iraq

    Feb 21, 2020Gregory Aftandilian

    Gregory Aftandilian contends that after the very tense period of December 2019-January 2020, the United States and Iran are seeking to restore their credibilit…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptProtests and Activism

    Egypt’s Puzzling Dilemma: Escalating Challenges and Obstructed Mobilization

    Feb 20, 2020Sahar Khamis

    Egypt’s widening economic and social gaps may lead the regime to adopt harsher measures of political control.

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Global Reactions to the Trump Peace Plan

    Feb 20, 2020Yousef Munayyer

    Yousef Munayyer cautions that Trump’s position and weight as president of the United States influence how the international community reacts to his plan for Pa…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantUS Foreign Policy

    Bipartisan Hysteria Erupts in Washington After UNHRC Unveils Database

    Feb 20, 2020Marcus Montgomery

    Marcus Montgomery reports on the unified bipartisan response to the recently released UNHCR report detailing the business ties of illegal Israeli settlements a…

  • From our Affiliates
    SyriaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Three scenarios for the battle for Idlib

    Feb 19, 2020Marwan Kabalan

    Major decisions have to be made by Turkey, Russia, and the United States in the coming weeks that may determine the next phase of the Syrian conflict.

  • Policy Analysis
    Regional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Dangerous Consequence of Marginalizing the Arab “Moderates”

    Feb 18, 2020Joe Macaron

    By prioritizing Arab-Israeli normalization in order to deter Iran, the Trump Administration is enabling Arab authoritarians and reinforcing the dangerous possi…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Palestinians Are on Their Own

    Feb 13, 2020Imad K. Harb

    Palestinians should not rely on support from Arab accommodationists or rejectionists of Trump’s peace plan but must devise a new strategy for national renewal …

  • Washington Policy Weekly
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    “Your Proposal Attempts to Make a Genuine Two-State Solution Impossible”

    Feb 12, 2020Marcus Montgomery

    Congressional Democrats, Palestinians, and the broader international community still see too many problems with Trump’s proposed plan for Palestinian-Israeli p…

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Post-Election Blues in Tunisia: Implications at Home and Abroad

    Feb 10, 2020Daniel Brumberg

    The fate of Tunisia’s democracy may depend on the leadership of President Saied who, until 2019, neither played a political role nor had links to the existing …

  • From our Affiliates
    QatarThe GCC

    Actors, Structures and Qatari Foreign Policy

    Feb 10, 2020Marwan Kabalan

    In a research paper on Qatar’s foreign policy, Marwan Kabalan concludes that a small state’s geopolitical factors and relative capabilities remain central in a…

  • Washington Policy Weekly
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    What is Congress Willing to Do to Avoid War with Iran?

    Feb 6, 2020Marcus Montgomery

    This week, the House of Representatives took further decisive steps to try and prevent President Donald Trump from embroiling the United States in another war …

  • From our Affiliates
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    “Deal of the Century”: What Is It and Why Now?

    Feb 4, 2020Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS)

    While the circumstances may seem favorable in the United States and Israel for the implementation of Trump’s so-called peace plan, it is unlikely to win popula…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Yemen: Order of Battle Trumps Peace

    Feb 3, 2020Nabeel A. Khoury

    Military clashes in Yemen will not advance the interests of the warring parties, cautions Nabeel Khoury, who sees that victory there is only pyrrhic amid the d…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Domestic Politics and Elections

    The American Jewish Community and the 2020 US Presidential Election

    Jan 31, 2020Lara Friedman

    The American Jewish community, for all its internal divisions and distinctions, has nonetheless long been characterized by remarkably consistent, and by all ap…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    The Five Most Dangerous Aspects of Trump’s “Peace Plan”

    Jan 30, 2020Tamara Kharroub

    Trump's supremacist plan redraws borders unilaterally, accepts war crimes as serious solutions, and presents nothing but repackaged Israeli apartheid.

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Steal of the Century: Two Double-Dealers and a Podium

    Jan 29, 2020Yousef Munayyer

    Trump and Netanyahu are a pair of crooks robbing Palestinians of their freedom and dignity. He urges Palestinian leaders to fundamentally recalculate their str…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonUS Foreign Policy

    US, Iran Prolong Détente in Lebanon with a Status Quo Cabinet

    Jan 29, 2020Joe Macaron

    Joe Macaron contends that the new Lebanese government of Hassan Diab is a continuation of the old oligarchic status quo and appears to prolong the US-Iran déte…

  • Washington Policy Weekly
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Does Jared Kushner Even Believe in His Own “Peace Plan”?

    Jan 29, 2020Marcus Montgomery

    As President Trump and his advisor Jared Kushner unveil their so-called “peace plan” for Israel and Palestine, Marcus Montgomery questions whether Kushner trul…

  • Viewpoint
    SyriaEnergy and Economics

    The Collapse of the Syrian Pound May Doom the Syrian Economy

    Jan 23, 2020Radwan Ziadeh Imad K. Harb

    Syria’s most difficult battle now is how to support its national currency and fix its collapsing economy with an impoverished central bank and the absence of r…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    There’s No Consensus on US Middle East Policy; Time to Apply the War Powers Act

    Jan 23, 2020Charles W. Dunne

    Applying the War Powers Act is one way of addressing the absence of a coherent American policy in the Middle East and avoiding a new US military engagement in …

  • Policy Analysis
    IranSecurity and Defense

    Gulf Arab States Still Worried about a US-Iran War

    Jan 23, 2020Gregory Aftandilian

    Gregory Aftandilian argues that Gulf Arab states increasingly view the United States as an unreliable and erratic ally and are urging restraint by Washington a…

  • Washington Policy Weekly
    US Foreign Policy

    What Is Next for Mike Pompeo?

    Jan 23, 2020Marcus Montgomery

    Marcus Montgomery examines the future political ambitions of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, one of the most influential members of the Trump Administration, a…

  • Policy Analysis
    Protests and Activism

    The battle of ‘resistance’ vs ‘revolution’ in the Middle East

    Jan 17, 2020Rami G. Khouri

    The clash between the 'resistance' and 'revolutionary' movements will define the Middle East in the future.

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    Washington’s Strategy in the Post-Soleimani Middle East

    Jan 15, 2020Joe Macaron

    Joe Macaron writes that the post-Soleimani Middle East offers both challenges and opportunities but the Trump Administration does not seem to have a strategy t…

  • Policy Analysis
    Democracy and Governance

    Prospects for Democratic Change in the Arab World in 2020

    Jan 14, 2020Imad K. Harb Sahar Khamis Abdulwahab Al-Qassab Laurie King Khalil E. Jahshan Tamara Kharroub

    ACW analysts and academic board members discuss the prospects of the 2019 public protests in several countries of the Arab world and how technology is poised t…

  • From our Affiliates
    LibyaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Turkey’s Growing Role in Libya: Motives, Background, and Responses

    Jan 9, 2020Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS)

    There are fears that external interventions in Libya may prolong its conflict and threaten the future and territorial integrity of the country. Read this analy…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    Soleimani’s Assassination Backfires Big Time

    Jan 7, 2020Daniel Brumberg

    Washington’s killing of Qassem Soleimani violates the red lines that the United States and Iran had previously respected in order to avoid escalation, and make…

  • Viewpoint
    IraqUS Foreign Policy

    The Coming American Defeat in Iraq

    Jan 6, 2020Marina Ottaway

    The vote by Iraq’s Parliament to force the withdrawal of American troops from the country marks the beginning of the end of the 2003 US intervention.

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Is Turkey Playing with Fire in Libya?

    Jan 6, 2020Mustafa Gurbuz

    Turkish troops aim to buttress Libya's Government of National Accord, but escalating tensions in the Mediterranean may actually harm both Ankara and Tripoli.

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance

    Repressing Criticism of Israel in the United States: Trump’s Executive Order

    Jan 3, 2020Yousef Munayyer

    In the long term, Trump’s executive order conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism is another effort to silence the debate in the United States on Israel’s p…

  • Viewpoint
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    A Middle East Calamity Is about to Unfold

    Jan 3, 2020Imad K. Harb

    Killing Soleimani has put the Middle East at the edge of a dangerous abyss and hastened an inevitable confrontation between the United States and Iran.

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Libya-Turkey Memorandum of Understanding: Local and Regional Repercussions

    Jan 2, 2020Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS)

    The signing of the Libyan-Turkish memorandum of understanding on maritime sovereignty in the Eastern Mediterranean has coincided with increased tensions both w…

  • Viewpoint
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    The Khashoggi Verdict: Whitewashing a Murder

    Dec 26, 2019Imad K. Harb

    Saudi Arabia's reputation remains on the line despite the whitewashing and the convoluted twists of Khashoggi’s killing. For now, at least, in Jamal’s case “ju…

  • Policy Analysis
    Democracy and Governance

    The MENA Region’s Uphill Struggle against Corruption

    Dec 20, 2019Daniel Brumberg

    In the Middle East and well beyond, 2019 has been a year of mass public protest and street mobilization. The region is seizing with disorganized and open disco…

  • Policy Analysis
    Protests and Activism

    From the Arab Spring to—What, Exactly? 2011 and 2019 Compared

    Dec 20, 2019Charles W. Dunne

    Significant differences between the Arab Spring protests of 2011 and the upheaval sweeping the region today are signs of things to come in the Arab world.

  • From our Affiliates
    AlgeriaDemocracy and Governance

    Could the Presidential Elections Constitute a Milestone for Algeria?

    Dec 18, 2019Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS)

    Tebboune’s presidential test in the coming months will be in his ability to gain the confidence of Algerians in general, and the popular movement in particular.

  • Policy Analysis
    IranRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The United States and Iran Readjust to New Realities in Iraq and Lebanon

    Dec 18, 2019Joe Macaron

    After 15 years of rivalry in Iraq and Lebanon, the United States and Iran are adjusting their policies based on a new reality of popular uprisings that challen…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaUS Foreign Policy

    The Trump Administration Tries a New Policy in Libya

    Dec 18, 2019Gregory Aftandilian

    Washington is now firmly pressing Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar to stop his offensive on Tripoli and allow for a negotiated settlement with the GNA. With so …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Burgeoning Arab-Israeli Normalization? Not Quite What You Think

    Dec 11, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    Efforts to normalize relations between Arab leaders and Israel will continue to collide with the overwhelming rejection of normalization by the peoples of the …

  • Washington Policy Weekly
    LevantUS Foreign Policy

    Washington Grapples with How to Respond to Turbulent Middle East

    Dec 11, 2019Marcus Montgomery

    Marcus Montgomery examines the administration’s reassessment of its posture in the Middle East as officials grappled this week with how best to use military as…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfThe GCC

    GCC Reconciliation Is Coming, but Pesky Issues Remain

    Dec 8, 2019Imad K. Harb

    A limited reconciliation between parties to the GCC crisis is likely to take place during the upcoming summit in Riyadh. However, certain thorny and serious po…

  • Viewpoint
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfThe GCC

    Challenges to Resolving the GCC Crisis

    Dec 4, 2019Khalil E. Jahshan

    Khalil E. Jahshan discusses the challenges inherent in a reconciliation between Qatar and the neighboring countries that embargoed it and precipitated the unse…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Syria’s Problems Worsen While UN Efforts Fail

    Dec 4, 2019Radwan Ziadeh

    Syria’s deteriorating economic conditions and the failure of UN-sponsored discussions about a constitutional document indicate that the Syrian people will cont…

  • Policy Analysis
    AlgeriaDemocracy and Governance

    Algeria’s Upcoming Elections Are Not the End of the Road

    Dec 3, 2019Imad K. Harb

    The military-imposed presidential election in Algeria should not deter the protesters from pressing on with their demand for radical political and economic cha…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranDemocracy and Governance

    Is Iran on the Edge of a Precipice?

    Nov 27, 2019Daniel Brumberg

    Daniel Brumberg questions whether the latest protests in Iran will produce a wider political movement, one that has the support of an urban professional and bu…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    With Iraq’s Mounting Chaos Spreading, Time for a US Policy Reboot

    Nov 27, 2019Charles W. Dunne

    Charles W. Dunne argues that in light of Iraq’s current crisis, the United States must take bold steps to help stabilize the country, enhance anti-corruption a…

  • Washington Policy Weekly
    LibyaUS Foreign Policy

    The Conflict in Libya Resurfaces on Washington’s Agenda

    Nov 27, 2019Marcus Montgomery

    Marcus Montgomery discusses the renewed interest in both Congress and the Trump Administration to address the ongoing conflict in Libya and asks whether the Un…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Closer Egyptian-Russian Relations Causing a Headache in Washington

    Nov 26, 2019Gregory Aftandilian

    Gregory Aftandilian states that US officials are warning Egypt not to move ahead with the purchase of advanced Russian jet fighters; however, developing ties b…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance

    Desperate Netanyahu Pulls out All the Stops

    Nov 26, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    A desperate Netanyahu will use all tools in a demagogue’s box, including racist incitement against the Palestinians, in order to remain politically alive—or at…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    US Policy Reversal on Israeli Settlements

    Nov 21, 2019Khalil E. Jahshan

    Khalil E. Jahshan believes that the Trump Administration’s policy reversal about Israeli settlements is an overture to the president’s evangelical supporters a…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelInternational Law

    Israel’s Arguments for the Legality of Settlements under International Law

    Nov 21, 2019Jonathan Kuttab

    Jonathan Kuttab lists Israel’s repeated arguments about its illegal settlements on the West Bank and rebuts them by referencing the Geneva Conventions and inte…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonProtests and Activism

    The Lebanese Uprising: No End in Sight for the Current Impasse

    Nov 20, 2019Joe Macaron

    Joe Macaron explains the different factors of the current impasse between the Lebanese ruling political class and the protesters, seeing no end in sight for th…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqProtests and Activism

    Will Iraq’s Protests Lead to Radical Change?

    Nov 18, 2019Abdulwahab Al-Qassab Imad K. Harb

    The ongoing protests in Iraq indicate that the country’s youth, who are overwhelmingly Shia, have become disillusioned with status quo politics of control by I…

  • From our Affiliates
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfThe GCC

    Is a resolution of the GCC crisis imminent?

    Nov 18, 2019Ibrahim Fraihat

    Ibrahim Fraihat argues that the September 14 attack on Aramco has had a significant effect on Riyadh and has forced Saudi Arabia to revise its policies toward …

  • From our Affiliates
    YemenRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Riyadh Agreement on Yemen: Arrangements and Chances of Success

    Nov 18, 2019Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS)

    The Riyadh Agreement’s success will depend in large part on the local parties’ conviction that it serves their purposes at this time more than continued war do…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Presidential Candidates Open to Leveraging American Support for Israel

    Nov 12, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    Yousef Munayyer says that some Democratic candidates for president may be open to taking concrete steps to decrease American complicity in Israel's abuses and …

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    The Battle to Defeat Confessional Politics in Lebanon and Beyond

    Nov 11, 2019Daniel Brumberg

    Daniel Brumberg writes that despite demands for radical change, no force or group inside or outside Lebanon can predict what will happen if the country tries t…

  • From our Affiliates
    Religion and Politics

    Modernity and the Mechanisms of Moral Neutralisation

    Nov 8, 2019Azmi Bishara

    Azmi Bishara’s introduction to the Arabic edition of Zygmunt Bauman’s Modernity and the Holocaust (1989).

  • Policy Analysis
    AlgeriaProtests and Activism

    Protests in the Arab World: The Second Wave

    Nov 8, 2019Marina Ottaway

    Marina Ottaway argues that protesters in Algeria, Sudan, Lebanon, and Iraq appear to be more sophisticated than those of the 2011 uprisings and understand that…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Russia’s Gains in Syria Could Be a Blessing in Disguise

    Nov 6, 2019Joe Macaron

    Joe Macaron argues that while Russia may fill the vacuum left by the withdrawal of American troops from the Turkish-Syrian border, it could have challenges dea…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Russia-Turkey Deal for Syria Will Go Nowhere

    Nov 5, 2019Mustafa Gurbuz

    Mustafa Gurbuz analyzes the problems in implementing the initial phase of the latest Turkish-Russian agreement in Syria, concluding they indicate that the deal…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    The Catch-22 of Lebanese Reform

    Nov 5, 2019Nabeel A. Khoury

    Nabeel Khoury discusses the Lebanese leadership’s catch-22 dilemma resulting from the influence of entrenched parties and their militias as they confront the l…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    The Limited Utility of the Iran Sanctions

    Nov 4, 2019Kenneth Katzman

    Kenneth Katzman writes that a range of observations and data support the assertion that to date, the Trump Administration’s maximum pressure campaign against I…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Domestic Politics and Elections

    2020 Election Issues

    Nov 1, 2019Imad K. Harb

    While presidential elections in the United States depend to a great degree on the personalities of the Republican and Democratic candidates, each election has …

  • Policy Analysis
    US Domestic Politics and Elections

    Trump’s Chances in the 2020 Presidential Election: Will Americans Reelect Trump?

    Nov 1, 2019Khalil E. Jahshan

    Although a year is a long time in American politics, at least in conventional electoral terms, many political analysts, pollsters and pundits are already hard …

  • Viewpoint
    IraqUS Foreign Policy

    Putting al-Baghdadi’s Demise in Perspective

    Oct 30, 2019Khalil E. Jahshan

    Khalil E. Jahshan looks at the deeper meaning of the United States’ killing of IS leader Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi and doubts if his demise will portend the end of …

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    The Lebanon Uprising: Causes and Ramifications

    Oct 24, 2019Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS)

    Lebanon’s protests have been unique and inclusive and are united by a wish to topple the ruling political class and abandon the system of sectarian power-shari…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Radical Reform or Total Chaos for Lebanon?

    Oct 22, 2019Nabeel A. Khoury

    Nabeel Khouri argues that it is clear that radical reform in Lebanon is what stands between a safe and gradual transition to an accountable government, on the …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Trump’s Syria Decision and the Damage to US Foreign Policy

    Oct 22, 2019Charles W. Dunne

    The fallout from President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision on October 6 to order US troops to stand aside as Turkey launched a long-planned incursion into north…