• Policy Analysis
    Democracy and Governance

    The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Autocrats: Key Strategies That Beat Down the Arab Spring and Keep Regimes in Power

    Mar 31, 2021Charles W. Dunne

    The 10th anniversary of the Arab Spring has unleashed a torrent of retrospectives focused on the legacy of the uprisings, mostly their failures. All these year…

  • Intern Corner
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and Economics

    China’s Maritime Challenge to the United States in the Gulf

    Mar 30, 2021Gabriella Haedelt

    The Arabian Gulf has emerged as a theater of investment, international integration, and rivalry for global powers, especially after Chinese President Xi Jinpin…

  • Viewpoint
    IraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    A Struggle of Wills over Iraq’s Identity

    The last few days witnessed serious efforts by some Arab countries to influence developments in Iran-friendly Iraq. On March 24, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohamm…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Turkish-Egyptian Reconciliation Efforts Echo a Shifting Regional Order

    Mar 26, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    Over the past month, Turkey has taken steps to restore diplomatic relations with Egypt. That President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has spearheaded this effort is para…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanUS Foreign Policy

    Jordan’s Monarchy Reclaims Regional Role under Biden

    Mar 25, 2021Joe Macaron

    To describe the last four years as challenging ones for US-Jordanian relations would be an understatement. President Donald Trump’s absolute support for Israel…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Lebanon Faces a Civil War, a Prospect of Its Own Making

    Mar 23, 2021Imad K. Harb

    The socioeconomic and political crises gripping Lebanon today are unprecedented in the country’s 100-year history, one that has witnessed intercommunal unrest …

  • Policy Analysis
    Levant

    Egypt’s Ties to Israel Deepen Despite Public Misgivings

    The Egyptian government has deepened its cooperation with Israel on strategic and economic matters in order to root out the extremist threat in the Sinai Penin…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    Hard-liners Fight for Iran’s Presidency and Foreign Policy

    Mar 17, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    Former US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, who during the Obama Administration played a pivotal role in negotiating the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, recently asserted…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Iraq’s Complicated and Challenging Security Situation

    Many of Iraq’s pro-Iran militias were encouraged with Joe Biden’s election as president of the United States and the ensuing Democratic control of both houses …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance

    Israel’s 2021 Elections: Background, Scenarios, and Expectations

    Mar 16, 2021Honaida Ghanim

    On March 23rd, Israel holds its fourth round of parliamentary elections in less than two years, amid what in Israel has become known as “the political crisis” …

  • Viewpoint
    Arab Americans/ Muslim Americans

    Including Arab Americans in the Biden Administration Is Not Enough

    Mar 11, 2021Nadine S. Naber

    In a series of unprecedented moves, President Joe Biden took steps seen as helping to politically and socially integrate the Arab American community. He includ…

  • Policy Analysis
    Justice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Challenges to Biden’s Human Rights Agenda in the Middle East

    Mar 9, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    In his speech at the US State Department on February 4, 2021, US President Joe Biden pledged to support democracy and confront authoritarianism globally, sayin…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    The Biden Administration and the Palestinians: Early Policy Indications

    Mar 9, 2021Yousef Munayyer

    The new administration in Washington, about half way through its first 100 days in office, is shaping its foreign policy. President Joe Biden and his team have…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Cautious Optimism a Decade after Libya’s Revolution

    Mar 5, 2021Imad K. Harb

    The Arab Spring protests that started 10 years ago in Libya and the ensuing collapse of the Muammar Qadhafi regime set in motion a decade of instability that c…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantDemocracy and Governance

    No Light at the End of Lebanon’s Long and Dark Tunnel

    Mar 3, 2021Joe Macaron

    By all accounts, Lebanon is a desperate case. The severe fiscal crises portend an extended economic depression ahead. The country has been in political paralys…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Repercussions of the ODNI Khashoggi Report: An Assessment

    Mar 3, 2021Khalil E. Jahshan Imad K. Harb Kristian Coates Ulrichsen Sarah Leah Whitson Rosie Bsheer

    On February 26, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released its report on the assassination of US resident and Washington Post columnis…

  • Policy Analysis
    Climate and Environment

    Climate Change in the Arab World: An Existential Threat in an Unstable Region

    Mar 2, 2021Yara M. Asi

    In the mid-2010s, several years into Syria’s brutal civil war, a theory emerged that perhaps the conflict was even more complicated than originally conceived. …

  • Viewpoint
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Mohammed bin Salman in the Hot Seat

    Feb 26, 2021Imad K. Harb

    The Biden Administration’s release on February 26 of a declassified intelligence report implicating Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) in the assassi…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    The US and Iran: From Brinkmanship to Negotiations?

    Feb 25, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    In his far-ranging February 21 interview with Iran’s Press TV, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reiterated a bottom line: that Iran would step awa…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    The Biden Administration Contemplates a New Pivot to Asia

    Feb 23, 2021Charles W. Dunne

    Is the pivot to Asia for real this time?That is one of the key questions Washington policy analysts, pundits, and diplomats are asking themselves as President …

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    A Decade of War in Syria: Political Transition Is Still the Answer

    Feb 22, 2021Radwan Ziadeh

    The middle of March marks the tenth anniversary of the civil war in Syria. It began in the south of the country when regime forces resorted to violence to quel…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptProtests and Activism

    Ten Years Later: Reflections on Egypt’s 2011 Uprising

    Feb 19, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    Khalil al-Anani appraises the January 2011 Egyptian revolution that led to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. He writes that the revolutionary forces …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance

    Palestinian Elections 2021: Reconciling Competing Motives

    Feb 18, 2021Khalil E. Jahshan

    On January 15, 2021, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority (PA) issued a decreecalling for legislative, presidential, and National Council elect…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    The Limits of US-French Coordination in the Middle East

    Feb 17, 2021Joe Macaron

    Joe Macaron explores the current state of American-French relations regarding the Middle East at the start of the Biden Administration. He lists three main rea…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelInternational Law

    Is International Criminal Justice Coming for Israel?

    Feb 17, 2021Jonathan Kuttab

    On February 5, the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled, for purposes of its jurisdiction, that Palestine is a state. The chief prosecutor who sought this …

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Tunisia’s Multiple Crises Threaten Its Brittle Democracy

    Feb 16, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    On January 26, Tunisia witnessed a scene that echoed the dramatic events of January 6 in Washington, DC. Outside the Tunisian parliament in Tunis, hundreds of …

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Egyptian-Saudi Relations: Strategic Ties with Some Political Strains

    Egypt and Saudi Arabia continue to be strategic partners in the Middle East, buoyed by shared interests and certain threat perceptions. Saudi Arabia values Egy…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Is Israel an Apartheid State?

    Feb 6, 2021Jonathan Kuttab

    Jonathan Kuttab explains the fundamental elements of the crime of apartheid committed by Israel against the Palestinians under its control, including legislati…

  • Viewpoint
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    The Assassination of Lebanon’s Lokman Slim

    Feb 4, 2021Imad K. Harb

    Assassination reared its ugly head once again in Lebanon when unknown assailants killed political analyst and activist Lokman Slim in southern Lebanon in the e…

  • Viewpoint
    IraqViolent Extremism

    The Terrorist Attacks in Baghdad: A New Chapter in Iraq’s Instability?

    Abdulwahab Al-Qassab writes that the latest suicide bombings in Baghdad portend a feared return of the Islamic State after it was supposedly vanquished in Dece…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    Biden will Contend with Divergent Middle East Preferences on Iran

    Jan 27, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    The Middle East is experiencing a period of diplomatic and strategic readjustment that will create both challenges and opportunities for the Biden Administrati…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    Iran between Avenging Soleimani and Engaging Biden

    Jan 27, 2021Joe Macaron

    Two events in January serve as reminders of how US-Iran dynamics are pulled in two different directions: the inauguration of President Joe Biden on January 20,…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/Israel

    Netanyahu’s Latest Election Scheme: The Arab Vote?

    Jan 27, 2021Yousef Munayyer

    As the State of Israel once again heads to a new election, its prime minister—who infamously fearmongered against Arab citizens to drive Israeli right-wing vot…

  • Policy Analysis
    Migrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    The “Unhealable Rift” of Exile: The Plight of Arab Refugees

    Jan 26, 2021Yara M. Asi

    Yara M. Asi studies the current conditions of refugees in the Arab world--focusing on those from Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, and Palestine--who have fled their …

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Egypt’s Changing policy in Libya: Opportunities and Challenges

    Jan 21, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    On December 27, 2020, a high-ranking Egyptian diplomatic and security delegation visited the Libyan capital of Tripoli to hold talks with the United Nations-ba…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Pompeo’s Departing Sabotage in Yemen

    Jan 19, 2021Imad K. Harb

    With less than two weeks in office before he checks out of Foggy Bottom, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo designated Yemen’s Houthi movement a foreign terrorist …

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Kurdish Dilemmas in Syria

    The Syrian Kurds, who constitute about 10 percent of Syria’s population, are at a crossroads, trying to preserve their shrunken statelet in the northeastern pa…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    China’s Belt and Road Initiative and US Middle East Policy

    Jan 13, 2021Charles W. Dunne

    More than seven years after Chinese President Xi Jinping announced his country’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the vast infrastructure and economic developme…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The Gulf

    The GCC Reconciliation: An Assessment

    Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held their 41st summit meeting on January 5, 2021 in al-Ula, Saudi Arabia, and agreed to end the Gulf crisis that…

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    As 2021 Begins, Rival Populisms Menace Tunisia’s Democracy

    Jan 8, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    Ten years after Tunisia’s “Jasmine Revolution” sparked grassroots uprisings in Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, and Syria, the pressures of an economic crisis, rampant c…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The Gulf

    Saudi Arabia Ends the GCC Crisis

    Jan 7, 2021Imad K. Harb

    It finally happened: the GCC crisis is seemingly over. The 41st summit meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) succeeded in surmounting the three-and-a-h…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    The Biden Administration’s Foreign Policy: Key Features and Likely Changes

    Jan 6, 2021Unit for Political Studies

    Having won the American presidential election, and despite incumbent President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede, Democratic candidate and President-elect Joe …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelEducation and Development

    Building a Nation without a State: Civil Society in Palestine

    Dec 23, 2020Yara M. Asi

    Never before has the Palestinian Authority (PA) seemed so isolated. American policy under President Donald Trump has unprecedentedly and openly been favorable …

  • Policy Analysis
    SomaliaSecurity and Defense

    Increasing Contestation over the Red Sea and Horn of Africa

    Growing international and regional involvement in the Red Sea-Horn of Africa theater has made this area a potential hot spot that is somewhat reminiscent of Be…

  • Viewpoint
    MoroccoJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Morocco’s Unmissed Opportunity in the Western Sahara

    Dec 21, 2020Mohamed Daadaoui

    In a final act by his administration, President Donald Trump announced that Morocco and Israel will normalize relations, making the kingdom the fourth Arab cou…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    The Limits of American Multilateral Diplomacy in the Middle East

    Dec 21, 2020Daniel Brumberg

    Perhaps the hardest among the many challenges that the new Biden Administration will face is renewing the spirit and practice of multilateral diplomacy in regi…

  • Policy Analysis
    Media and Technology

    Media Use and Its Anomalies a Decade after the Arab Spring

    Dec 18, 2020Sahar Khamis

    When the Arab Spring movements erupted in at least six Arab countries in 2011––Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain––they were accompanied by high …

  • Intern Corner
    IraqClimate and Environment

    Mitigating Conflict over Water in the Euphrates-Tigris Basin

    Dec 15, 2020Yoseph Hamid

    The Middle East and North Africa (MENA)—the most water-scarce region in the world—has arguably borne the brunt of climate change in the planet. Nowhere is this…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    The Biden Administration and US Foreign Policy Decision-Making

    Dec 15, 2020Joe Macaron

    President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration will have a lasting impact on the American foreign policy decision-making process, most notably when it com…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanUS Foreign Policy

    The Biden Presidency Could Help Democratic Transition in Sudan

    Dec 15, 2020Abdelkhalig Shaib

    When former Vice President Joe Biden won the election following four tumultuous years under President Donald Trump, the Sudanese government and people had a qu…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Ending Palestinian-Israeli Coordination Is Hard to Do

    Dec 15, 2020Jonathan Kuttab

    On November 17, the Palestinian Authority’s minister for Israeli affairs, Hussein Al Sheikh announced on Twitter that the PA decided to resume coordination wit…

  • Policy Analysis
    MoroccoUS Foreign Policy

    Morocco, Too, Signs on to Trump’s Lawlessness

    Dec 11, 2020Imad K. Harb

    Morocco became the fourth Arab country to normalize relations with Israel without linking the move to progress regarding Palestine. In fact, the agreement had …

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyUS Foreign Policy

    What Awaits US-Turkey Relations in the Biden Era?

    Dec 9, 2020Mustafa Gurbuz

    A few weeks before the November elections, a video clip of then-presidential candidate Joe Biden went viral in Turkey and caused a stir inside the Turkish gove…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonUS Foreign Policy

    Lebanon and the Biden Administration: Détente or More Sanctions?

    Dec 8, 2020Diana Moukalled

    In 2009, when he was vice president to Barack Obama, President-elect Joe Biden visited Lebanon for a few days. He was then the highest ranking American officia…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanUS Foreign Policy

    Will Biden Help to Restore Jordan’s Position in the Middle East?

    Dec 8, 2020Curtis Ryan

    Jordan’s relations with the United States are almost as old as the kingdom itself, with the country enjoying a generally strengthening relationship over the ye…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaUS Foreign Policy

    Biden Has a New Opportunity in Syria

    Dec 7, 2020Radwan Ziadeh

    The exceptional nature of the 2020 American presidential election, held in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic that has so far killed over a quarter million…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Biden and Correcting the Course of Relations with Palestine

    Dec 4, 2020Zaha Hassan

    Palestinians let out a collective sigh of relief following confirmation that former Vice President Joe Biden won the US presidential election. Though the Pales…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Biden and Israel: The Constraints Are Plentiful

    Dec 4, 2020Yousef Munayyer

    As inauguration nears and President-elect Joe Biden assembles his cabinet and broader domestic and foreign policy teams, they collectively stare at four years …

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaUS Foreign Policy

    The Complications Confronting Biden in Northwest Africa

    Dec 2, 2020Imad K. Harb

    Following four years of American disarray and the absence of an effective foreign policy, the Joe Biden presidency faces both serious challenges in dealing wit…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaUS Foreign Policy

    Biden’s Challenges in Stabilizing Libya

    Dec 2, 2020Karim Mezran Emadeddin Badi

    Upon assuming power, President Joe Biden and his administration will face a still-chaotic Libya despite the many political maneuverings afoot among Libyans and…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptUS Foreign Policy

    The Biden Administration and Egypt: A New Course or Business as Usual?

    Dec 1, 2020Khalil Al-Anani

    Since the announcement of Joe Biden’s victory in the US election, a state of anxiety and unease has gripped Egypt. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi will now lose…

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaUS Foreign Policy

    What Can Tunisia Expect from a Biden Administration?

    Dec 1, 2020Sarah Yerkes

    Like most of its North African neighbors, Tunisia saw little attention from the Trump Administration, compared to other parts of the Middle East such as Egypt,…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    Democracy and Human Rights in the Middle East: The Biden Agenda

    Nov 25, 2020Charles W. Dunne

    As news that former Vice President Joe Biden had won the American presidential election began to circulate on Saturday, November 7, messages of congratulations…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfThe GCC

    The Biden Presidency and the Gulf Arab States

    Assessing the Biden Administration’s future relations with the Gulf, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen writes that it faces a set of difficult challenges on a number o…

  • Viewpoint
    Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    MbS Also Gets Nothing for Normalizing with Israel

    Nov 23, 2020Imad K. Harb

    Once again, Arab solidarity with the Palestinian cause suffered a setback. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) reportedly met with Israeli Pr…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Yemen May Be a Priority for Biden and the Democrats

    As President-elect Joe Biden assembles his team and sets his priorities for the next four years, there has been much speculation as to what he will focus on in…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqUS Foreign Policy

    Biden and Iraq: A Chance to Address Past Mistakes

    Nov 20, 2020Nabeel A. Khoury

    The Biden Administration is likely to change a few policies in the Middle East while keeping others essentially the same. Iran, long considered an adversary, i…

  • Viewpoint
    Morocco

    Does Arab Public Opinion on Palestine Still Count in 2020?

    Nov 18, 2020Khalil E. Jahshan

    Although public opinion research in the Arab world has evolved significantly in recent years, it does not seem to be taken seriously by American policymakers i…

  • Viewpoint
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfDemocracy and Governance

    Arab Public Opinion on National Security and Foreign Intervention

    Nov 17, 2020Joe Macaron

    The Arab League celebrated its 75th anniversary this year in the midst of regional politics that have never been more polarized, with continuous foreign interv…

  • Policy Analysis
    Security and Defense

    Military Institutions and Poor Governance in the Arab World

    Nov 16, 2020Imad K. Harb

    The latest Arab Opinion Index (AOI) from the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) in Doha, Qatar, reveals an interesting combination of views ab…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    A Prognosis for American Involvement in the Middle East

    Nov 14, 2020Kenneth Katzman

    There is little doubt that the American approach to the Middle East has been undergoing significant change and will continue to do so. This trend might represe…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    The Trump Term: An Israel-Palestine Damage Assessment

    Nov 11, 2020Yousef Munayyer

    Shortly after he was elected as president in November 2016, Donald Trump quickly got to work on advancing his Israel policy. In fact, he might have focused mor…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Lebanon Risks Becoming Irrelevant

    Nov 11, 2020Imad K. Harb

    For the third time in the span of a year, Lebanese politicians are trying to go back to the proverbial drawing board. On October 22nd, President Michel Aoun ap…

  • Policy Analysis
    Public Opinion

    How Do People in the Middle East View the US Presidential Election?

    With the United States playing a major role in Middle East politics, US presidential elections are usually of utmost importance to the region’s leaders, elites…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    Iran and the World Wait for Biden

    Nov 5, 2020Daniel Brumberg

    Iranian leaders have insisted that the November 3rd US elections would have no real significance for Iran’s basic interests. But such assertions should not be …

  • Policy Analysis
    UAEUS Foreign Policy

    The Middle East Accords: An Arab Perspective

    Nov 2, 2020Imad K. Harb

    The recent agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Sudan will not help the cause of regional peace.On August 13, President D…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s Iraq: Challenges and Prospects

    Nov 2, 2020Abbas Kadhim

    The Iraqi Council of Representatives voted to confirm Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on May 7, 2020, after two aborted attempts to replace his predecessor, …

  • Policy Analysis
    Security and Defense

    As US Counterterrorism Policy Focus Wavers, a Thorough Review Is Needed

    Oct 28, 2020Charles W. Dunne

    The struggle to defeat global terrorism has been a dominant issue in the last four presidential elections, but not so in 2020. As the race between Donald Trump…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelGlobal Health and Health Policy

    Another Test of Palestinian Sumud: COVID-19 in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem

    Oct 27, 2020Yara M. Asi

    As the world has endured the crushing outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past seven months, a common refrain often heard is that “the virus knows no bo…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptProtests and Activism

    Protests of the Poor in Egypt: Causes and Implications

    Oct 21, 2020Khalil Al-Anani

    On September 20th, a series of anti-government demonstrations broke out in a number of Egyptian governorates and villages protesting the social and economic co…

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