• Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Mechanics of Israel’s Annexation in the West Bank

    Jun 16, 2020Jonathan Kuttab

    Looking ahead at likely scenarios after Israel annexes areas of the West Bank, Jonathan Kuttab posits that it will be impossible to deny that the act represent…

  • From our Affiliates
    Palestine/IsraelInternational Law

    Welcome to the “New Gaza”

    May 19, 2020Ibrahim Fraihat

    Ibrahim Fraihat suggests that Palestinians should disabuse themselves of the idea that a one-state solution is possible for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict si…

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

    The Nakba 72 Years On: The Current Status of the Question of Palestine

    May 15, 2020Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Tamara Kharroub Yousef Munayyer Marwan Bishara Diana Buttu

    Arab Center Washington DC research fellows and associates share their opinions and perspectives on the question of Palestine as Palestinians and the world mark…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Politics of COVID-19 in Egypt: Between Repression and Opportunism

    May 12, 2020Khalil Al-Anani

    The Egyptian regime's medical assistance to the United States and other countries during the coronavirus pandemic is meant to mollify international criticism o…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaDemocracy and Governance

    MbS’s New “Vision 2020”: Reform and Repression

    May 5, 2020Daniel Brumberg

    Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) will most likely weather the political, economic, and health storms generated by COVID-19. Prompted by th…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Playing Politics with Aid: Israel’s Response to COVID-19 in Gaza

    Apr 29, 2020Yousef Munayyer

    Yousef Munayyer asserts that Israel's facilitation of COVID-19-related aid to Gaza will largely further one overarching priority: to serve Israel's political o…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaDemocracy and Governance

    Syria’s Authoritarian Regime and COVID-19

    Apr 24, 2020Radwan Ziadeh

    Syria's delayed admission of COVID-19 cases was dictated by the regime's political calculations and its hope to use the cover of the pandemic to avoid sanction…

  • Policy Analysis
    AlgeriaDemocracy and Governance

    COVID-19 Promises Algeria Uncertainty, Danger, and—Perhaps—Opportunity

    Apr 23, 2020Daniel Brumberg

    Daniel Brumberg discusses the political and economic circumstances surrounding the Algerian military's handling of the coronavirus epidemic, using the situatio…

  • Policy Analysis
    Democracy and Governance

    Authoritarianism and the Middle East in the Time of COVID-19

    Apr 2, 2020Charles W. Dunne

    Authoritarian governments and leaders in the Middle East have used the cover of the coronavirus pandemic to disperse demonstrations, jail activists, stifle dis…

  • Policy Analysis
    Global Health and Health Policy

    The Coronavirus Pandemic and the Arab World: Impact, Politics, and Mitigation

    Arab Center Washington DC's resident and non-resident fellows and scholars investigate and report on the different aspects of the COVID-19 global public health…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Complications for Turkey in Idlib

    Mar 17, 2020Mustafa Gurbuz

    Ankara’s options in Idlib are extremely limited as it must enforce moderation on the part of the extremists as well as address the refugee crisis.

  • 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…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance

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

    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
    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
    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…

  • 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 …

  • 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 …

  • 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
    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
    Democracy and Governance

    Prospects for Democratic Change in the Arab World in 2020

    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…

  • 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
    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.

  • 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
    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
    IraqProtests and Activism

    Will Iraq’s Protests Lead to Radical Change?

    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…

  • 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
    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
    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
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    There Will Be a One-State Solution But What Kind of State Will It Be?

    Oct 17, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    For nearly three decades, the so-called two-state solution has dominated discussions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But the idea of two states for two pe…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Abbas Calls for Elections, but Will They Be Held?

    Oct 16, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    Yousef Munayyer discounts the possibility of holding new Palestinian presidential and legislative elections despite the parties’ repeated assertions that they …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Palestinian Arab Vote in Israel: Mere Protest or Significant Influence?

    Khalil E. Jahshan writes that until Israeli Jewish society undergoes serious change and accepts the Arab parties into the political process, the role of Palest…

  • Policy Analysis
    AlgeriaJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Algeria’s Standoff between Protesters and the Regime

    There is a dangerous standoff in Algeria between the protesters, who are demanding regime change, and the military establishment, which wants to maintain the s…

  • External Readings
    LevantDemocracy and Governance

    Israel after Netanyahu?

    Sep 19, 2019Marwan Bishara

    No leader of a national unity government in Israel will be willing, let alone capable of, taking any serious step towards peace

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Netanyahu’s Annexation Promises: Electioneering or Actual Plan?

    Sep 17, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    Even if Netanyahu does not become the next prime minister of Israel, his ideas, including annexation, are likely to govern and shape Israeli politics for years…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Israel Shuts Out Tlaib and Omar, Stoking a Partisan Divide

    Aug 28, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    By shutting the door on Representatives Tlaib and Omar, Netanyahu may have broken open the floodgates of partisan politics on Israel that establishment Democra…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptEnergy and Economics

    Positive Economic Growth in Egypt Belies Mounting Problems

    Opening up the political and economic systems in Egypt would allow for sustained private sector growth and a free flow of ideas—and criticism—that would keep t…

  • Policy Analysis
    BahrainConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Drama since Manama: Kushner’s Failed Initiative

    Aug 15, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    Jared Kushner’s latest trip to the Middle East appears to have failed in charting a way forward for the Trump Administration’s illusive peace deal between Pale…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    In Saudi Arabia, Covering the Khashoggi Murder Is a State Affair

    Aug 13, 2019Connor Echols

    Over the last decade, stories about the potential for freedom of the press in the Arab world have alternated between hopeful and hopeless. The 2011 Arab uprisi…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Partition and Spheres of Influence in Syria

    Aug 5, 2019Radwan Ziadeh

    Radwan Ziadeh opines that Syria can no longer be considered a homeland for all Syrians and that its partition has become a reality. Restoring its societal make…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Trump and the Evangelicals Define Support for Israel

    Jul 26, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    President Trump is instrumentalizing Israel to keep his right-wing Christian Evangelical base energized and supportive as he comes under attack for other contr…

  • Policy Analysis
    AlgeriaJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    The Arab Spring May Still Be Alive in Northwestern Africa

    Jul 25, 2019Charles W. Dunne

    The popular uprisings and challenges to the regimes in Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania indicate that the Arab Spring may not have ended and that authoritarian…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Turkey’s Nativist Turn against Syrian Refugees and Other Arabs

    Jul 23, 2019Mustafa Gurbuz

    The key drivers that fuel the recent nativist sentiment in Turkey are the worsening economy and the politicization of the refugee issue by divisive election ca…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Using Israel to Justify His Racist Attacks, Trump Sets a Dangerous Precedent

    Jul 17, 2019Tamara Kharroub

    To associate loyalty to the US with being white, and supporting Israel sets an extremely dangerous precedent.

  • Viewpoint
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Palestinian Public Rejects Kushner’s Plans

    Jul 8, 2019Imad K. Harb

    A recent survey in the West Bank and Gaza Strip shows that 79 percent of Palestinians approved of boycotting the Manama workshop and 76 percent doubt Kushner’s…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Child Soldiers in Yemen: One Element of a Humanitarian Disaster

    Jul 8, 2019Annelise Adrian

    ACW intern Annelise Adrian reports on the use of child soldiers in the Yemen war by both the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi rebel group. This is one of the…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelEnergy and Economics

    An Economic Analysis of Kushner’s Failed Plan

    Jul 3, 2019Ibrahim Shikaki

    “Peace to Prosperity” brings little that is new to the table, follows an ill-suited fundamentalist market ideology, and ignores the Israeli occupation as the m…

  • Viewpoint
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Bahrain Workshop in Retrospect: Critical Israeli and American Jewish Responses

    The general Israeli approval of the Trump Administration’s “Peace to Prosperity” plan was not universal, noting that some Israeli peace groups, US and Israeli …

  • Policy Analysis
    BahrainConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Manama Meeting and Its Winners and Losers

    ACW fellows argue that neither Kushner’s “Peace to Prosperity” plan nor the Bahrain meeting addressed the political aspects of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict…

  • Viewpoint
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Kushner’s Economic Plan Liquidates the Cause of Palestinian Statehood

    Jun 27, 2019Imad K. Harb

    Imagine, if you will, that it is Spring 2017 and you are Jared Kushner, son-in-law of the newly sworn-in American president. He has anointed you special envoy …

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Morsi’s Death: Conflicting Narratives, Escalating Repression, Deepening Polarization

    Jun 25, 2019Sahar Khamis

    Former President Mohamed Morsi’s death is emblematic of continuing government repression and unchecked violations of human rights in Egypt that threaten the li…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Idlib between Regional and International Imbalances

    Jun 5, 2019Radwan Ziadeh

    Radwan Ziadeh writes that the Trump Administration must look at Syria as more than merely a humanitarian crisis and help in reaching a political transition to …

  • Policy Analysis

    Time, Transition, and Justice in Arab States

    Jun 1, 2019Noha Aboueldahab

    This paper is part of ACW's fourth book, titled The Arab World Beyond Conflict.What does it mean to pursue criminal accountability in the context of resurgent …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantEnergy and Economics

    Deep Socioeconomic Disparities Exacerbate Arab Tensions

    Jun 1, 2019Rami G. Khouri

    This paper is part of ACW's fourth book, titled The Arab World Beyond Conflict.The far-reaching turmoil that plagues most Arab countries today reflects problem…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Insult of the Century: Assessing the Trump Administration’s Peace Plan

    May 30, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    The Trump Administration’s Palestinian-Israeli peace deal, leaked to the press, and the upcoming Bahrain meeting represent an insult to the Palestinians and ar…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Is Partition Becoming a Reality in Yemen?

    May 22, 2019Imad K. Harb

    If Yemen’s southern secessionists succeed in establishing a UAE-controlled rump state, Saudi Arabia will have to contend with either continuing the conflict in…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Egypt’s New Constitutional Amendments: Moving toward Totalitarianism

    Apr 30, 2019Charles W. Dunne

    Egypt's new constitutional amendments, passed overwhelmingly in a national referendum, drive the country further along the road to totalitarianism. In reality,…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Will Israel’s New Government Annex the West Bank?

    Apr 24, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    With growing domestic support and unquestioning backing from the Trump White House, Israeli leaders may decide that there is a rare opportunity to annex at lea…

  • External Readings
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    The logic behind US humiliation of the Palestinians

    Apr 24, 2019Marwan Bishara

    The Trump administration has launched an all-out diplomatic assault on the Palestinians, while preparing a new initiative to resolve the Middle East conflict.

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    The Policy of No Return: The Case of Syrian Refugees

    Apr 2, 2019Radwan Ziadeh

    The third annual conference to support Syrian refugees concluded in Brussels with $7 billion pledged but without political commitments, exposing shortcomings a…

  • Viewpoint
    LevantInternational Law

    Trump and the Occupied Syrian Golan Heights

    Mar 25, 2019Radwan Ziadeh

    Trump’s presidential proclamation officially recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli territory will have serious implications for international law, US role i…

  • Viewpoint
    LevantInternational Law

    Do Not Recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Occupied Golan

    Mar 15, 2019Imad K. Harb

    By agreeing to Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, the Trump Administration would be dealing a serious blow to its global influence––let alone its moral …

  • Viewpoint
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    It May Be Time to Go Beyond Zionism

    Mar 8, 2019Laurie King

    It is necessary to distinguish between hatred of Jews and valid and overdue criticism of Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law.

  • Viewpoint
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Bankrolling Kushner’s Mideast Plan

    The Palestinians have no option but to reject the Trump Administration’s peace plan because of its failure to publicly and explicitly guarantee Palestinian sta…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Syria’s Demographic Changes Buttress Assad’s Authoritarianism

    Mar 1, 2019Radwan Ziadeh

    The Syrian regime violated international prohibitions on the conduct of war by forcing millions of people to flee their homes in order to spur demographic chan…

  • Viewpoint
    Saudi ArabiaInternational Law

    The Khashoggi Affair: Saudi Denial 2.0

    Feb 14, 2019Khalil E. Jahshan

    Saudi Arabia continues to deny its leadership’s responsibility for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, despite all the evidence that has emerged since his assassin…

  • Viewpoint
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    A Pharaoh in the Making: Sisi Seeks Long-term Job Security

    Feb 5, 2019Imad K. Harb

    Many Arab presidents have loved the chair and have worked hard to make it more like a throne. One wonders if Sisi would be audacious enough to just declare him…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanDemocracy and Governance

    How Netanyahu’s Dominance of Israeli Politics Has Shaped the Field

    Feb 5, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    Whatever Netanyahu's fortunes in the coming elections, his brand of politics has already conquered Israel's political landscape, which is unlikely to change an…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    “We are all Darfur!” – Sudan’s Unity Protests Stand a Real Chance. Time for the West to Step Up

    Jan 29, 2019Linda Bishai Azaz Elshami

    A series of student-led protests in Sudan that started in the provinces has quietly grown into a bona fide movement.