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- Policy AnalysisIranConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Hezbollah, Iran, and the Politics of Obstructionism
Sep 23, 2016Imad K. HarbOn September 7, Lebanon’s Parliament failed for the forty-third time to convene a session to elect a president. Since the expiration of former president Michel…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Doomed to Fail: Syria is not Ready for a Ceasefire
Sep 23, 2016Joe MacaronFor the second time in nearly six months, Washington and Moscow are striving to implement a nationwide ceasefire in Syria. The ultimate objective of establishi…
- Policy AnalysisLevantSecurity and Defense
New US-Israeli Military Aid Package Reflects Shifts in Relationship
Sep 15, 2016Yousef MunayyerOn September 14, 2016 the United States and Israel signed a new 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on military aid, which replaces a previous MOU set to…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Senate Races 2016 Update
Sep 7, 2016Roxanne PeruginoIn 62 days voters will cast their ballots for President and for 34 Senate seats up for re-election. Democrats remain cautiously optimistic that their party ca…
- Policy AnalysisLevantReligion and Politics
Implications of Al-Qaeda Rebranding in Syria
Aug 31, 2016Radwan ZiadehThe announcement by the top leader of Al-Nusra Front in Syria Abu Mohammed Joulani to distance his group from Al-Qaeda last month was very controversial.…
- Policy AnalysisLevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics
The US fatal mistake in northern Syria
Aug 31, 2016Joe MacaronThe moment the Turkish incursion into Syrian Territory began on August 24, the stage was set for a looming direct military confrontation between Ankara a…
- Policy AnalysisLevantDemocracy and Governance
Biden in Ankara enticing Erdogan to weigh his options
Aug 24, 2016Joe MacaronVice President Joe Biden visited Ankara on August 24 to salvage the remnants of US interests in Turkey. The July 15 military coup attempt left President Recep …
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
A Sane Alternative to Trump: Hillary has yet to Define her Nomination
Aug 2, 2016Joe MacaronAfter scrambling to unite her Democratic Party at the outset of the convention in Philadelphia last week, presidential nominee Hillary Clinton rolled out her n…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
DNC 2016 Platform: In Denial over Mideast Challenges, Dispensable Language on Israel
Jul 29, 2016Joe MacaronLike every partisan document in a tense prelude to national elections, the 2016 Democratic platform reflected the party’s status quo with presidential nominee …
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Democratic Party Unity Remains a Challenge for Hillary Clinton
Jul 27, 2016Joe MacaronThe Democratic Party confirmed on July 26 the candidacy of Hillary Clinton, making her the first female presidential nominee of a major party in American polit…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Trump’s Convention Speech and the Rise of Conservative Nationalism
Jul 25, 2016Joe MacaronRepublican presidential nominee Donald Trump is the first American politician in modern history to invoke both nationalism and populism in a successful bid to …
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Kaine: A Political Profile
Jul 23, 2016John GregoryTimothy Michael “Tim” Kaine was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on February 26, 1958, but grew up mainly in the suburbs of Kansas City, Missouri. After graduating…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Mike Pence: A Political Profile
Jul 20, 2016John GregoryIndiana Governor Mike Pence was born on June 7, 1959, in Columbus, Indiana. His family was Irish Catholic and Democratic and had President John F. Kennedy as o…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
GOP Platform on the Middle East Offers Tough Talk, Little Change
Jul 20, 2016Joe MacaronAs far as the 2016 Republican Party Platform is concerned, the campaign of the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump is nowhere to be found. The hands-of…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
With Trump Taking Over, A New Republican Party Is Born
Jul 19, 2016Joe MacaronThe Republican National Convention began its deliberations on July 18 to confirm the party’s presidential and vice-presidential nominees for the 2016 US nation…
- Policy AnalysisLevantDemocracy and Governance
The Week that Cut Turkey’s Ambitions Down to Size
Jul 7, 2016Yousef MunayyerAlthough signs of policy adjustment have been in the works for several months, the events of June 2016 were an emphatic marker of a shift in Turkey’s foreign p…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
New Rules of Engagement for US-Hezbollah Arm Wrestling in Lebanon
Jul 6, 2016Joe MacaronLebanon is the only country in the Middle East where US policy is actively seeking to deter Iran’s regional influence. Washington is directly targeting Hezboll…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The State Department’s “Dissent Memo” and US Options in Syria
Jul 6, 2016Radwan ZiadehOn June 16, 2016, a dissent memo regarding Syria was filed with the Director of Policy Planning at the US State Department criticizing the Obama Administration…
- Research PaperEgyptDemocracy and Governance
The Gender Paradox of Arab Democracy
Jun 22, 2016Tamara KharroubOn 17 December 2010, 26-year-old Tunisian street vendor Tarek al-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi was slapped across the face in front of a crowd and insulted by a munic…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Courting the Houthis did not Yield Peace Deal in Yemen
Jun 22, 2016Joe MacaronUnited Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed briefed the Security Council on June 21, 2016 marking 60 days of relentless diplomatic efforts …
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Assessing the Potential Impact of the Paris Peace Conference: Vive la France or Forget Paris?
Jun 4, 2016Yousef MunayyerOne hundred years after the Sykes-Picot agreement, international stakeholders met in Paris on June 3 to discuss the outlines of an Israeli-Palestinian peace pl…
- Policy AnalysisIranReligion and Politics
Battle over Fallujah Tests US-Iran Tacit Deal against ISIL
Jun 3, 2016Joe MacaronAs Major General Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s al-Quds Force, was reportedly spotted in the northern outskirts of the besieged city of Fallujah, …
- Policy AnalysisLevantUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Why the World Shouldn’t Panic About Trump
Jun 1, 2016Joe Macaron“Everything I say right now is a suggestion, I am not the President,” the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Fox News on May 13. However, his …
- Policy AnalysisLevantDemocracy and Governance
Lessons of Israel’s Political Shuffle
May 20, 2016Yousef MunayyerThe latest political move by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is significant on many fronts. Yesterday the news was reported that Netanyahu had offere…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
What Municipal Elections Mean for Lebanon
May 17, 2016Joe MacaronLebanon is holding this month municipal elections across the country, the first electoral test since the start of the Syrian war. The ruling traditional partie…
- Policy AnalysisLevantInternational Law
Navigating Pitfalls and Opportunities: Obama’s Parting Shot on Israel/Palestine
May 17, 2016Yousef MunayyerPresident Obama, who gave his first interview to Al-Arabiya in 2009 and spoke again few months later in his Cairo address about Palestinian aspirations, is now…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Paris Initiative and US Middle East Policy: Paving the Way for the 4th Intifada – Why justice is the only roadmap to peace
May 16, 2016Tamara KharroubIn the middle of the US presidential election season, France has elected to take the opportunity and break the US monopoly over the Middle East peace process, …
- Policy AnalysisIraqDemocracy and Governance
Defeating ISIL is Not Enough to Save Iraq
May 10, 2016Joe MacaronTwo years into the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and amid the persistent downward trend of global oil prices, Iraq is obviously…
- Policy AnalysisLevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
The Coming Change in US-Israel Relations
May 10, 2016Yousef MunayyerThe discussion on Israel at the most recent Democratic presidential debate is but the latest benchmark in progress down a road on which the American people hav…
- Policy AnalysisLevantIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
Freedom of religion as a foundation of Arab democracy: An Arab view of the 2016 report of US Commission on International Religious Freedom
May 3, 2016Tamara KharroubThe onset of the so-called “Arab Spring” in 2011 gave hope to millions of people across the Arab world that change is possible and that freedoms, democratic tr…
- Policy AnalysisIranRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Wanted: A US Strategy in the Middle East
Apr 11, 2016Yousef MunayyerIn 2006, as Israel and Hezbollah were engaged in what would be a 34day war, the longest of any ArabIsraeli war since 1948, US Secretary of State Condoleezza …
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
The promise of democratic socialism: Bernie Sanders, Palestine, and US policy in the Middle East
Apr 11, 2016Tamara KharroubBernard (or Bernie) Sanders is one of two remaining candidates running for the Democratic Party’s nomination for the 2016 US presidential elections. Following …
- Research PaperLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Time for Transitional Justice and National Reconciliation in Syria
Apr 8, 2016Radwan ZiadehTransitional justice refers to a group of activities or investigations that focuses on communities with a legacy of human rights violations, genocide, or other…
- Policy AnalysisLevantDemocracy and Governance
The Obama Doctrine from a Middle East Perspective: Orientalism, Inaction, Contradiction, and Lack of Accountability
Mar 18, 2016Tamara KharroubIn a lengthy narrative collection of conversations and interviews with President Obama and others, journalist Jeffry Goldberg’s tedious tale of “The Obama Doct…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
Saudi Arabia Goes on the Offensive against Hezbollah
Mar 8, 2016Joe MacaronSaudi Arabia’s explicit identification of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah as a strategic threat is a tipping point in the underlying tensions between both sides. …
- Policy AnalysisLevantUS Foreign Policy
US in Libya: The Challenges of a Third Front against ISIL
Feb 25, 2016Joe MacaronPresident Barack Obama’s Administration is considering the opening of a critical third front against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Libya. …
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Presidential Elections 2016: Profile of Senator Ted Cruz
Feb 7, 2016Roxanne PeruginoPersonal Background:Senator Ted Cruz was elected to the US Senate from Texas in November 2012, replacing fellow Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. He is …
- Policy AnalysisIranSecurity and Defense
The Emergence of a New Triangular Relationship in the Middle East
Jan 29, 2016Joe MacaronThe implementation of the Iran nuclear deal on January 16 reinforced the emergence of a new triangular relationship in the Middle East involving the United Sta…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Imagining a Conflict Resolution in Syria: Implications for US Policy
Dec 1, 2015Joe MacaronThe Vienna talks on October 30 launched the third international attempt to resolve the four-year-old conflict in Syria, proposing an end to violence “as soon a…
- Research PaperMedia and Technology
Beyond Trump: Celebrity Candidates, Mediatization of Politics, and US Middle East Policy
Oct 20, 2015Tamara KharroubThe political and media discussions of the presidential campaigns have given great attention to some of the most flamboyant GOP nomination candidates (a.k.a. c…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaSecurity and Defense
Russia’s Middle East Moves and US Options
Oct 15, 2015Yousef MunayyerBackgroundIn recent weeks, Russia has taken quite significant and surprising steps to deepen and strengthen its support for the Assad regime in Syria. Russia h…
- Research PaperReligion and Politics
Five things you need to know about women in Islam: Implications for advancing women’s rights in the Middle East
Oct 4, 2015Tamara KharroubThe issue of women’s rights in Islam has been a contentious area of discussions and intense debates both in the Muslim world and in the West. The two dominant …
- Research PaperMedia and Technology
Cyberactivism in the Middle East: Six potentials and six limitations of new media technologies in democratization
Sep 30, 2015Tamara KharroubThe question that has been the center of discussion both in the Arab world and in the West is why now. What role did the new media tools play in motivating, fa…
- Research PaperIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
Understanding Violent Extremism: The Social Psychology of Identity and Group Dynamics
Sep 25, 2015Tamara KharroubThe issue of violent extremism has been the center of media and policy attention in the United States especially since 9/11. Numerous research and analysis pap…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
The Dynamics of Israeli Settler Terrorism and US Options
Sep 15, 2015Yousef MunayyerIntroductionOn July 31, 2015, Palestinian homes in the village of Duma in the occupied West Bank were set on fire at night by masked assailants who left behind…
- Policy AnalysisIranRegional Relations and Geopolitics
The Iran Nuclear Deal and its Implications for the Region
Jul 31, 2015Yousef MunayyerThe agreement reached by the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK, and the US), the EU and the Islamic Republic of Iran over the latter’s nuclear progr…