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Democracy and GovernancePresident Trump and the Republican Congress: Smooth Sailing or Choppy Waters?
Jan 25, 2017Roxanne PeruginoFor only the third time since 1929, the Republican Party will control the House, Senate and the White House and have the opportunity to choose a Supreme Court …
- Policy AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
Aoun in Riyadh: A Test for Lebanon’s Foreign Policy
Jan 25, 2017Joe MacaronIn November 2014, General Michel Aoun told the Lebanese daily newspaper, As-Safir, that the late Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal was behind a veto to ele…
- Policy AnalysisOmanThe GCC
Oman’s Needed Adjustment During the Trump Presidency
Jan 18, 2017Imad K. HarbThe Sultanate of Oman has arguably always been an outlier regarding unified Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) action since the organization’s establishment in 198…
- Policy AnalysisIraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
Turkish-Iraqi Relations: Old Trends and Future Possibilities
Jan 17, 2017Abdulwahab Al-QassabRelations between Iraq and Turkey have been cordial and cautious since Iraq became independent of Ottoman suzerainty after WWI, when British forces invaded and…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyThe Battle for DNC Chair: Palestine and Democratic Party Politics after Trump’s Election
Jan 17, 2017Tamara Kharroub2016 was a tumultuous year for the Democratic Party. Democrats lost the White House, both houses of Congress, and a large number of gubernatorial races (two-th…
- Policy AnalysisLevantUS Foreign Policy
Washington Rebalancing Away from the Middle East? Realities and Difficulties
Jan 9, 2017Imad K. HarbIn a speech to the Australian parliament in November 2011, President Barack Obama declared that the Asia-Pacific region had become a “top priority” in US secur…
- Policy AnalysisIranIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
Rafsanjani’s Death and Its Impact on Iran’s Political Bazaar
Jan 9, 2017Imad K. HarbThe death of former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani comes at a critical time in the Islamic Republic’s political history. As one of the founders…
- Policy AnalysisLevantUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Recalculating Route: America and Israel on Divergent Paths
Jan 3, 2017Yousef MunayyerIn May 2016, I wrote that the Obama Administration should carefully weigh options for how to address the Israeli/Palestinian issue during its last months in of…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
US President-elect Donald J. Trump and his Foreign Policy Cabinet Choices: Focus on Middle East Issues
Dec 29, 2016Roxanne PeruginoIn the last few weeks, President-elect Donald Trump has been building his team of senior officials. The team selected as his foreign policy appointees presents…
- Policy AnalysisIranConflicts and Conflict Resolution
After Aleppo: The Political and Regional Implications of the New Middle East “Troika”
Dec 28, 2016Joe MacaronSince August 2016, new regional power dynamics have been emerging in the wars in Syria. The trend has manifested itself in the fall of Aleppo and the December …
- Policy AnalysisIranConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Sidelining Asad: Questioning the Future of Russian-Iranian-Turkish Convergence in Syria
Dec 27, 2016Imad K. HarbThe battle of Aleppo has finally been decided in favor of the Syrian regime and its Russian, Iranian, and militia cohorts. But for all intents and purposes, th…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
UN Security Council Passes Resolution Against Israeli Settlements
Dec 23, 2016Tamara KharroubOn Wednesday, December 21, 2016, Egypt circulated a draft resolution calling for an end to Israeli settlements and demanding Israel to “immediately and complet…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Breaking Ground in Jerusalem
Dec 22, 2016Yousef MunayyerSome things are utterly predictable. The sun will always rise in the east, rain will always be wet, and US presidential candidates who promise to move the Amer…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
President-elect Donald Trump Nominates David Friedman as US Ambassador to Israel
Dec 22, 2016Roxanne PeruginoOn December 15, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump nominated David Friedman to the post of US ambassador to Israel. Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer, has no diplo…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Secretary of Energy-designate Rick Perry
Dec 22, 2016Roxanne PeruginoIn an ironic twist, President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Texas Governor Rick Perry as his secretary of energy. The Energy Department is the same agency Perr…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Profile of Secretary of State-designate Rex W. Tillerson
Dec 15, 2016Roxanne PeruginoPresident-elect Donald Trump named Rex Tillerson, Exxon-Mobil CEO, as his choice for secretary of state on December 13. The appointment is controversial and ha…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
What is Next for Turkey after the Fall of Aleppo?
Dec 15, 2016Mustafa GurbuzAfter the fall of Aleppo, Turkey’s capacity to maneuver in the region will suffer tremendously. Indeed, the fall of Aleppo has increased tensions among Syrian …
- Policy AnalysisIranConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The GCC at 35: Regional Concerns and Strategic Hedging
Dec 15, 2016Imad K. HarbLast week, the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) concluded its 37th summit meeting in Manama, Bahrain, amid many hopeful pronouncements as well as atte…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Trump’s “Ultimate Deal” on Palestine/Israel
Dec 8, 2016Tamara KharroubIn the first interview after his election victory, Donald J. Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he wants to broker a deal between Israel and the Palestini…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The “Incredible” John Kerry: Ineffectiveness and Inconsistency
Dec 8, 2016Yousef MunayyerIt was painful to watch. Secretary of State John Kerry trying to explain and defend American foreign policy in the Middle East is such an uncomfortable sight. …
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Trump Nominates Treasury and Commerce Secretaries
Dec 5, 2016Roxanne PeruginoSteven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury-designatePresident-elect Donald Trump has nominated his campaign finance chairman, Steven Mnuchin, to be secretary of…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Trump Announces Retired USMC General James “Mad Dog” Mattis as Secretary of Defense
Dec 5, 2016Roxanne PeruginoOn December 1, during a victory rally in Ohio, President-elect Donald Trump announced the nomination of retired Marine Corps General James “Mad Dog” Mattis to …
- Policy AnalysisViolent Extremism
Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) in the United States: An Assessment of Domestic and International Efforts
Countering Violent Extremism, or CVE, is a relatively new but expanding framework of practices for US “soft power” engagement with radicalization and extremism…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Trump Announces Additions to National Security Team
Dec 1, 2016Roxanne PeruginoNikki R. Haley, Ambassador-designate to the United NationsOn November 22, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump nominated South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as h…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
The Misplaced Hope of Lebanon’s Presidential Election
Dec 1, 2016Imad K. HarbDevelopments in Lebanon during November 2016 made it increasingly evident that the election as president of Michel Aoun, former general and leader of the Refor…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Trump’s Cabinet Begins to Take Shape
Nov 23, 2016Roxanne PeruginoOn November 18, President-elect Donald Trump named three Cabinet positions, all of which are considered controversial to varying degrees
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Understanding the Conditions Leading to Trump’s Victory
Nov 17, 2016Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS)Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election on November 8 came as a complete shock to many in the United States and abroad, as if the statistical li…
- Policy AnalysisIraqConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Mosul will not be Truly Liberated Without Strong Political Leadership
Nov 17, 2016Mustafa GurbuzThe military victory in Mosul will not be sufficient unless the United States finds a political resolution, in cooperation with local parties, that addresses S…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
What can President-elect Trump achieve with a Republican Congress?
Nov 17, 2016Roxanne PeruginoElection ResultsIn a departure from the voter tradition of preferring a divided government, i.e. one party controlling the presidency and another the Congress,…
- Policy AnalysisIranConflicts and Conflict Resolution
November 8: What’s at stake for the Arab world?
Nov 7, 2016Joe MacaronWhat motivates the Arab world’s interest in the 2016 US presidential election is primarily the concern about Washington’s role in the Middle East as well as th…
- Policy AnalysisLevantDemocracy and Governance
Arab Issues Awaiting the Next President
Nov 7, 2016Imad K. HarbAmidst the maelstrom that is the presidential election, American foreign policy has regressed to the uncomfortable and neglected recesses reserved for untoucha…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
End of Stalemate: A Loose Power-Sharing Agreement in Lebanon
Oct 28, 2016Joe MacaronAfter a 30-month impasse that paralyzed the country’s governing institutions and questioned the legitimacy of the confessional system, the Lebanese Parliament …
- Policy AnalysisIraqConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Battle of Mosul Portends the Future of Iraq
Oct 28, 2016Imad K. HarbThe long-awaited battle to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is underway. Months prior, the Iraqi army and police,…
- Policy AnalysisIraqConflicts and Conflict Resolution
‘Underlearning’ the Lessons of Iraq: American Agility and Russian Influence
Oct 20, 2016Yousef MunayyerPerhaps one of the most cited criticisms of US foreign policy relating to Syria today is the notion that President Barack Obama has “overlearned” the lessons o…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The New Regional Order amid the Aleppo Rubble
Oct 20, 2016Joe MacaronIt became obvious in recent weeks that the US-Russian channel regarding Syria has run its course and can no longer be the bedrock of serious diplomatic efforts…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
The Two Presidential Candidates and Their Middle East Policies
Oct 13, 2016Roxanne PeruginoMost voters almost never decide a presidential election based on foreign policy, but Clinton is one of the leaders of the centrist Democratic foreign policy es…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Colombia Peace Talks: Lessons for Palestine Policy
Oct 13, 2016Yousef MunayyerAfter four years of painstaking negotiations, the 52-year war in Colombia between the government and rebels looked like it was coming to an end. Then, in one d…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptSecurity and Defense
Future US-Egyptian Relations: The Old Status Quo Redux
Oct 13, 2016Imad K. HarbA long time ago, there appeared to be a symbiotic relationship between the United States and Egypt. The former was a strategic benefactor that understood the i…
- 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. …
