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- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and Economics
Trump Is Back: What Does It Mean for Oil and US-Gulf Relations?
Nov 27, 2024Jim KranePresident-elect Donald Trump has made clear his fondness for fossil fuels, a fondness that was reciprocated by many in the industry. Expectations are high. But…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
Saudi Arabia and Trump: Expectations and Challenges Ahead
Nov 14, 2024The Unit for Political StudiesOn November 5, former President Donald Trump successfully reclaimed the White House, achieving a decisive victory over his Democratic opponent, Vice President …
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and Geopolitics
GCC States Seek Diplomacy During US Absence
Nov 12, 2024Kristian Coates UlrichsenThe expansion and partial regionalization of what is already the longest and deadliest conflict in the Israeli-Palestinian arena since 1948 presents the Gulf A…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arab WorldUS Foreign Policy
A Second Trump Administration: Potential Policy Toward the Middle East
Nov 5, 2024Charles W. DunneThe November 5 presidential election is likely to have major implications for US foreign policy, as it pits a centrist and robust internationalist candidate (V…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arab WorldUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Middle East Leaders Prefer Trump’s Victory
Jul 24, 2024Gregory AftandilianDonald J. Trump’s candidacy seems to draw more interest and support from the Middle East than from other areas of the world, particularly from among the ruling…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
Difficulties Facing a US-Saudi Security Agreement
Jun 25, 2024Kristian Coates UlrichsenThe search for a US-brokered Saudi-Israeli deal to normalize relations has assumed outsized significance in the administration’s approach to the Middle East.
- From our AffiliatesSaudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Determinants of Saudi Arabia’s Response to the Gaza War
May 22, 2024Arab Center for Research and Policy StudiesFollowing Hamas’s “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” on October 7, Saudi Arabia publicly criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza and blamed it for escalating tensions, desp…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
The Gaza Crisis Pushes Washington and Riyadh Closer
May 15, 2024Daniel BrumbergHamas’s May 6 acceptance of a hostage deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar was surely designed to induce the White House to pressure Israel to produce a counteroff…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Saudi Arabia May Be Taking Center Stage in Post-Gaza Peace
Feb 28, 2024Kristian Coates UlrichsenWith Israel’s war on Gaza in its fifth month amid ongoing international pressure for a ceasefire, Saudi Arabia has become the focus of much attention over what…
- Policy AnalysisTurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Turkish-Gulf Relations in the Context of Regional Reconciliation
Feb 14, 2024Salim ÇevikSince 2021, Turkey has been resetting its policies in the Middle East and has started to reconcile with its rivals in the previous decade—Egypt, Israel, Saudi …
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Will Saudi Arabia Renew the “Arab Peace Initiative” as the Middle East Seethes?
Oct 23, 2023Daniel BrumbergWhether Hamas’s October 7 assault has ended whatever prospects existed for forging diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia remains to be seen. The…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Saudi-Israeli Normalization and the Hamas Attack
Oct 11, 2023Kristian Coates UlrichsenWhen Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) sat down on September 20 with Brett Baier of Fox News for his first English-language television inter…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and Economics
The Geopolitics of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor
Oct 10, 2023Giorgio CafieroAt the G20 summit held in New Delhi in September 2023, the leaders of France, Germany, India, Italy, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States,…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
The Saudi-Israeli Normalization Gambit: Deal or No Deal?
Aug 30, 2023Khalil E. JahshanAfter weeks of conflicting accounts from columnists and journalists about the outcome of the Biden administration’s intensive shuttle diplomacy aimed at convin…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaThe War in Ukraine
The Russia-Ukraine Jeddah Meeting: A Win for MBS in a Changing Global Order
Aug 24, 2023Daniel BrumbergOver the first weekend of August 2023, Saudi Arabia convened an international summit on the war in Ukraine. Held in Jeddah and attended by representatives from…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
US Negotiations for a Tripartite Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Israel: Context and Calculations
Aug 14, 2023Arab Center for Research and Policy StudiesSaudi Arabia and the United States are conducting complex negotiations in order to achieve a tripartite agreement that would include normalization between the …
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
The UAE-Saudi Arabia Rivalry Becomes a Rift
Jul 6, 2023Charles W. DunneSaudi Arabia and the UAE are waging a quiet struggle to determine who will emerge as the Arabian Gulf’s—and maybe the Arab world’s—preeminent power.
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
Saudi-US Relations in a Changing Global and Regional Landscape
Jun 29, 2023Kristian Coates UlrichsenKristian Coates Ulrichsen discusses the current state of Saudi-US relations as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman seeks to chart a new course in domestic and for…
- Policy AnalysisIranRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Despite US Efforts, Iran is Ascendant
Jun 21, 2023Charles W. DunneIran today is not nearly as isolated as Washington had hoped and it has scored some impressive successes in advancing its regional agenda.
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
The Jeddah Arab League Summit: MBS’s Final Crowning
May 31, 2023Imad K. HarbThe 32nd Arab League Summit was little more than the final crowning of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince as the leader of the current Arab political order.
- Policy AnalysisSudanConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Sudan Crisis: How Regional Actors’ Competing Interests Fuel the Conflict
May 11, 2023Khalil Al-AnaniThe outbreak of military clashes between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have resulted in the deaths of hundreds and t…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaEnergy and Economics
Saudi Oil Production Cuts: A Self-Interested Move
May 10, 2023Patricia KaramSaudi Arabia’s announcement last month of surprise oil production cuts reverberated around the world. The cuts consisted of a voluntary reduction of 500,000 ba…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arab WorldGlobal Health and Health Policy
Challenges Facing the Arab World’s Health Care Professionals
Apr 26, 2023Yara M. AsiIn 2022, the Egyptian Medical Syndicate released a shocking report, finding that over 10,000 Egyptian doctors resigned from positions in government hospitals d…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Geopolitics of Small Islands: The Stalemate of Tiran and Sanafir’s Transfer Impacts Egypt-Saudi Relations
Mar 29, 2023Khalil Al-AnaniIn June 2017, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi consented to ceding sovereignty over the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. However, nearly si…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and Geopolitics
The GCC Is On Board with the Saudi-Iran Agreement
Mar 27, 2023Kristian Coates UlrichsenThe signing of a joint trilateral statement by senior national security officials from Saudi Arabia and Iran in the presence of Chinese officials in Beijing on…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arab WorldUS Foreign Policy
US Middle East Policy: The Trump-Biden Doctrine in Action
Mar 22, 2023Charles W. DunneAll US presidents, it seems, need their own foreign policy “doctrine.” President James Monroe famously started the trend in 1823, and many others—Truman, Eisen…
- Policy AnalysisYemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Yemen and the Saudi-Iran Rapprochement
Mar 22, 2023Nabeel A. KhouryIn the closing scene of the 1942 film Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart, walking off into the fog with his occasional nemesis as they plan their next move together, …
- Policy AnalysisLebanonRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Lebanon and Syria and the Saudi-Iran Detente
Mar 21, 2023Imad K. HarbThe recent China-brokered agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran is expected to have a de-escalating effect on many issues in the Midd…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and Geopolitics
China as Middle East Matchmaker
Mar 16, 2023Daniel BrumbergWhile the central role that China recently played in renewing diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia underscores the United States’ declining influ…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arab WorldThe War in Ukraine
Arab and Israeli Positions on Ukraine War Continue to Frustrate the US
Jan 18, 2023Charles W. DunneThe positions taken by many governments in the Middle East have proven a notable exception to the global groundswell of support for Kyiv.
- ViewpointSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Saudi Arabia Will Not Find Strategic Protection in China
Dec 13, 2022Imad K. HarbSaudi Arabia has just spent three days hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping in a summit that some believe could be fateful for the kingdom’s future strategic a…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
What Lies Ahead for Saudi Arabia in the 118th US Congress
Dec 7, 2022Charles W. DunneNew challenges abound for President Joe Biden in 2023. The loss of a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives for the 118th Congress promises to lea…
- ViewpointThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and Economics
With Friends Like These: OPEC’s Oil Production and US-Gulf Relations
Oct 7, 2022Imad K. HarbIn a move that will certainly have serious political and economic repercussions in the United States and around the world, OPEC+, a group of oil-producing nati…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaGlobal Health and Health Policy
The Captagon Problem in Saudi Arabia and Other Gulf States
Sep 22, 2022Gregory AftandilianOver the past decade, the amphetamine fenethylline, widely known by the brand name Captagon, has increasingly become the drug of choice among the youth in Gulf…
- Policy AnalysisYemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Yemen’s Prospects for Unity Are Uncertain after Many Years of War
Jul 28, 2022Afrah NasserIn 2018, the United Nations Security Council’s Panel of Experts on Yemen suggested that the Yemeni State had begun to fragment as a result of a conflict that i…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
Mohammed bin Salman’s Political Precarity Persists, Despite Perceived Successes
Jul 26, 2022Kristian Coates UlrichsenThe paths of US President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) crossed briefly on July 15 and 16 when Biden stopped in Jeddah, Saudi Arab…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy
Biden’s Trip to the Middle East Failed to Serve US Interests
Jul 22, 2022Jon HoffmanWith President Joe Biden concluding his Middle East visit, many in the United States are left wondering what tangible benefits the American people gained as a …
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy
Reflections on President Biden’s Predictably Disappointing Middle East Trip
US President Joe Biden visited Israel, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia from July 13 to 16 to meet with various regional leaders. This was Biden’s first visit as pr…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy
The Biden Administration Is Struggling to Develop a Middle East Strategy
Jun 10, 2022Daniel BrumbergDespite the declining capacity of the United States to shape the Middle East’s strategic architecture, it is unlikely that effective regional solutions to secu…
- Policy AnalysisTurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Turkish Reasons for a Rapprochement with Saudi Arabia
Jun 2, 2022Mustafa GurbuzTurkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan did not hide his main demand when he buried the case of Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist who was killed o…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Saudi Reasons for a Rapprochement with Turkey
May 31, 2022Kristian Coates UlrichsenReports that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may be planning to visit Turkey as part of an international trip in June, one of his first outside …
- Policy AnalysisYemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Offers Hope Amid Uncertainty
May 24, 2022Gregory AftandilianThe surprise resignation of Yemeni President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi in early April and his immediate replacement by an eight-member Presidential Leadership Coun…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptEnergy and Economics
Gulf Countries’ Aid to Egypt: It Is Politics, Not the Economy, Stupid!
May 5, 2022Khalil Al-AnaniOn April 4, 2022, Gulf Arab countries pledged $22 billion to help Egypt avert a currency crisis resulting from the Russian war on Ukraine. The Egyptian pound l…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaReligion and Politics
The Evolving Relationship Between Religion and Politics in Saudi Arabia
Apr 20, 2022Jon HoffmanSaudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MbS) rise to power has resulted in what are arguably some of the most significant political transformations …
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
After Parting Ways: The Coming Frosty Entente in Saudi-Turkish Relations
Feb 2, 2022Jana J. JabbourThis is likely to be Turkey’s year of normalization with regional counterparts, as 2021 was one of diplomatic restoration for Turkish foreign policy. While in …
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Mohammed bin Salman’s Regional Rebranding Campaign
Dec 16, 2021Kristian Coates UlrichsenSaudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) toured the five smaller Gulf states between December 6, when he visited Oman, and December 10, when he arr…
- Policy AnalysisSudanRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Sudan Coup: The Regional Interference behind a Faltering Transition
Dec 11, 2021Khalil Al-AnaniOn October 25, 2021, Sudan’s General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan staged a coup, declared a state of emergency, dissolved the power-sharing Sovereign Council, sacked…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Turkey and the Gulf States: A New Era of Détente
Dec 8, 2021Mustafa GurbuzTurkish officials celebrated the November 24 visit of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Ankara as the beginning of “a new era” between Tur…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
Saudi Arabia’s Third “Shock and Awe” Move in Lebanon
Nov 9, 2021Joe MacaronOn October 29th, Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Beirut and suspended Lebanon’s imports into Saudi Arabia. These actions were aimed to force the resignation of…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
The Limits of Saudi-Iranian Détente
Oct 29, 2021Daniel BrumbergDuring his years in the Nixon White House in the 1970s, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger sought to manage the US-Soviet rivalry by creating arenas of …
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and Geopolitics
A New Strategic Architecture Is Emerging in the Gulf
Sep 24, 2021Imad K. HarbAs the Gulf crisis of 2017 recedes into memory, following the reconciliation in January at the “solidarity and stability” summit in Saudi Arabia’s al-Ula on th…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
A Saudi-Iranian Rapprochement Still Has a Long Way to Go
Sep 21, 2021Gregory AftandilianTalks in Baghdad between officials of Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have been held periodically since April, have fueled speculation that these two regional pow…
- ViewpointSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Is a Saudi-Emirati Rift on the Horizon?
Jul 7, 2021Imad K. HarbThe Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) appears to be approaching another unwelcome rift, this time between its two most vocal and influential members, Saudi Arabia…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
A Tough Nut to Crack: Rebalancing the US-Saudi Relationship
Jun 2, 2021Charles W. DunneOut on the campaign trail in 2019, presidential candidate Joe Biden made it clear that when it came to a principled US foreign policy, he intended to be the an…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Contingencies Undergird Saudi Foreign Policy
May 18, 2021Kristian Coates UlrichsenA flurry of diplomatic outreach involving Iran, Syria, and Turkey, and a continuing warming of relations with other Gulf countries, have sparked questions over…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEducation and Development
Arab Space Programs Level Up
Apr 30, 2021Charles W. DunnePeople in the Arab world have gazed at the stars with curiosity and genius for centuries. The first observatory was built in the 8th century by Abbasid Caliph …
- ViewpointSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
Mohammed bin Salman in the Hot Seat
Feb 26, 2021Imad K. HarbThe Biden Administration’s release on February 26 of a declassified intelligence report implicating Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) in the assassi…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Egyptian-Saudi Relations: Strategic Ties with Some Political Strains
Feb 9, 2021Gregory AftandilianEgypt 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 AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The Gulf
Saudi Arabia Ends the GCC Crisis
Jan 7, 2021Imad K. HarbIt 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…
- ViewpointSaudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution
MbS Also Gets Nothing for Normalizing with Israel
Nov 23, 2020Imad K. HarbOnce 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 AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy
Saudi Arabia Prefers Implicit Normalization with Israel
Sep 18, 2020Daniel BrumbergSigned at the White House on September 15, the new peace agreements between Israel on the one side and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain on the other …
- Policy AnalysisYemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Riyadh Agreement 2.0 Changes Nothing in Yemen
Aug 19, 2020Nabeel A. KhouryNabeel Khoury contends that the lack of trust between Yemen’s Hadi government and southern secessionists is likely to at least delay the implementation of the …
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaSecurity and Defense
Can Saudi Arabia and the UAE Develop National Arms Industries?
Jul 22, 2020David B. Des RochesWith a speed rarely seen in history, the Gulf Arab states have evolved from mere afterthoughts of colonialism to advanced countries. Located in a strategic reg…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy
US Middle East Policy in Free Fall
May 28, 2020Daniel BrumbergGulf Arab states have little choice but to rely for their security needs on the Trump Administration despite its feckless policy in the Middle East and poor ca…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaDemocracy and Governance
MbS’s New “Vision 2020”: Reform and Repression
May 5, 2020Daniel BrumbergSaudi 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…
- ViewpointYemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution
A Unified Yemen May Soon Cease to Exist
Apr 27, 2020Imad K. HarbWith President Hadi too weak to respond to the self-rule declaration by the UAE- supported Southern Transitional Council, and Saudi Arabia too economically tro…
- Washington Policy WeeklySaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
Did the Saudi-Led Oil Deal Diminish Republicans’ 2020 Electoral Chances?
Apr 15, 2020Marcus MontgomeryBecause the health of the US economy is critical for Donald Trump's reelection hopes, Marcus Montgomery asks if the recent Saudi-led OPEC+ cuts will contribute…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaDemocracy and Governance
The Fourth Saudi State Remains a Distant Vision
Apr 3, 2020Imad K. HarbImad K. Harb argues that Mohammed bin Salman’s chaotic and authoritarian stewardship of Saudi domestic and international affairs may well impede the establishm…
- ViewpointSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
The Khashoggi Verdict: Whitewashing a Murder
Dec 26, 2019Imad K. HarbSaudi 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 AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfThe GCC
GCC Reconciliation Is Coming, but Pesky Issues Remain
Dec 8, 2019Imad K. HarbA 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…
- From our AffiliatesYemenRegional 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 AnalysisIranConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Learning to Say “No” To Saudi Arabia on Iran and Yemen
Sep 25, 2019Daniel BrumbergDaniel Brumberg writes that against the background of the White House’s escalating conflict with Tehran, Washington seems unwilling or unable to break its habi…