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  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and Economics

    OPEC Is Pushing Down Oil Prices Despite a Cash Crunch in Saudi Arabia. Here Is Why

    Aug 21, 2025Jim Krane

    Something odd is happening in oil markets. Demand is weaker than it has been in many years, yet OPEC+ is unwinding cuts and increasing production at a brisk pa…

  • From our Affiliates
    Saudi ArabiaThe War on Gaza

    Saudi Arabia’s Response to Israel’s New Security Doctrine in the Levant

    Aug 14, 2025The Unit for Political Studies

    In July 2025, Saudi Arabia and France jointly convened a high-profile diplomatic conference in New York dedicated to reviving momentum for a negotiated two-sta…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Saudi Arabia and the New Syria: Constructive Pragmatism?

    Aug 7, 2025Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    A large Saudi business delegation traveled to Syria on July 23-25, 2025, and participated in an inaugural Syrian-Saudi Investment Forum at the presidential pal…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Israel-Iran Confrontation Tests Saudi Arabia’s Quest for Neutrality

    Jul 2, 2025The Unit for Political Studies

    Overnight on June 21-22, American military aircraft launched strikes on three nuclear facilities inside Iran, most notably the fortified Fordow plant. To reach…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Deals Without Guarantees: Trump’s Gulf Visit and the Future of US–Saudi Relations

    May 22, 2025The Unit for Political Studies

    On May 13, US President Donald Trump began a four-day tour of Gulf countries, during which he traveled to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UA…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    President Trump’s Gulf Trip: Post-Visit Observations

    May 20, 2025Charles W. Dunne Dana El Kurd Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Assal Rad Annelle Sheline

    Last week President Donald Trump ended a three-country trip to the Arabian Gulf—Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates—where he signed lucrative arm…

  • Viewpoint
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    President Trump Does Business in Saudi Arabia

    May 13, 2025Imad K. Harb

    In front of a packed hall hosting an investment forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, US President Donald Trump spoke of an ironclad American-Saudi relationship that …

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    US Policy and Gulf Arab Interests: More Clash, Less Harmony

    May 6, 2025Jim Krane

    Gulf sovereign wealth funds are grappling with zig-zagging share valuations, while the falling oil price—compounded by a falling dollar—is throttling capital f…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Trump’s Upcoming Trip to Saudi Arabia Amid Regional Uncertainties

    Apr 25, 2025Gregory Aftandilian

    President Donald Trump plans to make Saudi Arabia the first country he will visit during his second term in office—after his visit to the Vatican to take part …

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Saudi Arabia’s Calculated Re-engagement in Syria and Lebanon

    Apr 8, 2025Unit for Political Studies

    On March 28, the Syrian and Lebanese defense ministers signed an agreement in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, affirming the importance of demarcating borders between the…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    A Decade after the Saudi Military Intervention in Yemen: An Assessment

    Mar 25, 2025Afrah Nasser

    Exactly a decade ago, Saudi Arabia announced the launch of a military intervention in Yemen, promising to lead a coalition of more than 10 nations—although som…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Recent Arab Moves Deserve Bold Follow-Up

    Feb 21, 2025Rami G. Khouri

    Four key political actors in the Middle East have recently made surprising moves that offered hints of how Arab states and non-state actors can collectively en…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Normalization and Displacement: Saudi Arabia and Trump’s Gaza Proposal

    Feb 20, 2025The Unit for Political Studies

    Saudi Arabia is deeply concerned about the risks that Trump’s Gaza project poses to Egypt and Jordan and are uneasy about repeated American and Israeli stateme…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and Economics

    Trump Is Back: What Does It Mean for Oil and US-Gulf Relations?

    Nov 27, 2024Jim Krane

    President-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 Analysis
    IranRegional Implications and Geopolitics

    Security Dimensions of the Saudi-Iranian Détente

    Nov 21, 2024Giorgio Cafiero

    The Saudi-Iranian renormalization deal, signed in Beijing on March 10, 2023, has led to a significant reduction in friction between Riyadh and Tehran. Even as …

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Saudi Arabia and Trump: Expectations and Challenges Ahead

    Nov 14, 2024The Unit for Political Studies

    On November 5, former President Donald Trump successfully reclaimed the White House, achieving a decisive victory over his Democratic opponent, Vice President …

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    GCC States Seek Diplomacy During US Absence

    Nov 12, 2024Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    The 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 Analysis
    IranThe War on Gaza

    A Second Trump Administration: Potential Policy Toward the Middle East

    Nov 5, 2024Charles W. Dunne

    The 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 Analysis
    The Arab WorldUS Domestic Politics and Elections

    Middle East Leaders Prefer Trump’s Victory

    Jul 24, 2024Gregory Aftandilian

    Donald 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 Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaDiplomacy and Negotiations

    Difficulties Facing a US-Saudi Security Agreement

    Jun 25, 2024Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    The search for a US-brokered Saudi-Israeli deal to normalize relations has assumed outsized significance in the administration’s approach to the Middle East.

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Determinants of Saudi Arabia’s Response to the Gaza War

    May 22, 2024Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies

    Following 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 Analysis
    LevantRegional Implications and Geopolitics

    The Gaza Crisis Pushes Washington and Riyadh Closer

    May 15, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    Hamas’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 Analysis
    LevantDiplomacy and Negotiations

    Saudi-Israeli Normalization Persists Amid Gaza War

    May 3, 2024The Unit for Political Studies

    Before “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” launched by Hamas on October 7, 2023, the Biden administration was attempting to conclude a diplomatic groundbreaking deal in…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Saudi Arabia May Be Taking Center Stage in Post-Gaza Peace

    Feb 28, 2024Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    With 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 Analysis
    TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Turkish-Gulf Relations in the Context of Regional Reconciliation

    Feb 14, 2024Salim Çevik

    Since 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 Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Will Saudi Arabia Renew the “Arab Peace Initiative” as the Middle East Seethes?

    Oct 23, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    Whether 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 Analysis
    LevantDiplomacy and Negotiations

    Saudi-Israeli Normalization and the Hamas Attack

    Oct 11, 2023Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    When 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 Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaEnergy and Economics

    The Geopolitics of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor

    Oct 10, 2023Giorgio Cafiero

    At 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 Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    The Saudi-Israeli Normalization Gambit: Deal or No Deal?

    Aug 30, 2023Khalil E. Jahshan

    After weeks of conflicting accounts from columnists and journalists about the outcome of the Biden administration’s intensive shuttle diplomacy aimed at convin…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaThe War in Ukraine

    The Russia-Ukraine Jeddah Meeting: A Win for MBS in a Changing Global Order

    Aug 24, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    Over 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 Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaEnergy and Economics

    The US Position on Saudi Arabia’s Civilian Nuclear Program

    Aug 16, 2023 Seerat Sohal

    In June 2023, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud affirmed the kingdom’s intent to enrich uranium, part of its desire to develop a civi…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    US Negotiations for a Tripartite Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Israel: Context and Calculations

    Aug 14, 2023Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies

    Saudi Arabia and the United States are conducting complex negotiations in order to achieve a tripartite agreement that would include normalization between the …

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaEnergy and Economics

    The UAE-Saudi Arabia Rivalry Becomes a Rift

    Jul 6, 2023Charles W. Dunne

    Saudi 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 Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Saudi-US Relations in a Changing Global and Regional Landscape

    Jun 29, 2023Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    Kristian 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 Analysis
    IranRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Despite US Efforts, Iran is Ascendant

    Jun 21, 2023Charles W. Dunne

    Iran today is not nearly as isolated as Washington had hoped and it has scored some impressive successes in advancing its regional agenda.

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Jeddah Arab League Summit: MBS’s Final Crowning

    May 31, 2023Imad K. Harb

    The 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 Analysis
    SudanConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Sudan Crisis: How Regional Actors’ Competing Interests Fuel the Conflict

    May 11, 2023Khalil Al-Anani

    The 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 Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaEnergy and Economics

    Saudi Oil Production Cuts: A Self-Interested Move

    May 10, 2023Patricia Karam

    Saudi 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 Analysis
    The Arab WorldGlobal Health and Health Policy

    Challenges Facing the Arab World’s Health Care Professionals

    Apr 26, 2023Yara M. Asi

    In 2022, the Egyptian Medical Syndicate released a shocking report, finding that over 10,000 Egyptian doctors resigned from positions in government hospitals d…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Geopolitics of Small Islands: The Stalemate of Tiran and Sanafir’s Transfer Impacts Egypt-Saudi Relations

    Mar 29, 2023Khalil Al-Anani

    In 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 Analysis
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The GCC Is On Board with the Saudi-Iran Agreement

    Mar 27, 2023Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    The 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 Analysis
    EgyptUS Foreign Policy

    US Middle East Policy: The Trump-Biden Doctrine in Action

    Mar 22, 2023Charles W. Dunne

    All 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 Analysis
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Yemen and the Saudi-Iran Rapprochement

    Mar 22, 2023Nabeel A. Khoury

    In 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 Analysis
    LebanonRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Lebanon and Syria and the Saudi-Iran Detente

    Mar 21, 2023Imad K. Harb

    The 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 Analysis
    IranRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    China as Middle East Matchmaker

    Mar 16, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    While the central role that China recently played in renewing diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia underscores the United States’ declining influ…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptThe War in Ukraine

    Arab and Israeli Positions on Ukraine War Continue to Frustrate the US

    Jan 18, 2023Charles W. Dunne

    The positions taken by many governments in the Middle East have proven a notable exception to the global groundswell of support for Kyiv.

  • Viewpoint
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Saudi Arabia Will Not Find Strategic Protection in China

    Dec 13, 2022Imad K. Harb

    Saudi 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 Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    What Lies Ahead for Saudi Arabia in the 118th US Congress

    Dec 7, 2022Charles W. Dunne

    New 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…

  • Viewpoint
    Saudi ArabiaEnergy and Economics

    With Friends Like These: OPEC’s Oil Production and US-Gulf Relations

    Oct 7, 2022Imad K. Harb

    In 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 Analysis
    LebanonGlobal Health and Health Policy

    The Captagon Problem in Saudi Arabia and Other Gulf States

    Sep 22, 2022Gregory Aftandilian

    Over 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 Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Yemen’s Prospects for Unity Are Uncertain after Many Years of War

    Jul 28, 2022Afrah Nasser

    In 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 Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Mohammed bin Salman’s Political Precarity Persists, Despite Perceived Successes

    Jul 26, 2022Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    The 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 Analysis
    LevantUS Foreign Policy

    Biden’s Trip to the Middle East Failed to Serve US Interests

    Jul 22, 2022Jon Hoffman

    With 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 Analysis
    IraqUS Foreign Policy

    Reflections on President Biden’s Predictably Disappointing Middle East Trip

    Jul 21, 2022Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Laurie King Rend Al-Rahim

    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 Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    The Biden Administration Is Struggling to Develop a Middle East Strategy

    Jun 10, 2022Daniel Brumberg

    Despite 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 Analysis
    LevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Turkish Reasons for a Rapprochement with Saudi Arabia

    Jun 2, 2022Mustafa Gurbuz

    Turkey’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 Analysis
    LevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Saudi Reasons for a Rapprochement with Turkey

    May 31, 2022Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    Reports 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 Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Offers Hope Amid Uncertainty

    May 24, 2022Gregory Aftandilian

    The surprise resignation of Yemeni President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi in early April and his immediate replacement by an eight-member Presidential Leadership Coun…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptEnergy and Economics

    Gulf Countries’ Aid to Egypt: It Is Politics, Not the Economy, Stupid!

    May 5, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    On 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 Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaReligion and Politics

    The Evolving Relationship Between Religion and Politics in Saudi Arabia

    Apr 20, 2022Jon Hoffman

    Saudi 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 Analysis
    LevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    After Parting Ways: The Coming Frosty Entente in Saudi-Turkish Relations

    Feb 2, 2022Jana J. Jabbour

    This 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 Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Mohammed bin Salman’s Regional Rebranding Campaign

    Dec 16, 2021Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    Saudi 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 Analysis
    SudanRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Sudan Coup: The Regional Interference behind a Faltering Transition

    Dec 11, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    On 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 Analysis
    LevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Turkey and the Gulf States: A New Era of Détente

    Dec 8, 2021Mustafa Gurbuz

    Turkish 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 Analysis
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Saudi Arabia’s Third “Shock and Awe” Move in Lebanon

    Nov 9, 2021Joe Macaron

    On 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 Analysis
    IranRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Limits of Saudi-Iranian Détente

    Oct 29, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    During 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 Analysis
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Biden’s Yemen Conundrum

    Oct 5, 2021Nabeel Khoury

    US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan traveled to Riyadh on September 27 and was accompanied by US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking. The visit highl…

  • Policy Analysis
    BahrainRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    A New Strategic Architecture Is Emerging in the Gulf

    Sep 24, 2021Imad K. Harb

    As 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 Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    A Saudi-Iranian Rapprochement Still Has a Long Way to Go

    Sep 21, 2021Gregory Aftandilian

    Talks in Baghdad between officials of Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have been held periodically since April, have fueled speculation that these two regional pow…

  • Viewpoint
    Saudi ArabiaEnergy and Economics

    Is a Saudi-Emirati Rift on the Horizon?

    Jul 7, 2021Imad K. Harb

    The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) appears to be approaching another unwelcome rift, this time between its two most vocal and influential members, Saudi Arabia…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    A Tough Nut to Crack: Rebalancing the US-Saudi Relationship

    Jun 2, 2021Charles W. Dunne

    Out 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 Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Contingencies Undergird Saudi Foreign Policy

    May 18, 2021Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    A flurry of diplomatic outreach involving Iran, Syria, and Turkey, and a continuing warming of relations with other Gulf countries, have sparked questions over…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaEducation and Development

    Arab Space Programs Level Up

    Apr 30, 2021Charles W. Dunne

    People 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 …

  • 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…

  • 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
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Egyptian-Saudi Relations: Strategic Ties with Some Political Strains

    Feb 9, 2021Gregory Aftandilian

    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
    Bahrain

    The GCC Reconciliation: An Assessment

    Jan 11, 2021Kristian Coates Ulrichsen Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Joe Macaron Sarah Leah Whitson

    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
    Qatar

    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…

  • Viewpoint
    LevantConflicts 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
    LevantUS Foreign Policy

    Saudi Arabia Prefers Implicit Normalization with Israel

    Sep 18, 2020Daniel Brumberg

    Signed 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 …

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