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  • Viewpoint
    SomaliaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Dangerous Chipping Away of Somalia’s Sovereignty

    Feb 16, 2024Imad K. Harb

    On New Year’s Day, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the president of Somalia’s breakaway federated state of Somaliland Muse Bihi Abdi signed a Memorand…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    In Sudan, Where Is the International Community’s Responsibility to Protect?

    Aug 29, 2023Imad K. Harb

    It has been more than four months since clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Ra…

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaSecurity and Defense

    The Fate of the Wagner Group in Syria, Libya, and Sudan

    Jul 18, 2023Gregory Aftandilian

    The failed mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin has put the fate of his Wagner Group doubt, not only in Ukraine but in several Arab states as well.

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanUS Foreign Policy

    The US and the Sudan Conflict: Motives and Ability to Influence Events

    Jun 27, 2023Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies

    The United States and Saudi Arabia announced on June 17, 2023 that both sides to the conflict in Sudan—the Sudanese Army Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support For…

  • 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
    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…

  • Viewpoint
    SudanDemocracy and Governance

    Sudan’s Transitional Process Is Dead and Buried

    Apr 17, 2023Imad K. Harb

    It would be very difficult to consider the ongoing intra-military conflict in Sudan as a struggle to advance the cause of democratic development in the country…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Impacting Elusive Transitions: Egypt’s Policy Toward Sudan and Libya

    Mar 1, 2023Khalil Al-Anani

    The recent political developments in Sudan and Libya have generated some optimism for a potential resolution to the protracted political crises that have plagu…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanDemocracy and Governance

    Sudan’s Political Process and Hopes for a Civilian Government

    Jan 23, 2023Kholood Khair

    After months of negotiations, in December 2022, a limited selection of Sudan’s military and civilian political actors signed a Framework Agreement (FA) in orde…

  • Policy Analysis
    SomaliaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Somalia Continues to Face Crises on Several Fronts in 2023

    Jan 10, 2023Imad K. Harb

    Following the conclusion in spring 2022 of its parliamentary and presidential constitutional requirements, Somalia began the process of attempting to re-establ…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanDemocracy and Governance

    Sudan: A Flicker of Hope Amid Mounting Problems

    Oct 27, 2022Gregory Aftandilian

    Since the October 2021 military coup that derailed Sudan’s political transition to a much hoped-for democracy, Sudan has been plagued by civil strife, deterior…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptEnergy and Economics

    The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Limited Options for a Resolution

    Sep 16, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    On August 12, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that his country has now completed the third filling of the reservoir behind its controversial Gran…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Horn of AfricaGlobal Health and Health Policy

    Child Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation in the MENA Region

    Jul 1, 2022Yara M. Asi

    On June 20, 2022, Egyptian college student Naira Ashraf was beaten and murdered by a man who had harassed and stalked her for years, despite her repeated rejec…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanDemocracy and Governance

    The Muddled Diplomacy of Sudan’s Tripartite Mechanism

    Jun 17, 2022Kholood Khair

    The international community was largely unprepared to deal with the fallout of Sudan’s October 2021 coup, organized by the country’s military with the support …

  • Policy Analysis
    The Horn of AfricaEnergy and Economics

    Horn of Africa’s Security Concerns and Economic Crises

    Apr 27, 2022Gregory Aftandilian

    The current Russia-Ukraine crisis has overshadowed another troubled region of the world, namely the Horn of Africa, which encompasses Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti,…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanDemocracy and Governance

    A Coup Cannot Serve Two Masters

    Feb 22, 2022Kholood Khair

    After a two-year experiment in civilian-military power-sharing, Sudan’s military took over on October 25, 2021 in another bid to govern the country alone. Afte…

  • Viewpoint
    SudanDemocracy and Governance

    Sudan’s Revolution Must Be Allowed to Continue

    Jan 4, 2022Imad K. Harb

    In a move that reflected his failure to garner the support of the Sudanese public, Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok submitted his resignation on January 2…

  • 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
    SudanUS Foreign Policy

    Biden’s Chameleon-like Policy in the MENA Region

    Nov 3, 2021Imad K. Harb

    Having invested time, effort, and treasure in helping to sustain the 2019 political agreement between the Sudanese military and the civilian Forces of Freedom …

  • Policy Analysis
    The Horn of Africa

    The Complicated Nature of Red Sea Geopolitics

    Oct 27, 2021Charles W. Dunne

    The Red Sea is a vital economic artery and is likely to become more so in the coming decades. In geopolitical terms, it should increasingly be seen as worthy o…

  • Viewpoint
    SudanDemocracy and Governance

    Military Takeover in Sudan: The Writing Is on the Wall

    Oct 25, 2021Imad K. Harb

    We have seen this before: military officers in the Arab world not quite enamored with sharing power with civilians—let alone ceding it to them peacefully—show …

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptEnergy and Economics

    Will Egypt Live with GERD as a Bitter Reality?

    Aug 19, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    On July 19, Ethiopia announced that it had completed the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). This unilateral step had been rejected b…

  • Policy Analysis
    SomaliaDemocracy and Governance

    Many Challenges to Address as Somalis Go to the Polls

    Jul 19, 2021Imad K. Harb

    The recent agreement on Somali presidential and parliamentary elections is a good but insufficient sign that Somalia’s many antagonists will allow the credible…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    China’s Belt and Road Initiative and US Middle East Policy

    Jan 13, 2021Charles W. Dunne

    More than seven years after Chinese President Xi Jinping announced his country’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the vast infrastructure and economic developme…

  • Policy Analysis
    SomaliaSecurity and Defense

    Increasing Contestation over the Red Sea and Horn of Africa

    Dec 23, 2020Gregory Aftandilian

    Growing international and regional involvement in the Red Sea-Horn of Africa theater has made this area a potential hot spot that is somewhat reminiscent of Be…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanUS Foreign Policy

    The Biden Presidency Could Help Democratic Transition in Sudan

    Dec 15, 2020Abdelkhalig Shaib

    When former Vice President Joe Biden won the election following four tumultuous years under President Donald Trump, the Sudanese government and people had a qu…

  • Viewpoint
    Morocco

    Does Arab Public Opinion on Palestine Still Count in 2020?

    Nov 18, 2020Khalil E. Jahshan

    Although public opinion research in the Arab world has evolved significantly in recent years, it does not seem to be taken seriously by American policymakers i…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanUS Foreign Policy

    US Presses Sudan to Normalize Relations with Israel

    Oct 14, 2020Gregory Aftandilian

    The Trump Administration is holding up the removal of Sudan from the State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) list because it wants Khartoum to establish diplomatic t…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanDemocracy and Governance

    Despite Some Progress, Sudan’s Transition Faces Mounting Hurdles

    Aug 18, 2020Gregory Aftandilian

    Gregory Aftandilian states that although the government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has instituted a number of political and social reforms, Sudan’s democ…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and Egypt’s Military Options

    Jul 30, 2020Charles W. Dunne

    With talks between Egypt and Ethiopia failing to break the impasse over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Charles W. Dunne evaluates Cairo’s military option…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptClimate and Environment

    Water Conflict Between Egypt and Ethiopia: A Defining Moment for Both Countries

    Jun 16, 2020Khalil Al-Anani

    Khalil al-Anani discusses the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project between Egypt and Ethiopia and argues that it constitutes a turning poin…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Fractured Power Structure, Peace Talks Hurdles Add to Sudan’s Woes

    Apr 15, 2020Gregory Aftandilian

    Gregory Aftandilian argues that even if a final political deal is reached between Khartoum and the rebel groups in Sudan, a poor economy will continue to worse…

  • 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
    SomaliaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Will Somalia Share Yemen’s Fate?

    Aug 28, 2019Imad K. Harb

    The UAE’s support of the secessionist leaders of Somaliland and Puntland in realizing their costly dream of independence is likely to throw Somalia and the sur…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Horn of AfricaDemocracy and Governance

    Transitional Period Agreement in Sudan: Opportunities for Success and Threats of Failure

    Aug 26, 2019Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS)

    There remain serious obstacles on the road to secession by Yemen's Southern Transitional Council, especially the contrary aims and programs in the various sout…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanDemocracy and Governance

    Will the Political Agreement Pave the Way for Democracy in Sudan?

    Jul 23, 2019Abdelkhalig Shaib

    On July 17, 2019, Sudan’s Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the main opposition group, the Alliance for Freedom and Change (AFC), signed a power-sharing …

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanDemocracy and Governance

    Sudan’s Military: Following Egypt’s Playbook?

    Jun 12, 2019Gregory Aftandilian

    Contrary to their opposition to Islamists in Egypt and elsewhere, Saudi Arabia and the UAE do not seem concerned that Sudan’s Islamists are the Transitional Mi…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Worrisome Competition in the Red Sea Subsystem

    May 1, 2019Abdulwahab Al-Qassab

    The Red Sea subsystem involves many capable regional and international actors with competing agendas that, if not reconciled, could increase tensions and lead …

  • Policy Analysis
    The Horn of AfricaDemocracy and Governance

    Sudan’s Long Walk to Freedom: Will the Military Council Cede Power to Civilians?

    Apr 26, 2019Abdelkhalig Shaib

    Sudan’s Transitional Military Council and the opposition may have unintentionally entered into a power struggle and lost sight of the fact that they should hav…

  • Viewpoint
    SudanDemocracy and Governance

    The Military in Sudan Is Not the Savior

    Apr 11, 2019Imad K. Harb

    Bashir’s departure is not enough to save Sudan from the dismal record of failures over which he presided. His military chiefs and party stalwarts must also dep…

  • 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.

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanDemocracy and Governance

    Sudan protests: How did we get here?

    Dec 29, 2018Abdelwahab El-Affendi

    The callous insensitivity of the regime to the people's misery and its preoccupation with getting the president a new term fueled popular anger.

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Egypt-Ethiopia Nile Water Crisis: a Cause for Regional Tensions?

    Jul 5, 2018Daniel Stoll

    While the Ethiopian dam on the Nile could be a source of conflict in east Africa, and while relations among Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan will remain unsettled fo…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Hodeida and the Changing American Position

    Jun 18, 2018Gregory Aftandilian

    After opposing Saudi-UAE plans to take the vital Hodeida port, the Trump Administration is now supporting the operation to show it will actively oppose so-call…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Egyptian-Sudanese Relations on the Mend, but Tensions Remain

    Apr 16, 2018Gregory Aftandilian

    Egyptian-Sudanese relations are currently improving although the nature of their ties over the years remains prone to rapid change. Part of their problems are …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantEnergy and Economics

    Turkey’s Challenge to Arab Interests in the Horn of Africa

    Feb 22, 2018Mustafa Gurbuz

    Turkey’s policies and many activities around the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa have added complications to the already complex strategic picture of the Middle…