- Show all
- Arab Americans/ Muslim Americans
- Climate and Environment
- Conflicts and Conflict Resolution
- Democracy and Governance
- Diplomacy and Negotiations
- Economic Affairs
- Education and Development
- Energy and Economics
- Global Health and Health Policy
- Identity Politics and Sectarianization
- Infographics and Fact Sheets
- International Law
- International Law and International Bodies
- Israeli War Tactics and Genocide
- Justice, Equality, and Human Rights
- Media and Technology
- Migrants, Refugees, and IDPs
- Protests and Activism
- Public Opinion
- Public Opinion, Protest, and Debate
- Regional Implications and Geopolitics
- Regional Relations and Geopolitics
- Religion and Politics
- Security and Defense
- The GCC
- The War in Ukraine
- The War on Gaza
- Top 10 Readings on the Gaza War
- Topic-Test
- US Domestic Politics and Elections
- US Foreign Policy
- US Policy
- Violent Extremism
- Women & Gender Issues
- Policy Analysis
TurkeyDemocracy and GovernanceThe Arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu: A Critical Turning Point in Turkey’s Politics
Mar 29, 2025Salim ÇevikTurkey's political landscape has undergone a dramatic shift with the recent arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's most form…
- Policy Analysis
LibyaConflicts and Conflict ResolutionLibya’s Deep Divisions Show No Sign of Abating
Mar 27, 2025Gregory AftandilianLibya has fallen off the international radar screen as other crises in the region—the Israel-Hamas and Israel-Hezbollah wars, the Sudanese civil war, and the c…
- Policy Analysis
IranUS Foreign PolicyTrump’s Impulse-Driven Middle East Policy Creates Dangers and Opportunities
Mar 27, 2025Daniel BrumbergA recent report by a pro-Israel think tank in Washington cautions against making any deal with Iran that does not provide for the total dismantlement of Tehran…
- Policy Analysis
YemenConflicts and Conflict ResolutionA Decade after the Saudi Military Intervention in Yemen: An Assessment
Mar 25, 2025Afrah NasserExactly 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/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyDoes Trump Still Want to “Clean Out” the Gaza Strip?
Mar 25, 2025Khalil E. JahshanAs the January 15, 2025 ceasefire agreement that had brought limited calm to Gaza fell apart in early March when Israel resumed its air and land military onsla…
- Policy Analysis
US Foreign PolicyWhat Trump’s Aid Cuts Mean for the Middle East and North Africa
Mar 21, 2025Amy HawthorneAlthough the Trump administration exempted Israel’s $3.3 billion and Egypt’s $1.3 billion in annual foreign military financing (FMF)—the majority of US assista…
- Viewpoint
SyriaDemocracy and GovernanceTimeline of the Recent Sectarian Strife on Syria’s Coast
Mar 19, 2025Radwan ZiadehOn March 6, loyalists to Syria’s former President Bashar al-Assad attacked the new government’s troops in the coastal areas of Syria where Assad’s Alawite sect…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict ResolutionIsrael’s Center-Right and Leftist Parties Have Always Supported Displacing Gaza’s Palestinians
Mar 12, 2025Mtanes ShihadehIntroductionDuring his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 4, US President Donald Trump announced a plan to displace the residen…
- Policy Analysis
TurkeyDemocracy and GovernanceA New Phase in Turkey’s Kurdish Conflict: Ocalan’s Call and Its Implications
Mar 12, 2025Salim ÇevikOn February 27, 2025, Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), made a historic call, through a letter, for the organizatio…
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyTrump Sidesteps Congress, Giving Billions to Israel
Mar 7, 2025Ethan Mayer-RichFor the second time in six weeks, the Trump administration has bypassed Congress to send Israel billions of dollars of weaponry. Continued US military support …
- Policy Analysis
IraqEnergy and EconomicsGeopolitical Dynamics Surrounding Iraq’s Ambitious Development Road Project
Mar 5, 2025Giorgio CafieroLeveraging its geography and resources to serve as an economic bridge between Asia and Europe is not a new concept for Iraq. In the 1980s, the country promoted…
- From our Affiliates
Security and DefenseThe Beautification of War: Digital Communications, Public Indifference, Rebel Journalism, and Civilian Resistance in the Age of Meta Wars
Mar 3, 2025John KeaneDigital communications technologies are nowadays enabling not only frightening transformations of the modes and weapons of warfare but also, paradoxically, med…
- Policy Analysis
EgyptUS Foreign PolicyTrump’s Favorite Dictator Feels the Heat
Feb 28, 2025Imad K. HarbUS President Donald Trump appears to have developed different ideas about Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi upon whom he bestowed the moniker “favorite d…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human RightsThe Lessons from Gaza Manifest in the West Bank: Israel’s Escalating Threats to Palestinian Life
Feb 26, 2025Yara M. AsiPalestinian fatalities from Israeli military actions and settler violence have reached unprecedented heights since October 2023.
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelUS Domestic Politics and ElectionsThe Crackdown on Pro-Palestine Activism Intensifies in the United States
Feb 26, 2025Ethan Mayer-RichThe new Trump administration has made it clear that repressing pro-Palestine activism is a priority. Trump issued an executive order that the White House said …
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict ResolutionRecent Arab Moves Deserve Bold Follow-Up
Feb 21, 2025Rami G. KhouriFour 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 PolicyNormalization and Displacement: Saudi Arabia and Trump’s Gaza Proposal
Feb 20, 2025The Unit for Political StudiesSaudi 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…
- Viewpoint
JordanUS Foreign PolicyAn Existential Oval Office Moment for Jordan—and All Arabs
Feb 14, 2025Rami G. KhouriThe scene in the White House on February 11 was startling. King Abdullah II of Jordan listened to President Donald Trump ramble on about how the United States …
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyThe Gaza War and the Future of Democracy in the United States and Israel
Feb 14, 2025Daniel BrumbergIn a way that few could have predicted a few short weeks ago, the fate of democracy in the United States (and in some ways Israel) has now been irrevocably tie…
- Viewpoint
US Foreign PolicyTrump’s First Three Weeks in Office: Signs of Disruption and Chaos
Feb 13, 2025Khalil E. JahshanIn his first few weeks back in office, Donald J. Trump delivered his characteristic ‘shock and confusion’ tactics by unleashing dozens of draconian and vindict…
- Policy Analysis
US Foreign PolicyTrump’s Second-Term Foreign Policy: Highly Centralized, and Highly Personal
Feb 12, 2025Charles W. DunneThe late US secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld once famously explained his taxonomy of information in typically gnomic terms. “There are known knowns,” he sa…
- Policy Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign PolicyTrump II and American-Gulf Relations
Feb 11, 2025Kristian Coates UlrichsenDonald Trump re-entered the White House on January 20 as the first president to serve a non-consecutive second term since Grover Cleveland in 1893. Any expecta…
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyThe Drama, Delusion, and Dangers of Trump’s Gaza Plan
Feb 6, 2025Rami G. KhouriDonald Trump displayed his usual combination of disruption and delusion with his proposal for the US to take over the Gaza Strip after displacing its Palestini…
- Policy Analysis
US Domestic Politics and ElectionsTrump’s Executive Orders and Actions Upend Policies at Home and Abroad
Feb 6, 2025Gregory AftandilianPresident Donald Trump’s first two weeks in office were marked by his signing of a dizzying array of executive orders, both to fulfill his campaign pledges and…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonDemocracy and GovernanceOut With the Old, In With the New: Is There a New Hope for Lebanon?
Feb 6, 2025Patricia KaramFollowing a surprising appointment as Lebanon’s new prime minister, independent jurist, academic, and former diplomat Nawaf Salam, finds himself enmeshed in th…
- Viewpoint
SyriaRegional Relations and GeopoliticsRevolutionary Legitimacy in Syria: Sharaa as President
Feb 4, 2025Radwan ZiadehIn all transitional periods, it is important to move quickly from revolutionary legitimacy to representative legitimacy, which Syria’s new authorities did by a…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelInternational LawThe Slowdown in Enforcing International Law
Jan 29, 2025Jonathan KuttabInternational law has helped govern the behavior of states for hundreds of years. Early principles like the prohibition on poisoning wells (rooted in just war …
- Policy Analysis
SyriaJustice, Equality, and Human RightsLiberation from the “Human Slaughterhouse”: A Dark History of Imprisonment in Syria
Jan 28, 2025Yara M. AsiAssad's regime imprisoned more than 150,000 people, including some 5,000 children. Multiple reports have emerged of horrific torture, neglect, and murder insid…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyTrump Will Not Stop Israel from Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory
Jan 24, 2025Daniel BrumbergSeveral observers of the Middle East have suggested that President Donald Trump’s “transactional” instincts could impel him to push for a wider Palestinian-Isr…
- Policy Analysis
SyriaRegional Relations and GeopoliticsRegime Change in Syria and Stabilization: The Limits of Turkey’s Unilateral Action
Jan 24, 2025Salim ÇevikTurkey has played a pivotal role in Syria’s conflict, significantly shaping the trajectory of opposition groups, particularly Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). With…
- Policy Analysis
SyriaRegional Relations and GeopoliticsEgypt Remains Cool to the New Syrian Government
Jan 23, 2025Gregory AftandilianThe Egyptian regime of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi looks upon the recent developments in Syria with a good deal of trepidation. That the Islamist rebel armed group, H…
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict ResolutionIncoherent Ceasefire Deal in Gaza Guaranteed to Fail
Jan 21, 2025Khalil E. JahshanAfter fifteen months of brutal military hostilities in the Gaza Strip, Hamas and Israel finally announced their acceptance of a multi-phased and gradual ceasef…
- Policy Analysis
SyriaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPsPolitical Change and the Fate of Syria’s Refugees Around the World
Jan 16, 2025Heba GowayedOn December 8, the Syrian armed resistance group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) brought the Assad regime to an abrupt end after more than 54 years of brutal rule.…
- Viewpoint
LebanonDemocracy and GovernanceThe Emergence of Lebanon’s Third Republic
Jan 16, 2025Imad K. HarbThe election on January 9, 2025, of the Lebanese Army Commander Joseph Aoun as the fourteenth president of Lebanon can very well be the inauguration of the Leb…
- Policy Analysis
The Arab WorldHow Will 2025 Be Different in the Middle East? Perspectives on the New Year
Jan 15, 2025Khalil E. Jahshan Daniel Brumberg Dana El Kurd Imad K. Harb Patricia Karam Nabeel A. Khoury Yousef Munayyer Annelle ShelineThe monumental events that took place in the Middle East in 2024 augur radical changes in the region’s geopolitical environment. Israel’s ongoing genocidal war…
- Intern Corner
Palestine/IsraelProtests and ActivismThe Ongoing Suppression of Pro-Palestinian Advocacy in the United States
Jan 8, 2025Selma KarameOn October 15, 2024, the United States and Canada jointly announced terrorist sanctions against the Vancouver-based NGO Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarit…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonDemocracy and GovernanceLebanon’s Post-Hezbollah “Day After”
Jan 7, 2025Patricia KaramThe surprising fall of the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria on the heel of Hezbollah’s spectacular losses and, with it, the tremendous weakening of Ir…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonGlobal Health and Health PolicyLebanon’s Health System: Decades of Struggle and a Year of Israeli Attacks
Jan 2, 2025Yara M. AsiOn September 17 and 18, 2024, a coordinated Israeli attack turned pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon into explosive devices, killing at least 42 people and i…
- Policy Analysis
SyriaUS Foreign PolicyDamascus Falls, and So Does US Policy
Jan 2, 2025Charles W. DunneWith a presidential transition imminent, US policy on Syria, not to mention the broader Middle East, is in limbo.
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelInternational LawIsrael, Syria, and International Law
Dec 26, 2024Jonathan KuttabThe fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has provided Israel with yet more opportunities to brazenly tear apart the fabric of international legal norms, f…
- Policy Analysis
SyriaRegional Relations and GeopoliticsTurkey and the Transition to a Post-Assad Regime in Syria
Dec 20, 2024Salim ÇevikTurkey's intervention in Syria and its approach to the post-Assad era reflects a complex interplay of short and long-term objectives shaped by domestic politic…
- Policy Analysis
SyriaConflicts and Conflict ResolutionSyria’s Kurds Facing Dangerous Headwinds
Dec 18, 2024Gregory AftandilianThe rapid collapse of the Assad regime by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters has put Syrian Kurds of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and their autonomous …
- Viewpoint
SyriaConflicts and Conflict ResolutionDeciphering the Quick Collapse of the Assad Regime
Dec 17, 2024Radwan ZiadehMany western media outlets have speculated about the quick collapse of the Syrian regime and its military and security services in their battle against a coali…
- Viewpoint
SyriaDemocracy and GovernanceWill Assad’s Fall Give Iran’s Reformists a New Lease on Life?
Dec 11, 2024Daniel BrumbergFor Iran, the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and what was left of his regime—together with Moscow’s decision to throw its leading Middle East ally to the wind…
- Policy Analysis
YemenUS Foreign PolicyRecalibrating US Engagement in Yemen Under a New Trump Administration
Dec 11, 2024Afrah NasserThe military escalation between the United States and the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen has significant implications for Yemen’s future. As the Houthis …
- Viewpoint
SyriaDemocracy and GovernanceA New Syria is Born: Hopes and Challenges
Dec 11, 2024Marwa DaoudyDecember 8, 2024, marked a historic turning point in Syria and the Middle East region—a day when the Syrian people achieved what had seemed unattainable: the t…
- Viewpoint
LebanonConflicts and Conflict ResolutionIsrael’s Violations of the Ceasefire with Hezbollah Threaten to Undo It
Dec 10, 2024Imad K. HarbThe ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Lebanon on November 27 was a welcome development after 14 months of skirmishes between the Israeli Army and …
- Policy Analysis
SyriaDemocracy and GovernanceImplications of Assad’s Fall for Syria and the Region
Dec 10, 2024Heba Gowayed Imad K. Harb Bahraa Hijazi Khalil E. Jahshan Patricia Karam Annelle ShelineThe fall of Damascus marked the end of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, who inherited the presidency from his father Hafez al-Assad in 2000.
- Policy Analysis
IranUS Foreign PolicyTrump and Company Return to the Folly of “Maximum Pressure” on Iran
Dec 5, 2024Daniel BrumbergWhen it comes to US Iran policy, simple yet profound realities merit repeating. One of these is that economic sanctions are a tactic, not a strategy. Indeed, u…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonIdentity Politics and SectarianizationHezbollah’s Likely Demise and Lebanon’s Uncertain Future
Dec 4, 2024Patricia KaramIsrael's approval of a US-brokered ceasefire with Hezbollah set the stage for an end to fourteen months of fighting between the two parties, ushering in the po…
- Policy Analysis
TurkeyUS Foreign PolicyTrump’s Election and Future of Turkish-American Relations
Dec 4, 2024Salim ÇevikTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed clear satisfaction with the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, quickly congratulating…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelIsraeli War Tactics and GenocideMotivations for Israel’s Unprecedented Destruction of Palestinian Lives
Dec 2, 2024Daoud KuttabFor over a year, a systematic and unprecedented Israeli campaign of death, injury, and ruin of entire communities has been taking place in Gaza, and in recent …
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelMigrants, Refugees, and IDPsUNRWA Closure as Prelude to the Elimination of Palestinians’ Right of Return
Dec 2, 2024Mtanes ShihadehThe United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established in 1949 by a UN General Assembly resolution. Its mai…
- Policy Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and EconomicsTrump 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 Analysis
Palestine/IsraelInternational LawGaza and Lebanon: No Distinction Between Civilian and Military Targets
Nov 22, 2024Jonathan KuttabOne of the consequences of the present Israeli war on Gaza has been the blatant erosion of respect for and belief in international legal principles and institu…
- Viewpoint
US Foreign PolicyA Preview of Trump’s National Security Team
Nov 19, 2024Ethan Mayer-RichJust two weeks have passed since President-elect Donald Trump won the election, and his new administration is already taking shape. Trump’s selections for his …
- Policy Analysis
US Foreign PolicyForeign Policy in the Second Trump Administration Takes Shape
Nov 19, 2024Nabeel A. KhouryThe foundations of President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign policy are now taking shape. He has nominated Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), as secretary of state, form…
- Policy Analysis
Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign PolicySaudi 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 Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and GeopoliticsGCC 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…
- Viewpoint
US Foreign PolicyTrump’s Middle East Team Will Have to Deal with His Unpredictability and Narcissism
Nov 8, 2024Daniel BrumbergIt is very hard to predict the foreign policy that president-elect Donald Trump will pursue because he is deeply and pathologically unpredictable. On both the …
- Policy Analysis
US Domestic Politics and ElectionsCommentary: Why Trump Won
Nov 7, 2024Yara M. Asi Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Tamara Kharroub Yousef Munayyer Annelle ShelineThe election of former President Donald Trump after losing the 2020 round to President Joe Biden is likely to go down in the annals of American history as a mo…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelGlobal Health and Health PolicyIntent to Destroy: Documenting a Year of Israel’s Attacks on Health in Gaza
Nov 7, 2024Yara M. AsiAfter a year of unfathomable images, videos, and testimonies from Gaza, the story of 19-year-old Shaban al-Dalou still managed to shock the world. On October 1…
- Policy Analysis
The Arab WorldUS Foreign PolicyA 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 Analysis
US Domestic Politics and ElectionsGirding for Post-Election Violence if Trump Loses
Nov 4, 2024Gregory AftandilianMany Americans are worried that if former President Donald Trump loses to Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 election, he and his Make American Gre…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThe New Occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Oct 31, 2024Mohanad MustafaIsrael’s concept for the “day after” in Gaza is becoming clearer as its war on the Strip continues into its second year. In fact, the features of this plan beg…
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelUS Domestic Politics and ElectionsHarris and the Arab-American Vote: Election Day Approaches
Oct 31, 2024Ethan Mayer-RichThe continued peripheralization of Arab-American voices has made it clear that to Harris and her campaign, just as Palestinian lives may not matter as much as …
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict ResolutionImportant Conclusions from Israel’s Wars on Palestine and Lebanon
Oct 25, 2024Imad K. HarbIt is hard to overemphasize the importance of Israel’s killing of Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and Chairman of Hamas’s Political Bureau Yahya…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyThe Israel/Palestine Stain on Biden’s Foreign Policy Legacy
Oct 23, 2024Gregory AftandilianEvery US president wants to leave office with a positive legacy. Some do so to draw attention away from a scandal; others hope that the history books will trea…
