• Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelSecurity and Defense

    The Changing Nature of Israel-Hamas Warfare

    Jun 15, 2021David B. Des Roches

    The recent conflict between Israel and Hamas was, on the face of it, a brief and limited exchange falling far short of other wars. There was no ground offensiv…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaDemocracy and Governance

    The Challenges and Opportunities in Libya Today

    Jun 14, 2021Imad K. Harb

    After the uprising against former strongman Muammar Qadhafi in 2011, Libya’s road to stability and order—let alone to full democratic governance—has not been s…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Attaining the Difficult Peace in Yemen

    After displaying some optimism about reaching a cease-fire and peace deal in Yemen, the Biden Administration is facing the stark reality that these objectives …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelMedia and Technology

    Systematic Digital Repression: Social Media Censoring of Palestinian Voices

    Jun 8, 2021Tamara Kharroub

    The events of the last few weeks and the escalation of violence in Palestine and Israel have spotlighted the issue of media bias and censorship of Palestinian …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Causes of the Palestinian Unrest in Israel

    Jun 7, 2021Mohanad Mustafa

    The latest popular uprising by Palestinian citizens in Israel erupted during a complex political period in the country following four election cycles that fail…

  • Viewpoint
    IraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Time to Address Impunity in Iraq

    On May 26, Iraqi security forces arrested General Qasim Muslih, commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Anbar province, basing their action on…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Explaining Egypt’s Role during the Gaza War

    Jun 3, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    On May 21, 2021, a cease-fire agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas after an 11-day military confrontation. Egypt played a vital role in securing the …

  • 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…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    What the United States Needs to Do Now for Calm in Israel and Palestine

    Jun 2, 2021Daoud Kuttab

    For decades, one of Israel’s goals was to cut off the Gaza Strip from the West Bank. It was not just the usual colonial tactic of divide and rule but a strateg…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaDemocracy and Governance

    Syria’s Presidential Election and the Absence of the American Role

    Jun 1, 2021Radwan Ziadeh

    On May 26, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth seven-year term in a practically uncontested election. No one was surprised by the original announceme…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaUS Foreign Policy

    The Biden Administration and the GCC Rapprochement with Damascus

    May 27, 2021Joe Macaron

    With Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on his way to a fourth term in the Syrian presidential election held this week, Moscow is expected to resume its diplomat…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    The Sheikh Jarrah Intifada: Vital Lessons for President Biden

    The recent Palestinian intifada instigated in early May by a series of local clashes between Israeli Jewish settlers and Palestinian activists over the anticip…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Israel-Hamas Cease-fire: Déjà vu All Over Again

    May 25, 2021Laurie King

    May is always a difficult month for Palestinians. Mid-month marks Nakba Day, the annual commemoration of the start of the Palestinian catastrophe of 1948. Over…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Iran Plays a Diplomatically Cautious (and Smart) Game on Gaza

    May 22, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    It’s not every day that Hamas leaders openly plead for Tehran’s support. But this is apparently  what happened when, as the battle between Gaza’s militant grou…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    The Time Has Come for an American Change on Israel

    May 20, 2021Imad K. Harb

    President Joe Biden has finally uttered the magic word of cease-fire in a telephone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they discussed the o…

  • Intern Corner
    Women & Gender Issues

    Gender and US Foreign Policy in the Middle East

    May 19, 2021Andrea Sakleh

    On November 17, 2001, then First Lady Laura Bush gave a radio address to the nation that lamented Afghan women as victims of an oppressive terrorist regime. Sh…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Contingencies Undergird Saudi Foreign Policy

    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
    Palestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    The Sheikh Jarrah Chapter of the Palestinian Nakba

    On the 73rd anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, another round of dispossession of Palestinians continues, this time in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Sheikh Jarrah: A Welcome Palestinian Moment of Enthusiasm

    May 14, 2021Khalil E. Jahshan

    Protracted political conflicts are unpredictable phenomena. They tend to develop an internal momentum while awaiting their own uncertain future, often confusin…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Israel’s Screen of Legality behind the Sheikh Jarrah Dispossession

    May 12, 2021Jonathan Kuttab

    The situation in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood represents a microcosm of the ongoing Judaization process that has been taking place since the creation…

  • Policy Analysis
    Women & Gender Issues

    The (Slowly) Changing Gender Dynamics in Arab Countries

    May 11, 2021Yara M. Asi

    A now infamous image from 2014 captured the moment Loujain al-Hathloul’s life changed: it shows her sitting behind the wheel of a car, a small smile on her fac…

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Is Tunisia’s President Endangering Democracy?

    May 7, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    Recently, Tunisia has witnessed a political dynamic that is all too rare in the Arab world: Islamists have joined forces with some secularly oriented Members o…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyUS Foreign Policy

    The Path to Armenian Genocide Recognition: A Lesson for Palestine Activists?

    The century-old struggle by the Armenian American community for US recognition that the large-scale massacres and deportations of their people in the Ottoman E…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    The Israeli Factor in the US-Iran Nuclear Talks

    May 6, 2021Joe Macaron

    As US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was visiting Israel on April 11, Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency orchestrated a mysterious explosion in Iran’s Natanz …

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Tunisia’s Revolution Has Neglected the Country’s Youth

    May 3, 2021Houda Chograni

    Since the desperate act of self-immolation of 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi in Sidi Bouzid, a marginalized city in the center of Tunisia, on December 17, 2010, …

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Human Rights Watch Exposes Israeli Apartheid

    May 3, 2021Jonathan Kuttab

    On April 27, 2021, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a 213-page report entitled “A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecu…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEducation 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 …

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance

    The Palestinian Elections: Process, Mechanics, and Importance

    Apr 29, 2021Hanna Nasir

    President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree last January to hold elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), the presidency of the Palestinian Authori…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Failures of Authoritarian Governance in Egypt

    Apr 28, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    On March 23, the world's attention turned to Egypt as traffic in the strategic Suez Canal was disrupted after the 400-meter container ship, the Ever Given, ran…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    The United States Ends its Combat Role in Iraq

    At the recent meeting of the US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue, negotiators decided to end the combat mission of US troops engaged in the fight against remnants of th…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Will the Natanz Incident Produce Maximum Diplomacy?

    Apr 23, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    Just two days after what appeared to be an Israeli-backed sabotage of Iran’s Natanz enrichment facilities, The Washington Post’s editorial board declared that …

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    Yemen’s Critical Moment

    Apr 21, 2021Nabeel A. Khoury

    Tim Lenderking, the American special envoy for Yemen, recently attended a meeting in Germany with representatives of the five permanent members of the United N…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance

    The Palestinian Elections and Jerusalem

    Apr 20, 2021Jonathan Kuttab

    Fifteen years have elapsed since the last elections in Palestine, and now Palestinians are poised to hold a new round for the Legislative Council of the Palest…

  • Policy Analysis
    AlgeriaProtests and Activism

    Democratic Transition in Algeria: The Regime-Hirak Face-off

    Apr 19, 2021Louisa Dris-Aït Hamadouche

    For the first time in its history, Algeria is experiencing a political uprising that began in 2019 and is characterized as inclusive, peaceful, popular, and re…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Hezbollah in Moscow: Russia Flexes Its Diplomatic Muscles

    Apr 14, 2021Joe Macaron

    In a medium-sized van with no bodyguards, on a rainy March 15, 2021, a Hezbollah delegation quietly walked into the Russian Foreign Ministry building in Moscow…

  • Policy Analysis
    Qalandiya checkpoint in the West Bank
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Biden’s Apparent Failure on Israel-Palestine

    Apr 13, 2021Imad K. Harb

    President Joe Biden’s 100-day milestone is approaching with pronounced successes in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, righting the ship of the American econom…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanDemocracy and Governance

    Family Matters: Plots and Accusations in Jordan’s Hashemite Monarchy

    Apr 8, 2021Curtis Ryan

    Jordan’s carefully crafted international image was jolted recently when news broke of multiple arrests, the alleged detention of a Hashemite prince, and announ…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Time to Rethink International Intervention in Yemen

    Apr 7, 2021Nadwa Al-Dawsari

    Ten years ago, youth-led peaceful protests spread in Yemen demanding political reforms and the removal of the corrupt regime of former President Ali Abdullah S…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Libyan Interim Government: Hopes and Challenges

    Apr 6, 2021ACW Research and Analysis Unit

    Libya has suffered years of violence and volatility. Recently, Libyan delegates to a conference in Geneva approved the re-formation of two entities: the Presid…

  • Policy Analysis
    Energy and Economics

    Starving and Being Starved: Addressing Food Insecurity in Arab Populations

    Apr 5, 2021Yara M. Asi

    After years of civil war and outside intervention, Yemen continues to be widely recognized as having the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. A significant contr…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Netanyahu Tries to Dictate a New Arrangement in Jerusalem in Violation of the Traditional Pre-1967 Status Quo

    Apr 2, 2021ACW Research and Analysis Unit

    On March 22nd, The New York Times published an article by its Jerusalem correspondent Isabel Kershner titled “Tensions With Arab Allies Undermine a Netanyahu P…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    An Old, Ongoing Struggle: Domesticating Religious Institutions in Egypt

    Apr 2, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    The relationship between religion and the state is controversial and problematic in the Arab world, particularly with the absence of clear demarcations that co…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Congressional Advocacy for Palestinian Rights in the Post-Trump Era

    Apr 2, 2021Yousef Munayyer

    For nearly 15 years, a partisan divide around the US-Israel relationship has been exacerbated in American politics. It became clear and consistent during the O…

  • Policy Analysis
    Democracy and Governance

    The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Autocrats: Key Strategies That Beat Down the Arab Spring and Keep Regimes in Power

    Mar 31, 2021Charles W. Dunne

    The 10th anniversary of the Arab Spring has unleashed a torrent of retrospectives focused on the legacy of the uprisings, mostly their failures. All these year…

  • Intern Corner
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and Economics

    China’s Maritime Challenge to the United States in the Gulf

    Mar 30, 2021Gabriella Haedelt

    The Arabian Gulf has emerged as a theater of investment, international integration, and rivalry for global powers, especially after Chinese President Xi Jinpin…

  • Viewpoint
    IraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    A Struggle of Wills over Iraq’s Identity

    The last few days witnessed serious efforts by some Arab countries to influence developments in Iran-friendly Iraq. On March 24, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohamm…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Turkish-Egyptian Reconciliation Efforts Echo a Shifting Regional Order

    Mar 26, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    Over the past month, Turkey has taken steps to restore diplomatic relations with Egypt. That President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has spearheaded this effort is para…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanUS Foreign Policy

    Jordan’s Monarchy Reclaims Regional Role under Biden

    Mar 25, 2021Joe Macaron

    To describe the last four years as challenging ones for US-Jordanian relations would be an understatement. President Donald Trump’s absolute support for Israel…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Lebanon Faces a Civil War, a Prospect of Its Own Making

    Mar 23, 2021Imad K. Harb

    The socioeconomic and political crises gripping Lebanon today are unprecedented in the country’s 100-year history, one that has witnessed intercommunal unrest …

  • Policy Analysis
    Levant

    Egypt’s Ties to Israel Deepen Despite Public Misgivings

    The Egyptian government has deepened its cooperation with Israel on strategic and economic matters in order to root out the extremist threat in the Sinai Penin…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    Hard-liners Fight for Iran’s Presidency and Foreign Policy

    Mar 17, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    Former US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, who during the Obama Administration played a pivotal role in negotiating the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, recently asserted…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Iraq’s Complicated and Challenging Security Situation

    Many of Iraq’s pro-Iran militias were encouraged with Joe Biden’s election as president of the United States and the ensuing Democratic control of both houses …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance

    Israel’s 2021 Elections: Background, Scenarios, and Expectations

    Mar 16, 2021Honaida Ghanim

    On March 23rd, Israel holds its fourth round of parliamentary elections in less than two years, amid what in Israel has become known as “the political crisis” …

  • Viewpoint
    Arab Americans/ Muslim Americans

    Including Arab Americans in the Biden Administration Is Not Enough

    Mar 11, 2021Nadine S. Naber

    In a series of unprecedented moves, President Joe Biden took steps seen as helping to politically and socially integrate the Arab American community. He includ…

  • Policy Analysis
    Justice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Challenges to Biden’s Human Rights Agenda in the Middle East

    Mar 9, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    In his speech at the US State Department on February 4, 2021, US President Joe Biden pledged to support democracy and confront authoritarianism globally, sayin…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    The Biden Administration and the Palestinians: Early Policy Indications

    Mar 9, 2021Yousef Munayyer

    The new administration in Washington, about half way through its first 100 days in office, is shaping its foreign policy. President Joe Biden and his team have…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Cautious Optimism a Decade after Libya’s Revolution

    Mar 5, 2021Imad K. Harb

    The Arab Spring protests that started 10 years ago in Libya and the ensuing collapse of the Muammar Qadhafi regime set in motion a decade of instability that c…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantDemocracy and Governance

    No Light at the End of Lebanon’s Long and Dark Tunnel

    Mar 3, 2021Joe Macaron

    By all accounts, Lebanon is a desperate case. The severe fiscal crises portend an extended economic depression ahead. The country has been in political paralys…

  • 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…

  • Policy Analysis
    Climate and Environment

    Climate Change in the Arab World: An Existential Threat in an Unstable Region

    Mar 2, 2021Yara M. Asi

    In the mid-2010s, several years into Syria’s brutal civil war, a theory emerged that perhaps the conflict was even more complicated than originally conceived. …

  • 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
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    The US and Iran: From Brinkmanship to Negotiations?

    Feb 25, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    In his far-ranging February 21 interview with Iran’s Press TV, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reiterated a bottom line: that Iran would step awa…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    The Biden Administration Contemplates a New Pivot to Asia

    Feb 23, 2021Charles W. Dunne

    Is the pivot to Asia for real this time?That is one of the key questions Washington policy analysts, pundits, and diplomats are asking themselves as President …

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    A Decade of War in Syria: Political Transition Is Still the Answer

    Feb 22, 2021Radwan Ziadeh

    The middle of March marks the tenth anniversary of the civil war in Syria. It began in the south of the country when regime forces resorted to violence to quel…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptProtests and Activism

    Ten Years Later: Reflections on Egypt’s 2011 Uprising

    Feb 19, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    Khalil al-Anani appraises the January 2011 Egyptian revolution that led to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. He writes that the revolutionary forces …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance

    Palestinian Elections 2021: Reconciling Competing Motives

    Feb 18, 2021Khalil E. Jahshan

    On January 15, 2021, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority (PA) issued a decreecalling for legislative, presidential, and National Council elect…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    The Limits of US-French Coordination in the Middle East

    Feb 17, 2021Joe Macaron

    Joe Macaron explores the current state of American-French relations regarding the Middle East at the start of the Biden Administration. He lists three main rea…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelInternational Law

    Is International Criminal Justice Coming for Israel?

    Feb 17, 2021Jonathan Kuttab

    On February 5, the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled, for purposes of its jurisdiction, that Palestine is a state. The chief prosecutor who sought this …

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Tunisia’s Multiple Crises Threaten Its Brittle Democracy

    Feb 16, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    On January 26, Tunisia witnessed a scene that echoed the dramatic events of January 6 in Washington, DC. Outside the Tunisian parliament in Tunis, hundreds of …

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Egyptian-Saudi Relations: Strategic Ties with Some Political Strains

    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
    Palestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Is Israel an Apartheid State?

    Feb 6, 2021Jonathan Kuttab

    Jonathan Kuttab explains the fundamental elements of the crime of apartheid committed by Israel against the Palestinians under its control, including legislati…

  • Viewpoint
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    The Assassination of Lebanon’s Lokman Slim

    Feb 4, 2021Imad K. Harb

    Assassination reared its ugly head once again in Lebanon when unknown assailants killed political analyst and activist Lokman Slim in southern Lebanon in the e…

  • Viewpoint
    IraqViolent Extremism

    The Terrorist Attacks in Baghdad: A New Chapter in Iraq’s Instability?

    Abdulwahab Al-Qassab writes that the latest suicide bombings in Baghdad portend a feared return of the Islamic State after it was supposedly vanquished in Dece…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    Biden will Contend with Divergent Middle East Preferences on Iran

    Jan 27, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    The Middle East is experiencing a period of diplomatic and strategic readjustment that will create both challenges and opportunities for the Biden Administrati…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    Iran between Avenging Soleimani and Engaging Biden

    Jan 27, 2021Joe Macaron

    Two events in January serve as reminders of how US-Iran dynamics are pulled in two different directions: the inauguration of President Joe Biden on January 20,…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/Israel

    Netanyahu’s Latest Election Scheme: The Arab Vote?

    Jan 27, 2021Yousef Munayyer

    As the State of Israel once again heads to a new election, its prime minister—who infamously fearmongered against Arab citizens to drive Israeli right-wing vot…

  • Policy Analysis
    Migrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    The “Unhealable Rift” of Exile: The Plight of Arab Refugees

    Jan 26, 2021Yara M. Asi

    Yara M. Asi studies the current conditions of refugees in the Arab world--focusing on those from Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, and Palestine--who have fled their …

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Egypt’s Changing policy in Libya: Opportunities and Challenges

    Jan 21, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    On December 27, 2020, a high-ranking Egyptian diplomatic and security delegation visited the Libyan capital of Tripoli to hold talks with the United Nations-ba…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Pompeo’s Departing Sabotage in Yemen

    Jan 19, 2021Imad K. Harb

    With less than two weeks in office before he checks out of Foggy Bottom, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo designated Yemen’s Houthi movement a foreign terrorist …

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Kurdish Dilemmas in Syria

    The Syrian Kurds, who constitute about 10 percent of Syria’s population, are at a crossroads, trying to preserve their shrunken statelet in the northeastern pa…