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SyriaDemocracy and GovernanceProspects for Syria’s Democratization Under Ahmed al-Sharaa
Nov 21, 2025Patricia KaramThe spectacular and unforeseen fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 upended Syria’s political order and launched a precarious transition. Ahmed al-Sharaa o…
- Policy Analysis
MoroccoProtests and ActivismMorocco at Breaking Point? Drought, Misrule, and the Rise of Gen Z 212
Nov 20, 2025Samia ErrazzoukiFrom late September to mid-October 2025, Moroccans across the country descended into the streets to once again demand change from their government. Under the b…
- ViewpointEgyptDemocracy and Governance
Egyptian Democracy Is What Sisi Makes of It
Nov 18, 2025Imad K. HarbEgyptians are currently casting their ballots in parliamentary elections, the final results of which will not be announced before late December 2025. In two ph…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaDemocracy and Governance
Syria’s Fragile Integration: The SDF Joins the Army but Autonomy Remains Elusive
Nov 5, 2025Gregory AftandilianAn October 2025 deal between Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)—which are linked to the Kurdish-dominated autonomous administration in the northea…
- Policy AnalysisIraqDemocracy and Governance
Baghdad Between Tehran and Washington: The Struggle for a Sovereign State
Oct 9, 2025Patricia KaramIraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani is walking a delicate tightrope between asserting the country’s sovereignty and maintaining relations with Iran a…
- ViewpointSyriaPublic Opinion
Reading the Syrian Public Opinion Survey 2025: Indicators of Optimism
Sep 19, 2025Daniel NeepThe Arab Opinion Index: Syrian Public Opinion Survey 2025 provides an unusually granular view of political attitudes in a country long considered impervious to…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfDemocracy and Governance
Fueling Instability: Hydrocarbons, Protests, and the Limits of Yemen’s Internationally Recognized Government
Sep 12, 2025Nicholas BrumfieldIn late July 2025, large-scale protests against electricity outages, economic deterioration, and general mismanagement by Yemen’s Internationally Recognized Go…
- Policy AnalysisIranDemocracy and Governance
Political Divisions in Iran and the Uncertain Path to a New Nuclear Deal
Sep 4, 2025Daniel BrumbergSome analysts have argued that the unprecedented Israeli and American June 2025 assault on Iran has created a “new regional order” in the Middle East. But what…
- Policy AnalysisTunisiaDemocracy and Governance
Repression and Judicial Struggles in Kais Saied’s Tunisia
Jul 3, 2025The Unit for Political StudiesAlmost four years into President Kais Saied’s imposition of one-man-rule in Tunisia, his effort pivots around a process of “executive aggrandizement” that is d…
- Policy AnalysisTurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Turkey’s Repositioning in the Middle East’s Emerging Order
Jun 17, 2025Salim ÇevikThe Middle East has undergone a profound upheaval following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and the fall of the Assad regime in Syria in December 2…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance
The Significance of Hussein al-Sheikh’s Appointment as PLO Vice President
Jun 17, 2025Rami G. KhouriWhen Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appointed Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), he sent many signals to …
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance
Has Netanyahu’s Government Become More Cohesive and Stable?
May 8, 2025Mtanes ShihadehIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has worked in recent weeks to put his government coalition in order, reintegrating Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and h…
- Policy AnalysisLevantDemocracy and Governance
A Calculus of Conflict: Netanyahu’s Political Survival Through Extended War
Apr 16, 2025Thair Abu RasAfter nearly two months of ceasefire, the Israeli government resumed its genocidal campaign in Gaza in March 2025. The Israeli government’s decision was not su…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaDemocracy and Governance
Challenges Facing Syria’s Constitutional Declaration
Apr 4, 2025Radwan ZiadehFollowing the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime on December 8, 2024, Syria’s new administration announced on January 29, 2025, the appointment of Ahmed al-Shara…
- Policy AnalysisTurkeyDemocracy and Governance
The 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…
- ViewpointSyriaDemocracy and Governance
Timeline 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 AnalysisTurkeyDemocracy and Governance
A 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…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
Out 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…
- ViewpointLebanonDemocracy and Governance
The 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 AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
Lebanon’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…
- ViewpointSyriaDemocracy and Governance
Will 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…
- ViewpointSyriaDemocracy and Governance
A 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…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaDemocracy and Governance
Implications 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 AnalysisLebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
Hezbollah’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 AnalysisTunisiaDemocracy and Governance
Kais Saied’s Policies and Practices May Lead to an Explosion in Tunisia
Sep 6, 2024Patricia KaramTunisia has experienced a disquieting authoritarian regression over the last few years following promising beginnings as a young democracy after the January 20…
- Policy AnalysisIranDemocracy and Governance
Iran’s New President and Foreign Minister Stand on the Edge of a Precipice
Aug 30, 2024Daniel BrumbergCommenting on Hezbollah’s retaliation to Israel’s August 25 pre-emptive strike on its positions, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani asserted tha…
- Policy AnalysisLevantDemocracy and Governance
No Good ‘Day After’ Under Current Palestinian Politics
Aug 7, 2024Dana El KurdSome 300 days into the Israeli war on Gaza, and following Israel’s shocking July 31 assassination of Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh, a major figure in ceasefire negoti…
- Policy AnalysisIranDemocracy and Governance
Iran’s New President Must Navigate Dangerous Waters
Aug 1, 2024Daniel BrumbergFor the third time in the young history of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a political leader identified with the “Reformist” camp has won the presidency. Masoud…
- ViewpointLevantDemocracy and Governance
Netanyahu’s Government after Gantz’s Resignation: Shaky Ground or Sticking Around?
Jun 13, 2024Yousef MunayyerBenny Gantz resigned from Israel’s war cabinet because of differences with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the conduct of the war on Gaza.
- Policy AnalysisKuwaitDemocracy and Governance
The Supremacy of Executive Power in Kuwait
Jun 4, 2024Kristian Coates UlrichsenTwo decades of political turbulence in Kuwait came to a head on the evening of May 10 when Emir Mishal al-Ahmad Al-Sabah announced he was suspending the Nation…
- Policy AnalysisIranDemocracy and Governance
Will Ebrahim Raisi’s Death Help Ultra-Hardliners ‘Make Iran Great Again’?
May 31, 2024Daniel BrumbergThe May 19 deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a fiery helicopter crash has created a challenge that Iran’s lead…
- ViewpointIranDemocracy and Governance
Raisi Departs, But Iran Remains Khamenei’s Realm
May 20, 2024Imad K. HarbIranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s death comes at a particularly precarious time for the Islamic Republic. While important, considering the monumental news, Sup…
- Policy AnalysisTurkeyDemocracy and Governance
Local Elections Show Turkey’s Democratic Resilience
May 2, 2024Salim ÇevikImmediately after his re-election to a third term last May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that his Justice and Development Party (AKP) was r…
- Policy AnalysisLibyaDemocracy and Governance
Libya: Despite Talks on a Unified Government, Impasse Remains
Mar 27, 2024Gregory AftandilianTalks last month in Cairo between representatives of Libya’s two rival governments raised hopes over progress in resolving the country’s 10-year political impa…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
The Limits of Justice in Lebanon—and What It Means for the Future of the Country
Feb 28, 2024Patricia KaramThree years ago this month, the assassination of Lokman Slim—public intellectual, human rights defender, writer and publisher, and outspoken critic of Hezbolla…
- Policy AnalysisAlgeriaDemocracy and Governance
In Algeria, the More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
Oct 3, 2023Patricia KaramMore than four years have passed since the Hirak protest movement threatened to upend Algeria’s political and military leadership structure. Since then, the co…
- Policy AnalysisKuwaitDemocracy and Governance
Challenges Facing Kuwait’s Parliamentary Democracy
Sep 12, 2023Imad K. HarbWatching Kuwait’s seemingly dysfunctional political scene gives one the impression that the country is on a course toward endless instability and disorder. Las…
- ViewpointLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Persistent Illusion of Palestinian Reconciliation
Aug 7, 2023Khalil E. JahshanRepresentatives of 14 Palestinian political factions, including Fatah and Hamas, were invited to the Egyptian coastal city of El-Alamein on July 30, 2023 for r…
- Policy AnalysisIraqDemocracy and Governance
Iran’s Hardliners on the March: The Quiet Before the Storm?
Aug 3, 2023Daniel BrumbergThe recent redeployment of Iran’s dreaded “morality police” signals much more than a victory for the country’s hardliners. Instead, it seems to be part and par…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Fending for Themselves: The Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority
Aug 3, 2023Yara M. AsiOn July 3, 2023, Israeli forces raided the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, with a specific focus on the refugee camp that borders the municipality. Th…
- Intern CornerTunisiaDemocracy and Governance
Disinformation as a Tool of Regime Survival in Tunisia
Jul 21, 2023C. Ian DeHavenDisinformation—false information created with the intent to mislead others—swamped the 2019 Tunisian presidential election, creating a confused and volatile po…
- Policy AnalysisIraqDemocracy and Governance
Sudani’s Premiership Is Failing in the Iraqi Fight Against Corruption
Jul 12, 2023Patricia KaramWhen Mohammed Shia` al-Sudani became prime minister of Iraq, he made it a priority to combat endemic corruption in the country and help restore citizen trust i…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptDemocracy and Governance
Egypt’s National Dialogue: A Lost Opportunity for National Salvage
Jul 7, 2023Khalil Al-AnaniThe Egyptian National Dialogue began in May 2023, following a one-year delay since President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi suddenly announced plans for it in April 2022…
- Policy AnalysisTunisiaDemocracy and Governance
Rebuilding Tunisia’s Democracy Will Require a Long-Term Strategy
Jun 22, 2023Daniel BrumbergFor now, neither the urban middle class nor the Tunisian General Labor Union seem ready for a full-on collision with the president.
- Policy AnalysisTurkeyDemocracy and Governance
The Erdoğan Doctrine in the Wake of Turkey’s Elections
Jun 22, 2023Mustafa GurbuzWhen Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced his new cabinet following his victory in the May 2023 presidential election, a positive mood ensued. Turk…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
The Continuation of Lebanon’s Presidential Debacle
Jun 21, 2023Patricia KaramIt should come as no surprise to Lebanese citizens or the international community that the country remains without a president after more than 7 months and 12 …
- Policy AnalysisLibyaConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Despite Libya’s Progress on Election Laws, Deep Divisions Remain
Jun 13, 2023Gregory AftandilianRecent meetings in Morocco between representatives of Libya’s two main factions, the Government of National Unity (GNU) in the West and the House of Representa…
- Policy AnalysisMoroccoDemocracy and Governance
Morocco’s Concerning Domestic and Foreign Policies
Jun 7, 2023Imad K. HarbAs Morocco works to become a pivotal power in northwest Africa’s security sphere, it continues to suffer from what can be seen as self-inflicted wounds caused …
- Policy AnalysisTurkeyDemocracy and Governance
Turkish Elections in a Post-Truth Political Landscape
May 24, 2023Mustafa GurbuzThe scene was all too familiar in the headquarters of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) on the day of the recent Turkish election. Giant portraits o…
- Policy AnalysisTunisiaDemocracy and Governance
Tunisia’s Broken Democracy: A Preliminary Assessment
May 12, 2023Daniel BrumbergWith Tunisia’s slide into autocracy accelerating every day, this hardly seems the best moment to undertake a frank assessment of its democratic experiment. To …
- Policy AnalysisLevantDemocracy and Governance
Turkey’s Upcoming Elections: A Country at a Crossroads
May 10, 2023Salim ÇevikOn May 14, Turkey will be heading to the polls for what many have deemed the most important election of 2023. For the first time in two decades, President Rece…
- Policy AnalysisYemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Thorny Relationship between Yemen’s Government and the Southern Transitional Council
May 3, 2023Afrah NasserIn Yemen, the Southern Movement calling for separation between the North and South of Yemen is controversial. For those who oppose it, it is a simple secession…
- Policy AnalysisTunisiaDemocracy and Governance
Kais Saied’s Fantasies Are Drowning Tunisia
Apr 27, 2023Daniel BrumbergThe April 18 arrest of Rached Ghannouchi represents a dramatic escalation of Tunisian President Kais Saied’s assault on the political opposition. The leader of…
- ViewpointSudanDemocracy and Governance
Sudan’s Transitional Process Is Dead and Buried
Apr 17, 2023Imad K. HarbIt 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 AnalysisLevantDemocracy and Governance
Discrimination Fuels Intra-Palestinian Violence and Crime in Israel
Mar 30, 2023Yara M. AsiIn recent weeks, it has been impossible to miss the protests taking place in Israel against proposed judicial reforms laid out by the country’s new extreme rig…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
A New Model for Presidential Elections in Lebanon
Mar 9, 2023Patricia KaramIt has been four months since former Lebanese President Michel Aoun left office in October 2022, after a presidential term marred by a series of catastrophic e…
- Policy AnalysisNorth AfricaDemocracy and Governance
The Success of Tunisian President Kais Saied’s Neofascist Populism
Mar 2, 2023Daniel BrumbergIf there was any doubt that Tunisian President Kais Saied is building a new autocracy on the rubble of Tunisia’s imperfect and short-lived democracy, that doub…
- Policy AnalysisLibyaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Impacting Elusive Transitions: Egypt’s Policy Toward Sudan and Libya
Mar 1, 2023Khalil Al-AnaniThe recent political developments in Sudan and Libya have generated some optimism for a potential resolution to the protracted political crises that have plagu…
- Policy AnalysisLevantDemocracy and Governance
The Settler Colonial Origins of Israel’s Constitutional Crisis
Feb 22, 2023Yousef MunayyerTens of thousands of Israelis have filled the streets of major cities in recent weeks to protest significant judicial reforms that the new far-right Israeli go…
- Policy AnalysisLevantDemocracy and Governance
Turkey’s Presidential Election in the Shadow of Devastating Earthquakes
Feb 22, 2023Mustafa GurbuzThe devastating February 6 earthquakes in Turkey, which caused nearly 45,000 deaths in Turkey and Syria and rendered hundreds of thousands of people homeless, …
- Policy AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
Lebanon’s New Opposition MPs Must Work Together for Political Change
Feb 14, 2023Patricia KaramAlthough the October 2019 protests in Lebanon rallied every sector, class, and gender in a moment of enthusiasm with the expectation of revolutionary change, t…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
Beirut Port Explosion: A “Judicial Coup” to Bury the Investigation?
Feb 9, 2023Halim ShebayaThere is broad consensus in Lebanon regarding the need to reform the country’s judiciary and to work toward enhancing its independence, as stipulated by both t…
- Policy AnalysisIranDemocracy and Governance
Succeeding Khamenei: Can Iran’s Leaders Reinvent Their Islamic Republic?
Feb 3, 2023Daniel BrumbergIran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is 83 years old. And while he has lived long enough to see the 44th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, the s…
- Policy AnalysisIraqDemocracy and Governance
Iraqi Prime Minister al-Sudani Upstages His Benefactors in the Coordination Framework
Jan 31, 2023Rend Al-RahimIraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, who was sworn in on October 27, 2022, has nearly completed the first 100 days of his tenure. In this short perio…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
Lebanon’s Politicians Are Incapable of Productive Dialogue
Jan 12, 2023Halim ShebayaLebanon has now entered the fourth year of its devastating economic crisis and collapse, with no end in sight and no hint regarding the possible launch of a re…
- Policy AnalysisNorth AfricaDemocracy and Governance
Only Tunisians Can Save Tunisia
Jan 3, 2023Daniel BrumbergWhat if an aspiring autocrat held an election and barely anyone showed up? This question looms large following Tunisia’s December 17 parliamentary election. Wi…
- Policy AnalysisLibyaConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Libya’s Impasse Continues Amid Mounting Migrant Problems
Dec 21, 2022Gregory AftandilianNearly a year after national elections were supposed to be held in Libya, the country is still not any closer to resolving the deep political and geographical …
- Policy AnalysisIranDemocracy and Governance
Have Iran’s Leaders Come to Another Crossroads?
Dec 14, 2022Daniel BrumbergDaniel Brumberg examines the ongoing protests in Iran and the country’s hardline response, stressing that the disturbances are unlikely to lead to the collapse…
