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The Horn of AfricaEnergy and EconomicsBitcoin Mining on the Nile? Implications of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam for Egypt and Sudan
Nov 12, 2025Lama ElhatowEthiopia’s highly contested and controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) was officially inaugurated on September 9, 2025, marking the completion of…
- Research Paper
LevantEnergy and EconomicsGas and Geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean
Oct 1, 2025Jim KraneThe resource base in the Eastern Mediterranean is of primary interest not because of the size of its reserves but because of its proximity to the EU market, an…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonEnergy and EconomicsCan Lebanon Be a Hub for Syria’s Reconstruction?
Sep 24, 2025Patricia KaramNearly a year after the end of Syria’s civil war and the fall of the Assad dictatorship, the country has embarked on a long and complex reconstruction process.…
- Policy Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfDemocracy and GovernanceFueling 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 Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and EconomicsOPEC Is Pushing Down Oil Prices Despite a Cash Crunch in Saudi Arabia. Here Is Why
Aug 21, 2025Jim KraneSomething 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…
- Policy Analysis
EgyptEnergy and EconomicsSisi’s Foreign Policy Fails to Obscure Egypt’s Festering Economic Problems
Jul 23, 2025Gregory AftandilianAlthough Egypt’s economy has seen several improvements over the past year, namely a fall in the inflation rate and an infusion of external financing, it is sti…
- Policy Analysis
Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign PolicyDeals Without Guarantees: Trump’s Gulf Visit and the Future of US–Saudi Relations
May 22, 2025The Unit for Political StudiesOn 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 PolicyUS Policy and Gulf Arab Interests: More Clash, Less Harmony
May 6, 2025Jim KraneGulf 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
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…
- 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
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and EconomicsExploring the Options: Arab Oil Exporters and the US Dollar
Jun 21, 2024Jim KraneThe pricing of oil in US dollars is one of the perks the United States enjoys due to its status as the world’s largest economy and to the dollar’s role as the …
- Policy Analysis
YemenEnergy and EconomicsHouthi Red Sea Attacks Have Global Economic Repercussions
Apr 5, 2024Jim KraneThe Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping present a new phenomenon in geo-economic conflict: a non-state actor using asymmetric warfare not just to fight conventi…
- External Readings
Palestine/IsraelEnergy and EconomicsIsrael’s Central Bank Governor Tries to Assure International Markets
Nov 21, 2023Barhoum JaraisiLast October, at a conference of the International Monetary Fund in the United States, the Governor of the Central Bank of Israel Amir Yaron sought to reassure…
- Policy Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and EconomicsThe Geopolitics of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor
Oct 10, 2023Giorgio CafieroAt 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
TurkeyEnergy and EconomicsTurkey’s Ambitions in Iraq Play Out in Kirkuk
Oct 3, 2023Mustafa GurbuzIn late August, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani stirred the pot of existing tensions when he ordered the evacuation of the Iraqi military’s Joint…
- Policy Analysis
YemenEnergy and EconomicsYemen’s War Economy: A Key Factor in the Ongoing Conflict
Sep 20, 2023Afrah NasserAs Houthi negotiators leave Saudi Arabia after five days of talks with Saudi officials regarding the contours of a compromise solution to Yemen’s ongoing confl…
- Policy Analysis
EgyptEnergy and EconomicsEgypt Is in Serious Trouble Seven Decades after Its Free Officers Revolution
Jul 25, 2023Imad K. HarbSeventy-one years after its July 23, 1952 Revolution, organized by the Free Officers Movement, Egypt’s difficult economic conditions threaten to unravel the ve…
- Policy Analysis
Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and GeopoliticsThe UAE-Saudi Arabia Rivalry Becomes a Rift
Jul 6, 2023Charles W. DunneSaudi 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
TurkeyDemocracy and GovernanceThe 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 Analysis
IraqUS Foreign PolicyShock and Awe: Life in Iraq Twenty Years after the US-led Invasion
Jun 16, 2023Yara M. AsiThis year marks a significant milestone in the American-led “Global War on Terror,” especially in relation to Iraq. It has been 20 years since former Secretary…
- Policy Analysis
Saudi ArabiaEnergy and EconomicsSaudi Oil Production Cuts: A Self-Interested Move
May 10, 2023Patricia KaramSaudi 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
TunisiaDemocracy and GovernanceKais 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…
- Policy Analysis
North AfricaClimate and EnvironmentGreen Power Politics in North African Countries: Continuity or Change?
Mar 1, 2023Achref ChibaniIn 2023, environmental and climate issues will again be at the top of the policy agenda in the Middle East and North Africa. The upcoming COP28 climate confere…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonDemocracy and GovernanceLebanon’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 Analysis
EgyptEnergy and EconomicsEgypt and the IMF: Greater Foreign Debt and Deeper Economic Decline
Nov 17, 2022Khalil Al-AnaniEgypt reached a new agreement with the IMF to borrow $3 billion over a 46-month period. The Egyptian economy has been struggling over the past couple of years …
- Policy Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and EconomicsUS-Gulf Relations After OPEC+ Production Cuts
Nov 2, 2022Jim KraneAmerican presidents have long relied on Saudi Arabia and its leadership of OPEC to ease price pressure on oil markets, particularly in the lead-up to US electi…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonEnergy and EconomicsLebanon Will Not Benefit from Its Maritime Agreement with Israel
Oct 31, 2022Imad K. HarbAfter ten years of on-again, off-again negotiations, Lebanon and Israel have finally reached what leaders in both countries consider an acceptable deal to dema…
- Viewpoint
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and EconomicsWith Friends Like These: OPEC’s Oil Production and US-Gulf Relations
Oct 7, 2022Imad K. HarbIn 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
EgyptEnergy and EconomicsThe Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Limited Options for a Resolution
Sep 16, 2022Khalil Al-AnaniOn 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
LebanonEnergy and EconomicsLebanon Struggles to Pick up the Pieces After the Beirut Port Explosion
Sep 9, 2022Yara M. AsiLebanon’s independence in 1943 formally ended a 23-year French mandate backed by the League of Nations, a period that saw the consolidation of the country’s cu…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonEnergy and EconomicsAn Update on the Lebanon-Israel Border Dispute
Sep 7, 2022Imad K. HarbAs the summer comes to a close, indirect negotiations to demarcate the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel continue apace. Although US mediator Amos Hoc…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonEnergy and EconomicsLittle to Show After Two Years of Tense Lebanese-Israeli Maritime Border Negotiations
Jul 8, 2022Laury HaytayanLebanon and Israel have frequently been at odds during their nearly two years of negotiations over the two countries’ Mediterranean maritime border, with diffi…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelEnergy and EconomicsThe Flaws and Failings of the World Bank’s Research on the Palestinian Economy
Jun 21, 2022Ibrahim ShikakiA recent World Bank report on the Palestinian economy once again demonstrates that most research produced by international financial institutions on this topic…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelThe War in UkraineFood Insecurity in Palestine and the Russia-Ukraine War: The Worst Is Yet to Come
Jun 9, 2022Omar ShabanThe potential impact of a drop in the supply of grain to global markets due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has increased fears about food insecurity around …
- Policy Analysis
EgyptEnergy and EconomicsGulf Countries’ Aid to Egypt: It Is Politics, Not the Economy, Stupid!
May 5, 2022Khalil Al-AnaniOn 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
The Horn of AfricaEnergy and EconomicsHorn of Africa’s Security Concerns and Economic Crises
Apr 27, 2022Gregory AftandilianThe current Russia-Ukraine crisis has overshadowed another troubled region of the world, namely the Horn of Africa, which encompasses Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti,…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonEnergy and EconomicsThe Need for an International Development Fund for Lebanon
Jan 6, 2022Nabeel A. KhouryThe International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), European Union (EU), France, and the United States are all trying to help Lebanon out of the economic a…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyUS-Palestinian Economic Talks Serve Israeli Interests
Dec 29, 2021Jonathan KuttabThe recent resumption of discussions about economic ties between the US government and the Palestinian Authority (PA) after a five-year hiatus must be understo…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonEnergy and EconomicsLebanon’s Energy Crisis Fuels US-Iran Tensions
Aug 25, 2021Joe MacaronIn the midst of an economic collapse and an energy crisis, Lebanon has found itself in a tug of war between the United States and Iran. On August 19, Hezbollah…
- Policy Analysis
EgyptEnergy and EconomicsWill Egypt Live with GERD as a Bitter Reality?
Aug 19, 2021Khalil Al-AnaniOn 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
Energy and EconomicsChallenges Facing Sustainable Development Goals in Arab States
Jul 30, 2021Yara M. AsiThe end of the twentieth century was a tumultuous period for much of the world. Many countries were experiencing economic turmoil, and many hard-won gains in h…
- Viewpoint
Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and GeopoliticsIs a Saudi-Emirati Rift on the Horizon?
Jul 7, 2021Imad K. HarbThe 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
EgyptDemocracy and GovernanceFailures of Authoritarian Governance in Egypt
Apr 28, 2021Khalil Al-AnaniOn 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
Energy and EconomicsStarving and Being Starved: Addressing Food Insecurity in Arab Populations
Apr 5, 2021Yara M. AsiAfter years of civil war and outside intervention, Yemen continues to be widely recognized as having the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. A significant contr…
- Intern Corner
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and EconomicsChina’s Maritime Challenge to the United States in the Gulf
Mar 30, 2021Gabriella HaedeltThe Arabian Gulf has emerged as a theater of investment, international integration, and rivalry for global powers, especially after Chinese President Xi Jinpin…
- Policy Analysis
Climate and EnvironmentClimate Change in the Arab World: An Existential Threat in an Unstable Region
Mar 2, 2021Yara M. AsiIn 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. …
- Policy Analysis
SomaliaSecurity and DefenseIncreasing Contestation over the Red Sea and Horn of Africa
Dec 23, 2020Gregory AftandilianGrowing 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
LebanonDemocracy and GovernanceLebanon Risks Becoming Irrelevant
Nov 11, 2020Imad K. HarbFor the third time in the span of a year, Lebanese politicians are trying to go back to the proverbial drawing board. On October 22nd, President Michel Aoun ap…
- Policy Analysis
SyriaEnergy and EconomicsUS-Russian Competition and the M4 Highway in Syria
Jun 23, 2020Joe MacaronJoe Macaron argues that in Syria, implementing the Caesar Act sanctions and opening the east-west M4 Highway reflect intensified US-Russian competition while t…
- Policy Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign PolicyUS Middle East Policy in Free Fall
May 28, 2020Daniel BrumbergGulf Arab states have little choice but to rely for their security needs on the Trump Administration despite its feckless policy in the Middle East and poor ca…
- Policy Analysis
Saudi ArabiaDemocracy and GovernanceMbS’s New “Vision 2020”: Reform and Repression
May 5, 2020Daniel BrumbergSaudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) will most likely weather the political, economic, and health storms generated by COVID-19. Prompted by th…
- Washington Policy Weekly
Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign PolicyDid the Saudi-Led Oil Deal Diminish Republicans’ 2020 Electoral Chances?
Apr 15, 2020Marcus MontgomeryBecause the health of the US economy is critical for Donald Trump's reelection hopes, Marcus Montgomery asks if the recent Saudi-led OPEC+ cuts will contribute…
- Policy Analysis
IranUS Foreign PolicyThe COVID-19 Pandemic Prompts Debate over Iran Sanctions
Apr 1, 2020Marcus MontgomeryMarcus Montgomery details splits in official Washington about how to deal with Iran at this delicate time of the coronavirus outbreak: some want to offer sanct…
- Policy Analysis
MoroccoDemocracy and GovernanceMorocco: Despite Some Progress, Many Challenges Remain
Mar 31, 2020Nabeel A. KhouryNabeel Khoury discusses Morocco's political and economic conditions and cautions its elite to use the opportunity of the current social calm engendered by the …
- Policy Analysis
LebanonProtests and ActivismThe Lebanese Uprising: No End in Sight for the Current Impasse
Nov 20, 2019Joe MacaronJoe Macaron explains the different factors of the current impasse between the Lebanese ruling political class and the protesters, seeing no end in sight for th…
- Policy Analysis
IranConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThe Attacks on Saudi Oil Installations are a Game Changer
Sep 17, 2019Khalil E. Jahshan Kristian Coates Ulrichsen Abdulwahab Al-Qassab Joe Macaron Imad K. HarbThe latest attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations are a game changer in Saudi domestic politics and in regional and international affairs.
- Policy Analysis
EgyptEnergy and EconomicsPositive Economic Growth in Egypt Belies Mounting Problems
Aug 21, 2019Gregory AftandilianOpening up the political and economic systems in Egypt would allow for sustained private sector growth and a free flow of ideas—and criticism—that would keep t…
- Policy Analysis
North AfricaDemocracy and GovernanceTunisia’s Fragile Democracy after Essebsi
Aug 2, 2019Daniel BrumbergDaniel Brumberg argues that Tunisia’s Essebsi leaves behind a political crisis that is partly rooted in a convoluted constitutional language that does not clea…
- Policy Analysis
JordanConflicts and Conflict ResolutionWhat Actually Ails the Palestinian Economy?
Jun 20, 2019Yousef MunayyerThe Israeli occupation and lack of freedom for Palestinians are the most salient factors that hamper the Palestinian economy, and this should be blindingly obv…
- Policy Analysis
Energy and EconomicsTrump’s Doomed Quest for a Middle East Strategic Alliance
Feb 5, 2019Daniel BrumbergTrump's Middle East Strategic Alliance is doomed because not all states there agree that Iran poses the biggest threat. A larger obstacle is the president's re…
- Policy Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfDemocracy and GovernanceHow the Private Sector Supports Authoritarians in the Arab World
Jan 30, 2019Charles W. DunneThe private sector in the United States and around the world has a responsibility to confront authoritarian regimes and help protect human rights and the rule …
- Policy Analysis
LebanonEnergy and EconomicsThe Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum Reinforces Current Regional Dynamics
Jan 25, 2019Joe MacaronThe recently announced Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum is not likely to aid cooperation or economic integration because the policies of its member states mirro…
- Viewpoint
QatarEnergy and EconomicsQatar Withdraws from OPEC: Business, Politics, or Both?
Dec 6, 2018Khalil E. JahshanIt strains credulity to believe that Qatar’s decision to withdraw from OPEC was taken in total isolation from the regional conflict and tensions with neighbors.
- Policy Analysis
IraqEnergy and EconomicsControlling the Nasib Crossing Is a Game Changer for the Syrian Regime
Jul 19, 2018Joe MacaronThe imminent opening of the Nasib crossing on the Syrian-Jordanian border could revitalize commercial activities in the Levant; but challenges lie ahead, inclu…
- Policy Analysis
LibyaDemocracy and GovernanceLibya: Controlling Oil, Fearing Partition
Jul 16, 2018Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS)In light of Libya’s institutional fragmentation between east and west, control of the Oil Crescent and its revenues has become a determining factor in the coun…
- Policy Analysis
EgyptConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThe Egypt-Ethiopia Nile Water Crisis: a Cause for Regional Tensions?
Jul 5, 2018Daniel StollWhile 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…
- Viewpoint
IranEnergy and EconomicsPompeo Peddles Disaster for American Interests
May 22, 2018Imad K. HarbAnother spectacle of a confused American foreign policy was on display on May 21, 2018 at the Heritage Foundation, where Secretary of State Mike Pompeo deliver…












































































