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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…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict ResolutionPlaying Politics with Aid: Israel’s Response to COVID-19 in Gaza
Apr 29, 2020Yousef MunayyerYousef Munayyer asserts that Israel's facilitation of COVID-19-related aid to Gaza will largely further one overarching priority: to serve Israel's political o…
- Policy Analysis
SyriaDemocracy and GovernanceSyria’s Authoritarian Regime and COVID-19
Apr 24, 2020Radwan ZiadehSyria's delayed admission of COVID-19 cases was dictated by the regime's political calculations and its hope to use the cover of the pandemic to avoid sanction…
- Policy Analysis
AlgeriaDemocracy and GovernanceCOVID-19 Promises Algeria Uncertainty, Danger, and—Perhaps—Opportunity
Apr 23, 2020Daniel BrumbergDaniel Brumberg discusses the political and economic circumstances surrounding the Algerian military's handling of the coronavirus epidemic, using the situatio…
- Policy Analysis
Democracy and GovernanceAuthoritarianism and the Middle East in the Time of COVID-19
Apr 2, 2020Charles W. DunneAuthoritarian governments and leaders in the Middle East have used the cover of the coronavirus pandemic to disperse demonstrations, jail activists, stifle dis…
- Policy Analysis
SyriaRegional Relations and GeopoliticsComplications for Turkey in Idlib
Mar 17, 2020Mustafa GurbuzAnkara’s options in Idlib are extremely limited as it must enforce moderation on the part of the extremists as well as address the refugee crisis.
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyThe Bernie Sanders Factor in US Policy toward Israel
Mar 4, 2020Yousef MunayyerThe Sanders candidacy represents a shift in public opinion on Israel and that Sanders’s position on Palestinian rights opens a political space that is increasi…
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and GovernanceThe Palestinian Arab Vote in Israel: Facing the Ultimate Test of Inclusion
Mar 2, 2020Khalil E. JahshanThe Palestinian Arab vote can challenge the Palestinians’ disenfranchisement but that they will never be welcome as full partners in the Israeli political syst…
- Policy Analysis
SyriaConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThe Struggle over Syria’s Idlib
Feb 28, 2020Radwan ZiadehThe Syrian regime’s killing of scores of Turkish soldiers in Idlib province will aggravate Turkish-Russian relations and take the crisis in Syria in a complete…
- Policy Analysis
EgyptJustice, Equality, and Human RightsState Terror in Egypt: Is It Time for Accountability?
Feb 28, 2020Khalil Al-AnaniThis article by Khaill Al-Anani examines the Egyptian regime’s tools for such repression and the lack of pressure by western governments to hold it accountable…
- Policy Analysis
EgyptProtests and ActivismEgypt’s Puzzling Dilemma: Escalating Challenges and Obstructed Mobilization
Feb 20, 2020Sahar KhamisEgypt’s widening economic and social gaps may lead the regime to adopt harsher measures of political control.
- Policy Analysis
LevantUS Foreign PolicyBipartisan Hysteria Erupts in Washington After UNHRC Unveils Database
Feb 20, 2020Marcus MontgomeryMarcus Montgomery reports on the unified bipartisan response to the recently released UNHCR report detailing the business ties of illegal Israeli settlements a…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThe Palestinians Are on Their Own
Feb 13, 2020Imad K. HarbPalestinians should not rely on support from Arab accommodationists or rejectionists of Trump’s peace plan but must devise a new strategy for national renewal …
- Policy Analysis
TunisiaDemocracy and GovernancePost-Election Blues in Tunisia: Implications at Home and Abroad
Feb 10, 2020Daniel BrumbergThe fate of Tunisia’s democracy may depend on the leadership of President Saied who, until 2019, neither played a political role nor had links to the existing …
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyThe Five Most Dangerous Aspects of Trump’s “Peace Plan”
Jan 30, 2020Tamara KharroubTrump's supremacist plan redraws borders unilaterally, accepts war crimes as serious solutions, and presents nothing but repackaged Israeli apartheid.
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicySteal of the Century: Two Double-Dealers and a Podium
Jan 29, 2020Yousef MunayyerTrump and Netanyahu are a pair of crooks robbing Palestinians of their freedom and dignity. He urges Palestinian leaders to fundamentally recalculate their str…
- Policy Analysis
Democracy and GovernanceProspects for Democratic Change in the Arab World in 2020
Jan 14, 2020Imad K. Harb Sahar Khamis Abdulwahab Al-Qassab Laurie King Khalil E. Jahshan Tamara KharroubACW analysts and academic board members discuss the prospects of the 2019 public protests in several countries of the Arab world and how technology is poised t…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and GovernanceRepressing Criticism of Israel in the United States: Trump’s Executive Order
Jan 3, 2020Yousef MunayyerIn the long term, Trump’s executive order conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism is another effort to silence the debate in the United States on Israel’s p…
- Viewpoint
Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign PolicyThe Khashoggi Verdict: Whitewashing a Murder
Dec 26, 2019Imad K. HarbSaudi Arabia's reputation remains on the line despite the whitewashing and the convoluted twists of Khashoggi’s killing. For now, at least, in Jamal’s case “ju…
- Policy Analysis
Democracy and GovernanceThe MENA Region’s Uphill Struggle against Corruption
Dec 20, 2019Daniel BrumbergIn the Middle East and well beyond, 2019 has been a year of mass public protest and street mobilization. The region is seizing with disorganized and open disco…
- Policy Analysis
Protests and ActivismFrom the Arab Spring to—What, Exactly? 2011 and 2019 Compared
Dec 20, 2019Charles W. DunneSignificant differences between the Arab Spring protests of 2011 and the upheaval sweeping the region today are signs of things to come in the Arab world.
- Policy Analysis
SyriaConflicts and Conflict ResolutionSyria’s Problems Worsen While UN Efforts Fail
Dec 4, 2019Radwan ZiadehSyria’s deteriorating economic conditions and the failure of UN-sponsored discussions about a constitutional document indicate that the Syrian people will cont…
- Policy Analysis
AlgeriaDemocracy and GovernanceAlgeria’s Upcoming Elections Are Not the End of the Road
Dec 3, 2019Imad K. HarbThe military-imposed presidential election in Algeria should not deter the protesters from pressing on with their demand for radical political and economic cha…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and GovernanceDesperate Netanyahu Pulls out All the Stops
Nov 26, 2019Yousef MunayyerA desperate Netanyahu will use all tools in a demagogue’s box, including racist incitement against the Palestinians, in order to remain politically alive—or at…
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyUS Policy Reversal on Israeli Settlements
Nov 21, 2019Khalil E. JahshanKhalil E. Jahshan believes that the Trump Administration’s policy reversal about Israeli settlements is an overture to the president’s evangelical supporters a…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelInternational LawIsrael’s Arguments for the Legality of Settlements under International Law
Nov 21, 2019Jonathan KuttabJonathan Kuttab lists Israel’s repeated arguments about its illegal settlements on the West Bank and rebuts them by referencing the Geneva Conventions and inte…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyPresidential Candidates Open to Leveraging American Support for Israel
Nov 12, 2019Yousef MunayyerYousef Munayyer says that some Democratic candidates for president may be open to taking concrete steps to decrease American complicity in Israel's abuses and …
- Policy Analysis
LebanonIdentity Politics and SectarianizationThe Battle to Defeat Confessional Politics in Lebanon and Beyond
Nov 11, 2019Daniel BrumbergDaniel Brumberg writes that despite demands for radical change, no force or group inside or outside Lebanon can predict what will happen if the country tries t…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonDemocracy and GovernanceThe Catch-22 of Lebanese Reform
Nov 5, 2019Nabeel A. KhouryNabeel Khoury discusses the Lebanese leadership’s catch-22 dilemma resulting from the influence of entrenched parties and their militias as they confront the l…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonDemocracy and GovernanceThe Lebanon Uprising: Causes and Ramifications
Oct 24, 2019Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS)Lebanon’s protests have been unique and inclusive and are united by a wish to topple the ruling political class and abandon the system of sectarian power-shari…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonDemocracy and GovernanceRadical Reform or Total Chaos for Lebanon?
Oct 22, 2019Nabeel A. KhouryNabeel Khouri argues that it is clear that radical reform in Lebanon is what stands between a safe and gradual transition to an accountable government, on the …
- Policy Analysis
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThere Will Be a One-State Solution But What Kind of State Will It Be?
Oct 17, 2019Yousef MunayyerFor nearly three decades, the so-called two-state solution has dominated discussions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But the idea of two states for two pe…
- Policy Analysis
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionAbbas Calls for Elections, but Will They Be Held?
Oct 16, 2019Yousef MunayyerYousef Munayyer discounts the possibility of holding new Palestinian presidential and legislative elections despite the parties’ repeated assertions that they …
- Policy Analysis
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThe Palestinian Arab Vote in Israel: Mere Protest or Significant Influence?
Oct 2, 2019Khalil E. JahshanKhalil E. Jahshan writes that until Israeli Jewish society undergoes serious change and accepts the Arab parties into the political process, the role of Palest…
- Policy Analysis
AlgeriaJustice, Equality, and Human RightsAlgeria’s Standoff between Protesters and the Regime
Oct 2, 2019Gregory AftandilianThere is a dangerous standoff in Algeria between the protesters, who are demanding regime change, and the military establishment, which wants to maintain the s…
- Policy Analysis
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionNetanyahu’s Annexation Promises: Electioneering or Actual Plan?
Sep 17, 2019Yousef MunayyerEven if Netanyahu does not become the next prime minister of Israel, his ideas, including annexation, are likely to govern and shape Israeli politics for years…
- Policy Analysis
LevantJustice, Equality, and Human RightsIsrael Shuts Out Tlaib and Omar, Stoking a Partisan Divide
Aug 28, 2019Yousef MunayyerBy shutting the door on Representatives Tlaib and Omar, Netanyahu may have broken open the floodgates of partisan politics on Israel that establishment Democra…
- 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
BahrainConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThe Drama since Manama: Kushner’s Failed Initiative
Aug 15, 2019Yousef MunayyerJared Kushner’s latest trip to the Middle East appears to have failed in charting a way forward for the Trump Administration’s illusive peace deal between Pale…
- Policy Analysis
QatarJustice, Equality, and Human RightsIn Saudi Arabia, Covering the Khashoggi Murder Is a State Affair
Aug 13, 2019Connor EcholsOver the last decade, stories about the potential for freedom of the press in the Arab world have alternated between hopeful and hopeless. The 2011 Arab uprisi…
- Policy Analysis
LevantIdentity Politics and SectarianizationPartition and Spheres of Influence in Syria
Aug 5, 2019Radwan ZiadehRadwan Ziadeh opines that Syria can no longer be considered a homeland for all Syrians and that its partition has become a reality. Restoring its societal make…
- Policy Analysis
LevantJustice, Equality, and Human RightsTrump and the Evangelicals Define Support for Israel
Jul 26, 2019Yousef MunayyerPresident Trump is instrumentalizing Israel to keep his right-wing Christian Evangelical base energized and supportive as he comes under attack for other contr…
- Policy Analysis
AlgeriaJustice, Equality, and Human RightsThe Arab Spring May Still Be Alive in Northwestern Africa
Jul 25, 2019Charles W. DunneThe popular uprisings and challenges to the regimes in Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania indicate that the Arab Spring may not have ended and that authoritarian…
- Policy Analysis
LevantJustice, Equality, and Human RightsTurkey’s Nativist Turn against Syrian Refugees and Other Arabs
Jul 23, 2019Mustafa GurbuzThe key drivers that fuel the recent nativist sentiment in Turkey are the worsening economy and the politicization of the refugee issue by divisive election ca…
- Policy Analysis
LevantJustice, Equality, and Human RightsUsing Israel to Justify His Racist Attacks, Trump Sets a Dangerous Precedent
Jul 17, 2019Tamara KharroubTo associate loyalty to the US with being white, and supporting Israel sets an extremely dangerous precedent.
- Viewpoint
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThe Palestinian Public Rejects Kushner’s Plans
Jul 8, 2019Imad K. HarbA recent survey in the West Bank and Gaza Strip shows that 79 percent of Palestinians approved of boycotting the Manama workshop and 76 percent doubt Kushner’s…
- Policy Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict ResolutionChild Soldiers in Yemen: One Element of a Humanitarian Disaster
Jul 8, 2019Annelise AdrianACW intern Annelise Adrian reports on the use of child soldiers in the Yemen war by both the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi rebel group. This is one of the…
- Viewpoint
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThe Bahrain Workshop in Retrospect: Critical Israeli and American Jewish Responses
Jul 2, 2019Khalil E. JahshanThe general Israeli approval of the Trump Administration’s “Peace to Prosperity” plan was not universal, noting that some Israeli peace groups, US and Israeli …
- Viewpoint
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionKushner’s Economic Plan Liquidates the Cause of Palestinian Statehood
Jun 27, 2019Imad K. HarbImagine, if you will, that it is Spring 2017 and you are Jared Kushner, son-in-law of the newly sworn-in American president. He has anointed you special envoy …
- Policy Analysis
EgyptDemocracy and GovernanceMorsi’s Death: Conflicting Narratives, Escalating Repression, Deepening Polarization
Jun 25, 2019Sahar KhamisFormer President Mohamed Morsi’s death is emblematic of continuing government repression and unchecked violations of human rights in Egypt that threaten the li…
- Policy Analysis
LevantJustice, Equality, and Human RightsIdlib between Regional and International Imbalances
Jun 5, 2019Radwan ZiadehRadwan Ziadeh writes that the Trump Administration must look at Syria as more than merely a humanitarian crisis and help in reaching a political transition to …
- Policy Analysis
Time, Transition, and Justice in Arab States
Jun 1, 2019Noha AboueldahabThis paper is part of ACW's fourth book, titled The Arab World Beyond Conflict.What does it mean to pursue criminal accountability in the context of resurgent …
- Policy Analysis
LevantJustice, Equality, and Human RightsInsult of the Century: Assessing the Trump Administration’s Peace Plan
May 30, 2019Yousef MunayyerThe Trump Administration’s Palestinian-Israeli peace deal, leaked to the press, and the upcoming Bahrain meeting represent an insult to the Palestinians and ar…
- Policy Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfJustice, Equality, and Human RightsIs Partition Becoming a Reality in Yemen?
May 22, 2019Imad K. HarbIf Yemen’s southern secessionists succeed in establishing a UAE-controlled rump state, Saudi Arabia will have to contend with either continuing the conflict in…
- Policy Analysis
EgyptDemocracy and GovernanceEgypt’s New Constitutional Amendments: Moving toward Totalitarianism
Apr 30, 2019Charles W. DunneEgypt's new constitutional amendments, passed overwhelmingly in a national referendum, drive the country further along the road to totalitarianism. In reality,…
- Policy Analysis
JordanConflicts and Conflict ResolutionWill Israel’s New Government Annex the West Bank?
Apr 24, 2019Yousef MunayyerWith growing domestic support and unquestioning backing from the Trump White House, Israeli leaders may decide that there is a rare opportunity to annex at lea…
- Policy Analysis
LevantJustice, Equality, and Human RightsThe Policy of No Return: The Case of Syrian Refugees
Apr 2, 2019Radwan ZiadehThe third annual conference to support Syrian refugees concluded in Brussels with $7 billion pledged but without political commitments, exposing shortcomings a…
- Viewpoint
LevantInternational LawTrump and the Occupied Syrian Golan Heights
Mar 25, 2019Radwan ZiadehTrump’s presidential proclamation officially recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli territory will have serious implications for international law, US role i…
- Viewpoint
LevantInternational LawDo Not Recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Occupied Golan
Mar 15, 2019Imad K. HarbBy agreeing to Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, the Trump Administration would be dealing a serious blow to its global influence––let alone its moral …
- Viewpoint
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionIt May Be Time to Go Beyond Zionism
Mar 8, 2019Laurie KingIt is necessary to distinguish between hatred of Jews and valid and overdue criticism of Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law.
- Viewpoint
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionBankrolling Kushner’s Mideast Plan
Mar 7, 2019Khalil E. JahshanThe Palestinians have no option but to reject the Trump Administration’s peace plan because of its failure to publicly and explicitly guarantee Palestinian sta…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonDemocracy and GovernanceSyria’s Demographic Changes Buttress Assad’s Authoritarianism
Mar 1, 2019Radwan ZiadehThe Syrian regime violated international prohibitions on the conduct of war by forcing millions of people to flee their homes in order to spur demographic chan…
- Viewpoint
Saudi ArabiaInternational LawThe Khashoggi Affair: Saudi Denial 2.0
Feb 14, 2019Khalil E. JahshanSaudi Arabia continues to deny its leadership’s responsibility for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, despite all the evidence that has emerged since his assassin…
- Viewpoint
EgyptDemocracy and GovernanceA Pharaoh in the Making: Sisi Seeks Long-term Job Security
Feb 5, 2019Imad K. HarbMany Arab presidents have loved the chair and have worked hard to make it more like a throne. One wonders if Sisi would be audacious enough to just declare him…
- Policy Analysis
JordanDemocracy and GovernanceHow Netanyahu’s Dominance of Israeli Politics Has Shaped the Field
Feb 5, 2019Yousef MunayyerWhatever Netanyahu's fortunes in the coming elections, his brand of politics has already conquered Israel's political landscape, which is unlikely to change an…
- 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 ElshamiA series of student-led protests in Sudan that started in the provinces has quietly grown into a bona fide movement.
- Policy Analysis
LevantDemocracy and Governance‘Does Israel Have a Right To Exist’ Is a Trick Question
Jan 22, 2019Yousef MunayyerCriticizing Israel’s policies toward the Palestinian people should never be conflated with eliminationism.
- Policy Analysis
JordanJustice, Equality, and Human RightsA Shift Begins on Israel/Palestine in the 116th Congress
Jan 17, 2019Yousef MunayyerA shift in public opinion and a clash between the older establishment and the young activists in the Democratic Party will change how the 116th Congress looks …
- Policy Analysis
Saudi ArabiaJustice, Equality, and Human RightsThe Khashoggi Murder and US Middle East Strategy in 2019
Jan 10, 2019Joe MacaronThe Khashoggi affair and Trump’s hasty withdrawal from Syria are expected to cast a cloud over Washington’s Middle East strategy in 2019.
- Viewpoint
Saudi ArabiaDemocracy and GovernanceThe Saudi Shake-Up to Consolidate One-Man Rule
Jan 2, 2019Imad K. HarbKing Salman’s cabinet reshuffle was to divert attention away from MbS’s responsibility for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi; but it will likely not succeed.
