• Policy Analysis
    Protests and Activism

    The battle of ‘resistance’ vs ‘revolution’ in the Middle East

    Jan 17, 2020Rami G. Khouri

    The clash between the 'resistance' and 'revolutionary' movements will define the Middle East in the future.

  • Policy Analysis
    Democracy and Governance

    Prospects for Democratic Change in the Arab World in 2020

    ACW 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 Governance

    Repressing Criticism of Israel in the United States: Trump’s Executive Order

    Jan 3, 2020Yousef Munayyer

    In 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 Policy

    The Khashoggi Verdict: Whitewashing a Murder

    Dec 26, 2019Imad K. Harb

    Saudi 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 Governance

    The MENA Region’s Uphill Struggle against Corruption

    Dec 20, 2019Daniel Brumberg

    In 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 Activism

    From the Arab Spring to—What, Exactly? 2011 and 2019 Compared

    Dec 20, 2019Charles W. Dunne

    Significant 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 Resolution

    Syria’s Problems Worsen While UN Efforts Fail

    Dec 4, 2019Radwan Ziadeh

    Syria’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 Governance

    Algeria’s Upcoming Elections Are Not the End of the Road

    Dec 3, 2019Imad K. Harb

    The 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 Governance

    Desperate Netanyahu Pulls out All the Stops

    Nov 26, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    A 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 Policy

    US Policy Reversal on Israeli Settlements

    Nov 21, 2019Khalil E. Jahshan

    Khalil 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 Law

    Israel’s Arguments for the Legality of Settlements under International Law

    Nov 21, 2019Jonathan Kuttab

    Jonathan 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
    IraqProtests and Activism

    Will Iraq’s Protests Lead to Radical Change?

    The ongoing protests in Iraq indicate that the country’s youth, who are overwhelmingly Shia, have become disillusioned with status quo politics of control by I…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Presidential Candidates Open to Leveraging American Support for Israel

    Nov 12, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    Yousef 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 Sectarianization

    The Battle to Defeat Confessional Politics in Lebanon and Beyond

    Nov 11, 2019Daniel Brumberg

    Daniel 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…

  • From our Affiliates
    Religion and Politics

    Modernity and the Mechanisms of Moral Neutralisation

    Nov 8, 2019Azmi Bishara

    Azmi Bishara’s introduction to the Arabic edition of Zygmunt Bauman’s Modernity and the Holocaust (1989).

  • Policy Analysis
    AlgeriaProtests and Activism

    Protests in the Arab World: The Second Wave

    Nov 8, 2019Marina Ottaway

    Marina Ottaway argues that protesters in Algeria, Sudan, Lebanon, and Iraq appear to be more sophisticated than those of the 2011 uprisings and understand that…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    The Catch-22 of Lebanese Reform

    Nov 5, 2019Nabeel A. Khoury

    Nabeel 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 Governance

    The 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 Governance

    Radical Reform or Total Chaos for Lebanon?

    Oct 22, 2019Nabeel A. Khoury

    Nabeel 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 Resolution

    There Will Be a One-State Solution But What Kind of State Will It Be?

    Oct 17, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    For 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 Resolution

    Abbas Calls for Elections, but Will They Be Held?

    Oct 16, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    Yousef Munayyer discounts the possibility of holding new Palestinian presidential and legislative elections despite the parties’ repeated assertions that they …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Palestinian Arab Vote in Israel: Mere Protest or Significant Influence?

    Khalil 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 Rights

    Algeria’s Standoff between Protesters and the Regime

    There is a dangerous standoff in Algeria between the protesters, who are demanding regime change, and the military establishment, which wants to maintain the s…

  • External Readings
    LevantDemocracy and Governance

    Israel after Netanyahu?

    Sep 19, 2019Marwan Bishara

    No leader of a national unity government in Israel will be willing, let alone capable of, taking any serious step towards peace

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Netanyahu’s Annexation Promises: Electioneering or Actual Plan?

    Sep 17, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    Even 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 Rights

    Israel Shuts Out Tlaib and Omar, Stoking a Partisan Divide

    Aug 28, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    By 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 Economics

    Positive Economic Growth in Egypt Belies Mounting Problems

    Opening 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 Resolution

    The Drama since Manama: Kushner’s Failed Initiative

    Aug 15, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    Jared 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 Rights

    In Saudi Arabia, Covering the Khashoggi Murder Is a State Affair

    Aug 13, 2019Connor Echols

    Over 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 Sectarianization

    Partition and Spheres of Influence in Syria

    Aug 5, 2019Radwan Ziadeh

    Radwan 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 Rights

    Trump and the Evangelicals Define Support for Israel

    Jul 26, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    President 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 Rights

    The Arab Spring May Still Be Alive in Northwestern Africa

    Jul 25, 2019Charles W. Dunne

    The 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 Rights

    Turkey’s Nativist Turn against Syrian Refugees and Other Arabs

    Jul 23, 2019Mustafa Gurbuz

    The 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 Rights

    Using Israel to Justify His Racist Attacks, Trump Sets a Dangerous Precedent

    Jul 17, 2019Tamara Kharroub

    To associate loyalty to the US with being white, and supporting Israel sets an extremely dangerous precedent.

  • Viewpoint
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Palestinian Public Rejects Kushner’s Plans

    Jul 8, 2019Imad K. Harb

    A 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 Resolution

    Child Soldiers in Yemen: One Element of a Humanitarian Disaster

    Jul 8, 2019Annelise Adrian

    ACW 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…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelEnergy and Economics

    An Economic Analysis of Kushner’s Failed Plan

    Jul 3, 2019Ibrahim Shikaki

    “Peace to Prosperity” brings little that is new to the table, follows an ill-suited fundamentalist market ideology, and ignores the Israeli occupation as the m…

  • Viewpoint
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Bahrain Workshop in Retrospect: Critical Israeli and American Jewish Responses

    The general Israeli approval of the Trump Administration’s “Peace to Prosperity” plan was not universal, noting that some Israeli peace groups, US and Israeli …

  • Policy Analysis
    BahrainConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Manama Meeting and Its Winners and Losers

    ACW fellows argue that neither Kushner’s “Peace to Prosperity” plan nor the Bahrain meeting addressed the political aspects of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict…

  • Viewpoint
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Kushner’s Economic Plan Liquidates the Cause of Palestinian Statehood

    Jun 27, 2019Imad K. Harb

    Imagine, 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 Governance

    Morsi’s Death: Conflicting Narratives, Escalating Repression, Deepening Polarization

    Jun 25, 2019Sahar Khamis

    Former 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 Rights

    Idlib between Regional and International Imbalances

    Jun 5, 2019Radwan Ziadeh

    Radwan 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 Aboueldahab

    This 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
    LevantEnergy and Economics

    Deep Socioeconomic Disparities Exacerbate Arab Tensions

    Jun 1, 2019Rami G. Khouri

    This paper is part of ACW's fourth book, titled The Arab World Beyond Conflict.The far-reaching turmoil that plagues most Arab countries today reflects problem…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Insult of the Century: Assessing the Trump Administration’s Peace Plan

    May 30, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    The 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 Rights

    Is Partition Becoming a Reality in Yemen?

    May 22, 2019Imad K. Harb

    If 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 Governance

    Egypt’s New Constitutional Amendments: Moving toward Totalitarianism

    Apr 30, 2019Charles W. Dunne

    Egypt'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 Resolution

    Will Israel’s New Government Annex the West Bank?

    Apr 24, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    With 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…

  • External Readings
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    The logic behind US humiliation of the Palestinians

    Apr 24, 2019Marwan Bishara

    The Trump administration has launched an all-out diplomatic assault on the Palestinians, while preparing a new initiative to resolve the Middle East conflict.

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    The Policy of No Return: The Case of Syrian Refugees

    Apr 2, 2019Radwan Ziadeh

    The third annual conference to support Syrian refugees concluded in Brussels with $7 billion pledged but without political commitments, exposing shortcomings a…

  • Viewpoint
    LevantInternational Law

    Trump and the Occupied Syrian Golan Heights

    Mar 25, 2019Radwan Ziadeh

    Trump’s presidential proclamation officially recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli territory will have serious implications for international law, US role i…

  • Viewpoint
    LevantInternational Law

    Do Not Recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Occupied Golan

    Mar 15, 2019Imad K. Harb

    By 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 Resolution

    It May Be Time to Go Beyond Zionism

    Mar 8, 2019Laurie King

    It 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 Resolution

    Bankrolling Kushner’s Mideast Plan

    The 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 Governance

    Syria’s Demographic Changes Buttress Assad’s Authoritarianism

    Mar 1, 2019Radwan Ziadeh

    The 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 Law

    The Khashoggi Affair: Saudi Denial 2.0

    Feb 14, 2019Khalil E. Jahshan

    Saudi 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 Governance

    A Pharaoh in the Making: Sisi Seeks Long-term Job Security

    Feb 5, 2019Imad K. Harb

    Many 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 Governance

    How Netanyahu’s Dominance of Israeli Politics Has Shaped the Field

    Feb 5, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    Whatever 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 Elshami

    A 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 Munayyer

    Criticizing Israel’s policies toward the Palestinian people should never be conflated with eliminationism.

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    A Shift Begins on Israel/Palestine in the 116th Congress

    Jan 17, 2019Yousef Munayyer

    A 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 Rights

    The Khashoggi Murder and US Middle East Strategy in 2019

    Jan 10, 2019Joe Macaron

    The 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 Governance

    The Saudi Shake-Up to Consolidate One-Man Rule

    Jan 2, 2019Imad K. Harb

    King 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.

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    What will the Middle East look like in 2019?

    Jan 1, 2019Marwan Kabalan

    In 2019, old conflicts in the Middle East will persist and new ones might erupt.

  • Policy Analysis
    IranIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Iran’s Hardliners and Reformists and the Syria Gambit

    Dec 27, 2018Daniel Brumberg

    Iranian hardliners have tried to isolate reformists by asserting that in times of growing security threats, all political forces must unite behind the drive fo…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaDemocracy and Governance

    The Aftermath of the Khashoggi Murder: Freedom of the Press in 2018

    Dec 21, 2018Tamara Kharroub

    The rise of populism and anti-globalism has contributed to erosion of the international rights system, with governments moving away from accountability and tra…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Mohammed Bin Salman and the “Deal of the Century”

    Dec 17, 2018Yousef Munayyer

    MbS has proven that he is the wrong man for the job of marketing Trump’s deal. If Trump goes ahead with his peace plan with MbS as his salesman, expectations o…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Assad Begins a Three-Year Plan to Refurbish His Regime

    Dec 12, 2018Joe Macaron

    The Assad regime is consolidating itself and laying the groundwork to reap the benefits of postwar Syria and strengthen control over territories it recaptured.

  • Policy Analysis
    Justice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Political Prisoners in the Middle East: The Quiet Crisis

    Dec 6, 2018Charles W. Dunne

    Holding political prisoners in the Middle East is not only a human rights abuse in and of itself; it is symptomatic of a much more pervasive and dangerous patt…

  • Viewpoint
    Saudi ArabiaJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Pompeo and Mattis Strongly Support Saudi Arabia in the US Senate

    Nov 28, 2018Marcus Montgomery

    The Trump Administration likely dealt itself a blow when it sent Secretaries Pompeo and Mattis to the Senate but prevented Haspel from testifying as well.

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    The Now-Halted War in Hodeida: Was It a Cover for Khashoggi’s Murder?

    Nov 15, 2018Imad K. Harb

    The resumption of fighting around Hodeida cannot be separated from the Saudi attempt to deflect the international community’s attention away from its responsib…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

     The Developing GCC-Damascus Rapprochement

    Nov 15, 2018Joe Macaron

    A rapprochement between GCC countries and the Syrian regime is becoming more possible and is being reinforced by recent regional developments.

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

    Trump, American Jews, and Israel: Driving a Deeper Wedge

    Nov 9, 2018Yousef Munayyer

    US support for Israel today is partisan in ways not seen before, thanks in part to shifting demographics and opinions and also to changes in the relationship b…

  • Viewpoint
    Saudi ArabiaJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    The Khashoggi Affair: The Five Stages of Saudi Denial

    Oct 27, 2018Khalil E. Jahshan

    Coming to terms with the heinous crime and its implications for the kingdom was a slow and painful process reminiscent of the five stages of grief model associ…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaDemocracy and Governance

    Has Saudi Arabia Become a Monarchy of Fear?

    Oct 24, 2018Daniel Brumberg

    With increasing authoritarian tendencies in the current Arab political order, the Khashoggi killing may point to Saudi Arabia as approaching being a monarchy o…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantInternational Law

    Murder at the Consulate: The Questions that Occupy Us

    Oct 19, 2018Azmi Bishara

    Many have raised questions about the logic behind murdering Jamal Khashoggi in the consulate, but what kind of leader makes such a criminal yet foolish decisio…

  • Policy Analysis
    MoroccoJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Assessing Morocco’s Human Rights Picture: Constitutional Reform May Not Be Enough

    Oct 11, 2018Charles W. Dunne

    While Morocco’s constitutional changes were meant to limit the powers of the absolute monarchy, the Moroccan king remains the final arbiter of the political sy…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Oslo at 25: Long Dead and Now Finally Buried?

    Sep 24, 2018Yousef Munayyer

    For 25 years, the Oslo process has been dying a slow death because of Palestinian weakness, overemphasis on ensuring Israeli security, and the Trump Administra…

  • Viewpoint
    LevantInternational Law

    The Trump Administration’s “Peace Plan” Threatens Global Peace and Security

    Sep 12, 2018Tamara Kharroub

    On September 10, 2018, the United States ordered the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) office in Washington, DC. A statement by the Depa…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Five Years after Sisi’s Coup: Soul Searching, Resistance, and Division

    Sep 12, 2018Daniel Brumberg

    Sisi is building a full autocracy in Egypt. He will not be intimidated by pushback from state-linked elites but by a genuine healing of the Islamist-secular br…