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  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    What Trump’s Aid Cuts Mean for the Middle East and North Africa

    Mar 21, 2025Amy Hawthorne

    Although the Trump administration exempted Israel’s $3.3 billion and Egypt’s $1.3 billion in annual foreign military financing (FMF)—the majority of US assista…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    A New Opportunity for Palestinians in Syria

    Mar 21, 2025Nidal Betare

    In Syria under former President Hafez al-Assad, liberating Palestine at all costs was a regime slogan commensurate to freeing the Golan Heights of Israeli occu…

  • Intern Corner
    EgyptMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Egypt’s Policies and Rhetoric Target Sudanese Refugees

    Jan 24, 2025Ingie Gohar

    The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shows no signs of abating since its outbreak in April 2023. The violence has persi…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Political Change and the Fate of Syria’s Refugees Around the World

    Jan 16, 2025Heba Gowayed

    On December 8, the Syrian armed resistance group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) brought the Assad regime to an abrupt end after more than 54 years of brutal rule.…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    UNRWA Closure as Prelude to the Elimination of Palestinians’ Right of Return

    Dec 2, 2024Mtanes Shihadeh

    The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established in 1949 by a UN General Assembly resolution. Its mai…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    War and Displacement in Sudan

    Oct 22, 2024Heba Gowayed

    In April 2023, violence broke out in Sudan’s capital Khartoum in a power struggle between Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), an…

  • Intern Corner
    EgyptMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    How Egypt has Failed Palestinians in Gaza

    Aug 22, 2024Emily Costello

    Egypt’s policy for Palestinian refugees has worsened the already immense suffering of those fleeing the war on Gaza. Corruption within the border security appa…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Erdoğan’s Renewed Push for Syria Reconciliation: Domestic Pressures and Regional Dynamics

    Jul 25, 2024Salim Çevik

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made his most explicit appeal yet to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Setting a high bar for the future of relations, E…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Lebanon Needs Help in Dealing with Its Syrian Refugees

    Jul 10, 2024Imad K. Harb

    The dangerous saber-rattling and bloody confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have partly obscured serious domestic challenges facing Lebanon and the car…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Isolating Gaza from the World: Humanitarian Implications of Israel’s Seizure of Rafah

    Jun 6, 2024Yara M. Asi

    Prior to the fall of 2023, Rafah was a relatively unknown city in the already poorly understood Gaza Strip, especially to much of the world outside of the Midd…

  • Research Paper
    Palestine/IsraelMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    The Gaza War Is a Chapter in the Displacement of the Palestinian People

    Mar 26, 2024Mahmoud Muhareb

    Israel took advantage of October 7, 2023, to launch a war of extermination against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. It announced that its goal in the …

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Egypt, the Gaza War, and Fears of Another Nakba

    Feb 7, 2024Charles W. Dunne

    Like most Arab countries, Egypt was stunned by the conflagration ignited by last October’s Hamas attack inside southern Israel and subsequent Israeli onslaught…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Is Anti-Zionism a Form of Anti-Semitism?

    Dec 9, 2023Azmi Bishara

    A bipartisan group of House members proposed HR 6578, that, if passed, would create a “Commission to Study Acts of Antisemitism in the United States.” This com…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    The Plight and Politics of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

    Aug 8, 2023Patricia Karam

    When Syria’s regime was readmitted into the Arab League and its president, Bashar al Assad, rehabilitated after years of ostracism for his brutal crackdown on …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    The Nakba’s Coming Stages: Patterns, Process, and Predictability

    May 15, 2023Yousef Munayyer

    The Nakba, a term that describes events in Palestine surrounding the establishment of the State of Israel from 1947 to 1949, which included the ethnic cleansin…

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

    Seventy-Five Years after the Nakba: What Does the Future Hold?

    May 15, 2023Mohammed Abu-Nimer Nadia Hijab Dalal Iriqat Khalil E. Jahshan

    As Israel celebrates the 75th anniversary of its founding in 1948, the Palestinians commemorate the same number of years since the Nakba, the catastrophe, that…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Obstacles to a Turkey-Syria Reconciliation

    Mar 29, 2023Salim Çevik

    Syrian President Bashar al-Assad paid an important visit to Moscow in mid-March 2023. One of the main agenda items was the Turkish-Syrian reconciliation that R…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Politics, Displacement, and the Human Toll of the Recent Earthquake in Syria

    Mar 15, 2023Heba Gowayed

    On February 6, 2023, the earth shifted at the fault line that runs along the Turkey-Syria border, resulting in a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which was followed j…

  • Intern Corner
    TurkeyMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Disaster Politics and Earthquake Diplomacy in Syria and Turkey

    Mar 6, 2023Fadi Hilani

    The earthquake must not be an opportunity for Assad’s regime to rehabilitate itself in the eyes of the international community; nor should it be an opening for…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantDemocracy and Governance

    Turkey’s Presidential Election in the Shadow of Devastating Earthquakes

    Feb 22, 2023Mustafa Gurbuz

    The devastating February 6 earthquakes in Turkey, which caused nearly 45,000 deaths in Turkey and Syria and rendered hundreds of thousands of people homeless, …

  • Viewpoint
    SyriaJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Aid to Syrian and Turkish Earthquake Victims Must Arrive Unobstructed

    Feb 10, 2023Imad K. Harb David Kanbergs

    Many cities and neighborhoods in Turkey and Syria have either been destroyed or damaged to the point of making them uninhabitable. Rescue efforts in both count…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Erdoğan’s Rapprochement with Assad Spells Trouble for Syrian Refugees

    Feb 1, 2023Nabeel A. Khoury

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s interest in a rapprochement with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is the latest chapter in his delicate domestic and r…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Flaws and Failures of International Humanitarian Aid to Yemen

    Oct 20, 2022Afrah Nasser

    In a July 2022 report on the UN’s humanitarian response to the crisis in Yemen, the UN Inter-Agency Humanitarian Evaluation Steering Group concluded that “the …

  • Intern Corner
    SyriaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Syria Is Not Ready to Repatriate Displaced Syrians

    Sep 20, 2022Hannah Jacobs

    By 2015, over four million Syrians had fled the country’s civil war and arrived in neighboring countries, in Europe, and beyond. Today, the number of displaced…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelEducation and Development

    International Aid to the Palestinians: Between Politicization and Development

    Aug 4, 2022Omar Shaban

    Following the signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1993, an international conference was held in Washington …

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Syrian Refugees in Turkey Face an Uncertain Future

    Jul 12, 2022Mustafa Gurbuz

    In the early hours of July 1, 2022, Turkish sources reported on a story of undocumented immigrants fleeing the Osmaniye Refugee Camp in southern Turkey. That s…

  • Policy Analysis
    Migrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Racism and the Blocked Refuge of the Displaced of the Middle East

    Apr 28, 2022Heba Gowayed

    The world today is facing an unprecedented crisis of human displacement. About one of every 95 persons is displaced from his or her home due to persecution, wa…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    The Nakba in Israeli Public Discourse and School History Curriculum

    Nov 17, 2021Amal Jamal

    The ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their villages by Israel’s armed forces during the 1948 war and the creation of the ongoing refugee problem is rarely…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    “Shoulder to Shoulder with Sorrow”: Afghan Refugees, Past and Present

    Sep 9, 2021Yara M. Asi

    For weeks, images and stories of Afghans leaving their homeland have flooded all forms of media. Recent events only emphasized just how difficult life is for t…

  • 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
    SyriaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Loss of a Generation: The Education of Syria’s Refugee Children

    Aug 25, 2020Yara M. Asi

    Yara M. Asi reports that almost ten years of homelessness, poverty, and trauma have deprived millions of Syria’s children and youth—displaced inside the countr…

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

    The Nakba 72 Years On: The Current Status of the Question of Palestine

    May 15, 2020Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Tamara Kharroub Yousef Munayyer Marwan Bishara Diana Buttu

    Arab Center Washington DC research fellows and associates share their opinions and perspectives on the question of Palestine as Palestinians and the world mark…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Palestinians Are on Their Own

    Feb 13, 2020Imad K. Harb

    Palestinians 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
    LevantMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Trump’s Syria Decision and the Damage to US Foreign Policy

    Oct 22, 2019Charles W. Dunne

    The fallout from President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision on October 6 to order US troops to stand aside as Turkey launched a long-planned incursion into north…

  • 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
    BahrainMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    The Kushner Bahrain Ordeal: Why Are the Palestinians Boycotting?

    May 31, 2019Khalil E. Jahshan

    The proposed US “Peace to Prosperity” workshop in Bahrain is destined to fail because it ignores Palestinian participation and avoids linking economic prosperi…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    As Congress Scrutinizes Yemen, Spotlight Shines on Saudi Arabia and Its Partners

    Apr 9, 2019Charles W. Dunne

    Congress's vote to end US support for the war in Yemen reflects growing anger at Saudi Arabia. That anger is also extending to two of the kingdom’s closest all…

  • 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…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Defunding UNRWA: Ramifications for Countries Hosting Palestinian Refugees

    Sep 4, 2018Yousef Munayyer Tamara Kharroub Joe Macaron Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan

    Disbanding UNRWA will not only be disastrous for registered Palestinian refugees, but it will also have a serious and adverse impact on the countries hosting t…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Washington Adopts Israel’s Positions: The Refugee Chapter

    Aug 29, 2018Yousef Munayyer

    President Trump has presided over making American policy toward Israel and Palestine more in line with Israeli positions; now with respect to the Palestinian r…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Syrian Refugees in Jordan and Lebanon: The Politics of their Return

    Jun 28, 2018Joe Macaron

    Overwhelmed by their own economic woes, Jordan and Lebanon are employing different tactics to achieve the same objective: to secure the return of Syrian refuge…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Hodeida and the Changing American Position

    Jun 18, 2018Gregory Aftandilian

    After opposing Saudi-UAE plans to take the vital Hodeida port, the Trump Administration is now supporting the operation to show it will actively oppose so-call…

  • Viewpoint
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Seventy Years of Nakba: Ending a Process that Has Not Stopped

    May 3, 2018Yousef Munayyer

    On May 15, 2018, Palestinians commemorate 70 years of their Nakba, the catastrophe of dispossession and homelessness that unfolded when the state of Israel was…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    The Challenges of Turkey’s Operation in Syria’s Idlib

    Oct 19, 2017Mustafa Gurbuz

    Turkey is concerned about who controls neighboring Idlib Province in Syria but is equally interested in thwarting the Syrian Kurds’ plans for autonomy south of…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Potential for Intercommunal Violence in Iraq and Syria

    Aug 9, 2017Mustafa Gurbuz

    The legacy of authoritarianism, the rise of sectarian sentiments, ethno-nationalist aspirations, communal grievances about government neglect, and outside inte…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Is Enforced Displacement the New Reality in Syria?

    Apr 28, 2017Radwan Ziadeh

    It is feared that forced displacement of Syrians as a way of protecting vulnerable civilians may result in creating pure sectarian enclaves, making partition e…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Will Erdogan’s Victory Usher Dramatic Changes in Turkish Foreign Policy?

    Apr 25, 2017Mustafa Gurbuz

    Since becoming Turkey’s president in July 2014, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has pursued a protracted campaign to win constitutional changes that would grant him more …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    The US at the UN and the Apartheid Report on Palestine

    Mar 29, 2017Yousef Munayyer

    Earlier this month and for the first time in the history of the United Nations, the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)—a UN institution—is…

  • Research Paper
    JordanConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Jordan’s Azraq Refugee Camp – A Pictorial Essay

    Mar 25, 2016Priscilla Philippi

    When the conflict in Syria broke out in March of  2011, there was no indication as to the duration or the enormity of the ensuing humanitarian crisis.  Accordi…