Publications

Once again, events in Gaza are showing up in the form of indignant protests in Jordan that, if not properly handled, could lead to serious challenges for the J…

Many have argued that in the absence of a unified Palestinian liberation movement, and even of the ability to participate in the current mechanisms of governan…

There is consensus among scholars and observers that the protests that erupted in Iran in September 2022 represent a defining moment in the contemporary histor…

Over the past four months, the international community has been heaping praise on the Iranian people for their audacious uprising, which has been challenging t…

Daniel Brumberg examines the ongoing protests in Iran and the country’s hardline response, stressing that the disturbances are unlikely to lead to the collapse…

One of the keys to understanding the Islamic Republic of Iran is that despite the regime’s still formidable grip on power, its ruling elite believe that the re…

To adapt the famous opening line of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, it may be said that while all states are paradoxical, every state is paradoxical in its own wa…

Nearly one month after the Israeli military raided the offices of seven Palestinian civil society organizations—its latest step in an escalating campaign of re…

Once again, Libya is falling victim to its political elites’ failure to agree on a long-awaited election mechanism and constitutional provisions that would sec…

Despite the limited achievements of Iraq and Lebanon's recently-established protest movements compared to their stated objectives, the movements’ small gains m…

The Arab uprisings of 2011 gave rise to a utopian vision of information and communication technologies (ICTs), highlighting their abilities to bypass governmen…

In December 2021, an unprecedented event happened in Saudi Arabia: a rave just north of Riyadh. Men and women danced in mixed company, alcohol and marijuana we…

In October 2019, Iraq witnessed its most significant anti-government protests since the US-led invasion and occupation in 2003. The demonstrations blasted the …

 The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, often labeled as the world’s longest running, has been going on for more than 70 years. During this time, the Israeli narrat…

Since the desperate act of self-immolation of 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi in Sidi Bouzid, a marginalized city in the center of Tunisia, on December 17, 2010, …

For the first time in its history, Algeria is experiencing a political uprising that began in 2019 and is characterized as inclusive, peaceful, popular, and re…

Jordan’s carefully crafted international image was jolted recently when news broke of multiple arrests, the alleged detention of a Hashemite prince, and announ…

When the Arab Spring movements erupted in at least six Arab countries in 2011––Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain––they were accompanied by high …

Imad K. Harb writes that Lebanon’s new and largely unknown prime minister-designate, Mustafa Adib, is relatively inexperienced in politics. Nevertheless, his c…

Yousef Munayyer proposes that changes in American society and existing trends in public opinion, especially among the younger generation, suggest that a welcom…

Imad K. Harb contends that Hezbollah has not succeeded in helping to repair Lebanon's domestic political and economic problems, has made the country hostage to…

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

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…

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.

After 15 years of rivalry in Iraq and Lebanon, the United States and Iran are adjusting their policies based on a new reality of popular uprisings that challen…

Joe 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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Imad K. Harb writes that Lebanon’s current protests are a reminder that the Arab Spring is alive and well and that Lebanese politicians have no choice but to h…

Protests have again rocked Iraq’s streets as thousands of young people voiced their opposition to rampant corruption and sectarian politics. While the demonstr…

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…

A multilateral dialogue involving different segments of society and moderate military elements is imperative to end the current stalemate and lay the foundatio…

In Algeria, as in Egypt, the single biggest obstacle to advancing a democratic transition is the military. The opposition has some hard choices—none are good, …

The results of the municipal elections in Turkey have surprised many including the ruling AKP, which called them a “coup” and demanded a recount in Istanbul an…

Despite widespread protests in Algeria, there is little consensus among the demonstrators about the new system that would replace the current, hopelessly corru…

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…

Speculation has been rampant in the Palestinian, Arab, and international press about succession to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, who is g…

Once again, socioeconomic conditions are at the center of Jordan’s political instability. Thousands of Jordanians over the last few days have participated in p…

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…

A return to stability in the Arab world requires awareness by the respective governments of popular grievances and needs a plan for implementing corrective pol…

In the middle of the discussion about transition in Syria, Russia proposed the idea of a federal republic, according to deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov.…

On 17 December 2010, 26-year-old Tunisian street vendor Tarek al-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi was slapped across the face in front of a crowd and insulted by a munic…

The question that has been the center of discussion both in the Arab world and in the West is why now. What role did the new media tools play in motivating, fa…