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- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy
The Biden Administration’s Foreign Policy: Key Features and Likely Changes
Jan 6, 2021Unit for Political StudiesHaving won the American presidential election, and despite incumbent President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede, Democratic candidate and President-elect Joe …
- Policy AnalysisUS Foreign Policy
The Limits of American Multilateral Diplomacy in the Middle East
Dec 21, 2020Daniel BrumbergPerhaps the hardest among the many challenges that the new Biden Administration will face is renewing the spirit and practice of multilateral diplomacy in regi…
- Policy AnalysisUS Foreign Policy
The Biden Administration and US Foreign Policy Decision-Making
Dec 15, 2020Joe MacaronPresident-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration will have a lasting impact on the American foreign policy decision-making process, most notably when it com…
- Policy AnalysisMoroccoUS Foreign Policy
Morocco, Too, Signs on to Trump’s Lawlessness
Dec 11, 2020Imad K. HarbMorocco became the fourth Arab country to normalize relations with Israel without linking the move to progress regarding Palestine. In fact, the agreement had …
- Policy AnalysisTurkeyUS Foreign Policy
What Awaits US-Turkey Relations in the Biden Era?
Dec 9, 2020Mustafa GurbuzA few weeks before the November elections, a video clip of then-presidential candidate Joe Biden went viral in Turkey and caused a stir inside the Turkish gove…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaUS Foreign Policy
Biden Has a New Opportunity in Syria
Dec 7, 2020Radwan ZiadehThe exceptional nature of the 2020 American presidential election, held in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic that has so far killed over a quarter million…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Biden and Israel: The Constraints Are Plentiful
Dec 4, 2020Yousef MunayyerAs inauguration nears and President-elect Joe Biden assembles his cabinet and broader domestic and foreign policy teams, they collectively stare at four years …
- Policy AnalysisNorth AfricaUS Foreign Policy
The Complications Confronting Biden in Northwest Africa
Dec 2, 2020Imad K. HarbFollowing four years of American disarray and the absence of an effective foreign policy, the Joe Biden presidency faces both serious challenges in dealing wit…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptUS Foreign Policy
The Biden Administration and Egypt: A New Course or Business as Usual?
Dec 1, 2020Khalil Al-AnaniSince the announcement of Joe Biden’s victory in the US election, a state of anxiety and unease has gripped Egypt. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi will now lose…
- Policy AnalysisUS Foreign Policy
Democracy and Human Rights in the Middle East: The Biden Agenda
Nov 25, 2020Charles W. DunneAs news that former Vice President Joe Biden had won the American presidential election began to circulate on Saturday, November 7, messages of congratulations…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfThe GCC
The Biden Presidency and the Gulf Arab States
Nov 24, 2020Kristian Coates UlrichsenAssessing the Biden Administration’s future relations with the Gulf, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen writes that it faces a set of difficult challenges on a number o…
- Policy AnalysisYemenUS Foreign Policy
Yemen May Be a Priority for Biden and the Democrats
Nov 20, 2020Gregory AftandilianAs President-elect Joe Biden assembles his team and sets his priorities for the next four years, there has been much speculation as to what he will focus on in…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
The Trump Term: An Israel-Palestine Damage Assessment
Nov 11, 2020Yousef MunayyerShortly after he was elected as president in November 2016, Donald Trump quickly got to work on advancing his Israel policy. In fact, he might have focused mor…
- Policy AnalysisPublic Opinion
How Do People in the Middle East View the US Presidential Election?
Nov 6, 2020Khalil Al-Anani Abdulwahab Al-Qassab Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Tamara Kharroub Jonathan Kuttab Joe Macaron Marcus Montgomery Yousef MunayyerWith the United States playing a major role in Middle East politics, US presidential elections are usually of utmost importance to the region’s leaders, elites…
- Policy AnalysisIranUS Foreign Policy
Iran and the World Wait for Biden
Nov 5, 2020Daniel BrumbergIranian leaders have insisted that the November 3rd US elections would have no real significance for Iran’s basic interests. But such assertions should not be …
- Policy AnalysisUAEUS Foreign Policy
The Middle East Accords: An Arab Perspective
Nov 2, 2020Imad K. HarbThe recent agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Sudan will not help the cause of regional peace.On August 13, President D…
- Policy AnalysisSecurity and Defense
As US Counterterrorism Policy Focus Wavers, a Thorough Review Is Needed
Oct 28, 2020Charles W. DunneThe struggle to defeat global terrorism has been a dominant issue in the last four presidential elections, but not so in 2020. As the race between Donald Trump…
- Policy AnalysisSudanUS Foreign Policy
US Presses Sudan to Normalize Relations with Israel
Oct 14, 2020Gregory AftandilianThe Trump Administration is holding up the removal of Sudan from the State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) list because it wants Khartoum to establish diplomatic t…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy
Saudi Arabia Prefers Implicit Normalization with Israel
Sep 18, 2020Daniel BrumbergSigned at the White House on September 15, the new peace agreements between Israel on the one side and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain on the other …
- ViewpointUAESecurity and Defense
Comments on the UAE’s Acquisition of the F-35
Sep 8, 2020Abdulwahab Al-QassabIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to have condoned the sale of the advanced American F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to the United Arab Emirates afte…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonUS Foreign Policy
How Can the United States Best Help Lebanon?
Aug 25, 2020Charles W. DunneWith Lebanon in crisis and the United States’ desire to help, Charles W. Dunne writes that Washington’s focus on sidelining Hezbollah and Iran should not under…
- ViewpointIraqUS Foreign Policy
Iraq’s Mustafa Al-Kadhimi Comes to Washington
Aug 18, 2020Abdulwahab Al-QassabAbdulwahab Al-Qassab previews Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi’s upcoming visit to Washington and writes that the American capital may be too preoccupie…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
The UAE-Israel Deal: Exploring the Motives
Aug 17, 2020Khalil E. JahshanKhalil E. Jahshan explores the political reasons behind the agreement to officially normalize relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, stating th…
- ViewpointUS Foreign Policy
Pompeo and His Unalienable Rights Scam
Aug 5, 2020Khalil E. JahshanCommenting on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s latest speech about support for human rights around the world, Khalil E. Jahshan argues that affiliating with mi…
- Policy AnalysisIraqUS Foreign Policy
US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue: Important Achievements, but Much Remains to Be Done
Jul 14, 2020Charles W. DunneCharles W. Dunne reports that the first round of the US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue in June made progress on security issues, but many challenges remain for the tw…
- Policy AnalysisLibyaUS Foreign Policy
By Sanctioning Turkey’s Role in Libya, Trump Emboldens Erdoğan in the Eastern Mediterranean
Jul 10, 2020Joe MacaronEvaluating the Trump Administration's policy toward Libya, Joe Macaron writes that from giving a green light to Haftar to march toward Tripoli to endorsing Tur…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaEnergy and Economics
US-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 AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfSecurity and Defense
The Arms Trade in the MENA Region: Drivers and Dangers
Jun 17, 2020Charles W. DunneCharles W. Dunne argues that international arms sales remain a huge business in the Middle East, making it the most militarized region globally. However, he wr…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
Trump Toys with Domestic Use of Military
Jun 10, 2020Marcus MontgomeryMarcus Montgomery discusses President Trump's gambit to use the American military domestically and the administration's new approach to Israel's annexation pla…
- ViewpointLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Threat of Israeli Annexation: The American Dimension
Jun 9, 2020Khalil E. JahshanKhalil E. Jahshan writes that there is nothing new about depopulating Palestine and confiscating and annexing Palestinian land, policies that have been necessa…
- Policy AnalysisSecurity and Defense
China in the Middle East: Capitalizing on Washington’s Distractions
May 29, 2020Charles W. DunneCharles W. Dunne analyzes how China's efforts to expand and defend its interests in the Middle East may come at the expense of the United States, which has tra…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelInternational Law
Assessing Options for a Palestinian Response to Israeli Annexation
May 28, 2020Yousef MunayyerAfter 18 months of false starts and three attempts, Israeli elections have finally yielded a governing coalition that has brought together its largest parties,…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy
US 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 AnalysisIraqViolent Extremism
The US and Iraq Must Shore Up the Fight against the Islamic State
May 8, 2020Charles W. DunneCharles W. Dunne argues that the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq faces numerous setbacks, including the coronavirus, and that the upcoming US-Iraq Stra…
- Washington Policy WeeklyPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Capitol Hill Turns to Public Diplomacy to Challenge Trump’s Policies
May 6, 2020Marcus MontgomeryUntil May 4, the House of Representatives and Senate were steering clear of Capitol Hill in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease to lawma…
- Policy AnalysisIranUS Foreign Policy
Worrisome American Response to Iran in the Gulf
May 5, 2020Abdulwahab Al-QassabAbdulwahab Al-Qassab examines the muted US response to Iranian provocations in the Arabian Gulf, surmising that it reflects poorly on the reputation of the Uni…
- Policy AnalysisUS Domestic Politics and Elections
COVID-19, Presidential Elections, and US Foreign Policy
Apr 29, 2020Joe MacaronJoe Macaron writes that Donald Trump's presidency and his administration's foreign policy may be defined this election year by the coronavirus pandemic and its…
- Washington Policy WeeklySaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
Did 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 AnalysisLibyaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Libya: Between Proxy War and International Failure
Apr 14, 2020Khalil Al-AnaniThe domestic, regional, and international players of the Libyan conflict continue to fuel the civil war nine years after the toppling of Muammar Qadhafi.
- Policy AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
The Fakhoury Fiasco and US-Lebanese Relations
Apr 13, 2020Joe MacaronThe unconventional release of Lebanese-American Amer Fakhoury highlights the extent of Washington’s leverage in Beirut and raises questions about the status of…
- Policy AnalysisIranUS Foreign Policy
The 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 AnalysisIranUS Foreign Policy
COVID-19 and Iranian-American Relations
Apr 1, 2020Daniel BrumbergAs US-Iran relations suffer from continuing political and ideological differences, the coronavirus calamity could provide an opportunity for deescalation and c…
- Policy AnalysisJordanUS Foreign Policy
Jordan and Trump’s Peace Plan
Mar 24, 2020Gregory AftandilianJordan’s relations with Israel have hit a low point following the unveiling of the Trump peace plan because of fears over annexation of Israeli settlements in …
- Policy AnalysisSyriaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Russian-Turkish Tensions in Syria May Help Mend the US-Turkish Divide
Mar 20, 2020Daniel BrumbergDaniel Brumberg studies the intricacies of Turkey's involvement in Syria and accommodation with Russia as it simultaneously hopes to enlist the assistance of t…
- Policy AnalysisIranUS Foreign Policy
Trump, Congress Lay Out Election Year Foreign Policy Priorities
Mar 11, 2020Marcus MontgomeryMarcus Montgomery discusses how the Trump Administration is pressing forward with its campaign against Iran as many in Congress are trying to constrain the pre…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
The 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…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
What Does Bipartisan Support for Israel Look Like?
Mar 4, 2020Marcus MontgomeryThe AIPAC and CPAC conferences in Washington became the venue for the Republican Party to seek to redefine the parameters of bipartisan support for Israel.
- Policy AnalysisIraqRegional Relations and Geopolitics
The United States and Iran Continue to Maneuver in Iraq
Feb 21, 2020Gregory AftandilianGregory Aftandilian contends that after the very tense period of December 2019-January 2020, the United States and Iran are seeking to restore their credibilit…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Global Reactions to the Trump Peace Plan
Feb 20, 2020Yousef MunayyerYousef Munayyer cautions that Trump’s position and weight as president of the United States influence how the international community reacts to his plan for Pa…
- Policy AnalysisLevantUS Foreign Policy
Bipartisan 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 AnalysisRegional Relations and Geopolitics
The Dangerous Consequence of Marginalizing the Arab “Moderates”
Feb 18, 2020Joe MacaronBy prioritizing Arab-Israeli normalization in order to deter Iran, the Trump Administration is enabling Arab authoritarians and reinforcing the dangerous possi…
- Washington Policy WeeklyPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
“Your Proposal Attempts to Make a Genuine Two-State Solution Impossible”
Feb 12, 2020Marcus MontgomeryCongressional Democrats, Palestinians, and the broader international community still see too many problems with Trump’s proposed plan for Palestinian-Israeli p…
- Washington Policy WeeklyIranUS Foreign Policy
What is Congress Willing to Do to Avoid War with Iran?
Feb 6, 2020Marcus MontgomeryThis week, the House of Representatives took further decisive steps to try and prevent President Donald Trump from embroiling the United States in another war …
- From our AffiliatesPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
“Deal of the Century”: What Is It and Why Now?
Feb 4, 2020Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS)While the circumstances may seem favorable in the United States and Israel for the implementation of Trump’s so-called peace plan, it is unlikely to win popula…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Domestic Politics and Elections
The American Jewish Community and the 2020 US Presidential Election
Jan 31, 2020Lara FriedmanThe American Jewish community, for all its internal divisions and distinctions, has nonetheless long been characterized by remarkably consistent, and by all ap…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
The 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Steal 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 AnalysisLebanonUS Foreign Policy
US, Iran Prolong Détente in Lebanon with a Status Quo Cabinet
Jan 29, 2020Joe MacaronJoe Macaron contends that the new Lebanese government of Hassan Diab is a continuation of the old oligarchic status quo and appears to prolong the US-Iran déte…
- Washington Policy WeeklyPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Does Jared Kushner Even Believe in His Own “Peace Plan”?
Jan 29, 2020Marcus MontgomeryAs President Trump and his advisor Jared Kushner unveil their so-called “peace plan” for Israel and Palestine, Marcus Montgomery questions whether Kushner trul…
- Policy AnalysisUS Foreign Policy
There’s No Consensus on US Middle East Policy; Time to Apply the War Powers Act
Jan 23, 2020Charles W. DunneApplying the War Powers Act is one way of addressing the absence of a coherent American policy in the Middle East and avoiding a new US military engagement in …
- Policy AnalysisIranSecurity and Defense
Gulf Arab States Still Worried about a US-Iran War
Jan 23, 2020Gregory AftandilianGregory Aftandilian argues that Gulf Arab states increasingly view the United States as an unreliable and erratic ally and are urging restraint by Washington a…
- Washington Policy WeeklyUS Foreign Policy
What Is Next for Mike Pompeo?
Jan 23, 2020Marcus MontgomeryMarcus Montgomery examines the future political ambitions of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, one of the most influential members of the Trump Administration, a…
- Policy AnalysisIranUS Foreign Policy
Washington’s Strategy in the Post-Soleimani Middle East
Jan 15, 2020Joe MacaronJoe Macaron writes that the post-Soleimani Middle East offers both challenges and opportunities but the Trump Administration does not seem to have a strategy t…
- Policy AnalysisIranUS Foreign Policy
Soleimani’s Assassination Backfires Big Time
Jan 7, 2020Daniel BrumbergWashington’s killing of Qassem Soleimani violates the red lines that the United States and Iran had previously respected in order to avoid escalation, and make…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance
Repressing 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…
- ViewpointIranUS Foreign Policy
A Middle East Calamity Is about to Unfold
Jan 3, 2020Imad K. HarbKilling Soleimani has put the Middle East at the edge of a dangerous abyss and hastened an inevitable confrontation between the United States and Iran.
- ViewpointSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
The 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 AnalysisIranRegional Relations and Geopolitics
The United States and Iran Readjust to New Realities in Iraq and Lebanon
Dec 18, 2019Joe MacaronAfter 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…