Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    Changing GCC Outlook Toward US-Iran Talks

    May 7, 2025Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    Leaders of the six GCC states have worked assiduously since 2021 to repair and rebuild ties with Iran as part of a ‘de-risking’ strategy designed to take the s…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    US Policy and Gulf Arab Interests: More Clash, Less Harmony

    May 6, 2025Jim Krane

    Gulf sovereign wealth funds are grappling with zig-zagging share valuations, while the falling oil price—compounded by a falling dollar—is throttling capital f…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    Restructuring the US Department of State: The De-prioritization of Human Rights?

    May 2, 2025Annelle Sheline

    On April 22, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a proposed “comprehensive reorganization plan” of the US Department of State. The information that he pos…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    One Hundred Days of Trump’s Foreign Policy: US Reputation and the World Order Take a Hit

    Apr 29, 2025Charles W. Dunne

    The onslaught of US President Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy has surprised the world with its depth and ferocity.

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Trump’s Upcoming Trip to Saudi Arabia Amid Regional Uncertainties

    Apr 25, 2025Gregory Aftandilian

    President Donald Trump plans to make Saudi Arabia the first country he will visit during his second term in office—after his visit to the Vatican to take part …

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    Trump Might Go for a Nuclear Deal Without a Larger Middle East Strategy

    Apr 22, 2025Daniel Brumberg

    Over the last week, Iran hardliners in Washington have issued dire warnings about the Trump administration’s launching of nuclear talks with Iran. Iranian lead…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    Trump’s Impulse-Driven Middle East Policy Creates Dangers and Opportunities

    Mar 27, 2025Daniel Brumberg

    A recent report by a pro-Israel think tank in Washington cautions against making any deal with Iran that does not provide for the total dismantlement of Tehran…

  • 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
    The Arab WorldConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    An Arab Plan for Gaza: Obstacles and Possibilities

    Mar 7, 2025Yara M. Asi Heba Gowayed Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Yousef Munayyer Annelle Sheline

    In response to President Donald Trump’s February 4 proposal to take over the Gaza Strip, displacing its indigenous Palestinians and transforming it into “the R…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptUS Foreign Policy

    Trump’s Favorite Dictator Feels the Heat

    Feb 28, 2025Imad K. Harb

    US President Donald Trump appears to have developed different ideas about Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi upon whom he bestowed the moniker “favorite d…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Normalization and Displacement: Saudi Arabia and Trump’s Gaza Proposal

    Feb 20, 2025The Unit for Political Studies

    Saudi Arabia is deeply concerned about the risks that Trump’s Gaza project poses to Egypt and Jordan and are uneasy about repeated American and Israeli stateme…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    Trump’s Second-Term Foreign Policy: Highly Centralized, and Highly Personal

    Feb 12, 2025Charles W. Dunne

    The late US secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld once famously explained his taxonomy of information in typically gnomic terms. “There are known knowns,” he sa…