Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    IraqConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Mosul will not be Truly Liberated Without Strong Political Leadership

    Nov 17, 2016Mustafa Gurbuz

    The military victory in Mosul will not be sufficient unless the United States finds a political resolution, in cooperation with local parties, that addresses S…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Domestic Politics and Elections

    What can President-elect Trump achieve with a Republican Congress?

    Nov 17, 2016Roxanne Perugino

    Election ResultsIn a departure from the voter tradition of preferring a divided government, i.e. one party controlling the presidency and another the Congress,…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    November 8: What’s at stake for the Arab world?

    Nov 7, 2016Joe Macaron

    What motivates the Arab world’s interest in the 2016 US presidential election is primarily the concern about Washington’s role in the Middle East as well as th…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantDemocracy and Governance

    Arab Issues Awaiting the Next President

    Nov 7, 2016Imad K. Harb

    Amidst the maelstrom that is the presidential election, American foreign policy has regressed to the uncomfortable and neglected recesses reserved for untoucha…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    End of Stalemate: A Loose Power-Sharing Agreement in Lebanon

    Oct 28, 2016Joe Macaron

    After a 30-month impasse that paralyzed the country’s governing institutions and questioned the legitimacy of the confessional system, the Lebanese Parliament …

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Battle of Mosul Portends the Future of Iraq

    Oct 28, 2016Imad K. Harb

    The long-awaited battle to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is underway. Months prior, the Iraqi army and police,…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    ‘Underlearning’ the Lessons of Iraq: American Agility and Russian Influence

    Oct 20, 2016Yousef Munayyer

    Perhaps one of the most cited criticisms of US foreign policy relating to Syria today is the notion that President Barack Obama has “overlearned” the lessons o…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The New Regional Order amid the Aleppo Rubble

    Oct 20, 2016Joe Macaron

    It became obvious in recent weeks that the US-Russian channel regarding Syria has run its course and can no longer be the bedrock of serious diplomatic efforts…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Domestic Politics and Elections

    The Two Presidential Candidates and Their Middle East Policies

    Oct 13, 2016Roxanne Perugino

    Most voters almost never decide a presidential election based on foreign policy, but Clinton is one of the leaders of the centrist Democratic foreign policy es…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Colombia Peace Talks: Lessons for Palestine Policy

    Oct 13, 2016Yousef Munayyer

    After four years of painstaking negotiations, the 52-year war in Colombia between the government and rebels looked like it was coming to an end. Then, in one d…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptSecurity and Defense

    Future US-Egyptian Relations: The Old Status Quo Redux

    Oct 13, 2016Imad K. Harb

    A long time ago, there appeared to be a symbiotic relationship between the United States and Egypt. The former was a strategic benefactor that understood the i…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Hezbollah, Iran, and the Politics of Obstructionism

    Sep 23, 2016Imad K. Harb

    On September 7, Lebanon’s Parliament failed for the forty-third time to convene a session to elect a president. Since the expiration of former president Michel…

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