Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonEnergy and Economics

    Little to Show After Two Years of Tense Lebanese-Israeli Maritime Border Negotiations

    Jul 8, 2022Laury Haytayan

    Lebanon and Israel have frequently been at odds during their nearly two years of negotiations over the two countries’ Mediterranean maritime border, with diffi…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantProtests and Activism

    The Political Transformation of Protest Movements in Iraq and Lebanon

    Jun 24, 2022Zeidon Alkinani

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

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantDemocracy and Governance

    A Preliminary Reading into Lebanon’s Parliamentary Elections

    May 18, 2022Halim Shebaya

    Lebanon’s parliamentary elections, held on May 15, 2022, were the first chance to understand where Lebanese voters stand on a number of important issues since …

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Hezbollah Mirrors a Weak State and a Turbulent Region

    Apr 13, 2022Nabeel A. Khoury

    In the eyes of an observant analyst, “While it is customary to characterize Hezbollah as a ‘state within a state,’ it is more accurate now to define it as a ‘s…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonEnergy and Economics

    The Need for an International Development Fund for Lebanon

    Jan 6, 2022Nabeel A. Khoury

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), European Union (EU), France, and the United States are all trying to help Lebanon out of the economic a…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Politics, Geopolitical Conditions Pushing Lebanon into a Death Spiral

    Dec 22, 2021Imad K. Harb

    Conditions in Lebanon today betray a slide toward the total failure of state institutions amid a precipitous downturn of the country’s economic and social indi…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Saudi Arabia’s Third “Shock and Awe” Move in Lebanon

    Nov 9, 2021Joe Macaron

    On October 29th, Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Beirut and suspended Lebanon’s imports into Saudi Arabia. These actions were aimed to force the resignation of…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Beirut Port Explosion: The Investigation That Will Shape Lebanon’s Future

    Oct 27, 2021Halim Shebaya

    For a country that is notorious for both a legacy of violence and a culture of impunity surrounding that violence, it is no surprise that the ongoing investiga…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Foreign Influence in Lebanon and the Third Miqati Premiership

    Oct 13, 2021Joe Macaron

    For the third time in 16 years, Prime Minister Najib Miqati comes to office as a consensus candidate in a country with deep divisions within the Lebanese polit…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonEnergy and Economics

    The Conflicted Role of Lebanon’s Central Bank

    Oct 12, 2021Sabine Kik

    Over the past few decades, public debt, sectarian nepotism, and fixed exchange rates have been three significant challenges to the Lebanese economy; albeit the…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonEnergy and Economics

    Lebanon’s Energy Crisis Fuels US-Iran Tensions

    Aug 25, 2021Joe Macaron

    In the midst of an economic collapse and an energy crisis, Lebanon has found itself in a tug of war between the United States and Iran. On August 19, Hezbollah…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Hezbollah in Moscow: Russia Flexes Its Diplomatic Muscles

    Apr 14, 2021Joe Macaron

    In a medium-sized van with no bodyguards, on a rainy March 15, 2021, a Hezbollah delegation quietly walked into the Russian Foreign Ministry building in Moscow…