Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Lebanon’s Politicians Are Incapable of Productive Dialogue

    Jan 12, 2023Halim Shebaya

    Lebanon has now entered the fourth year of its devastating economic crisis and collapse, with no end in sight and no hint regarding the possible launch of a re…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Lebanon Faces a Prolonged Presidential Vacuum

    Nov 29, 2022Imad K. Harb

    Lebanon has experienced a long presidential vacuum three times in its history: from September 1988 to November 1989, from November 2007 to May 2008, and from M…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonEnergy and Economics

    Lebanon Will Not Benefit from Its Maritime Agreement with Israel

    Oct 31, 2022Imad K. Harb

    After ten years of on-again, off-again negotiations, Lebanon and Israel have finally reached what leaders in both countries consider an acceptable deal to dema…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaGlobal Health and Health Policy

    The Captagon Problem in Saudi Arabia and Other Gulf States

    Sep 22, 2022Gregory Aftandilian

    Over the past decade, the amphetamine fenethylline, widely known by the brand name Captagon, has increasingly become the drug of choice among the youth in Gulf…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonEnergy and Economics

    Lebanon Struggles to Pick up the Pieces After the Beirut Port Explosion

    Sep 9, 2022Yara M. Asi

    Lebanon’s independence in 1943 formally ended a 23-year French mandate backed by the League of Nations, a period that saw the consolidation of the country’s cu…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonEnergy and Economics

    An Update on the Lebanon-Israel Border Dispute

    Sep 7, 2022Imad K. Harb

    As the summer comes to a close, indirect negotiations to demarcate the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel continue apace. Although US mediator Amos Hoc…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Lebanon’s Upcoming Presidential Race Is Riddled with Uncertainty

    Jul 21, 2022Nabeel A. Khoury

    Amid political chaos, economic collapse, a dearth of public services, and shortages of basic foods and medications, Lebanon is nonetheless slated to hold anoth…

  • 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…