Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Syrian Kurds in an Increasingly Precarious Position

    Oct 18, 2023Gregory Aftandilian

    Syrian Kurds associated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are increasingly seeing their autonomous entity in northeastern Syria threatened by internal an…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    The Plight and Politics of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

    Aug 8, 2023Patricia Karam

    When Syria’s regime was readmitted into the Arab League and its president, Bashar al Assad, rehabilitated after years of ostracism for his brutal crackdown on …

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaSecurity and Defense

    The Fate of the Wagner Group in Syria, Libya, and Sudan

    Jul 18, 2023Gregory Aftandilian

    The failed mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin has put the fate of his Wagner Group doubt, not only in Ukraine but in several Arab states as well.

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Jeddah Arab League Summit: MBS’s Final Crowning

    May 31, 2023Imad K. Harb

    The 32nd Arab League Summit was little more than the final crowning of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince as the leader of the current Arab political order.

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantClimate and Environment

    Water Politics in the Tigris-Euphrates Basin

    May 30, 2023Achref Chibani

    While energy security and the control of oil have long been determining factors for geopolitical conflict in the Middle East, the region’s geopolitics have als…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    What Does Normalization with Assad Mean for Accountability and a Political Resolution?

    Apr 18, 2023Patricia Karam

    Against the backdrop of Syria’s impending return to the Arab fold, French judges this month ordered three high-ranking Syrian intelligence officers to stand tr…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Obstacles to a Turkey-Syria Reconciliation

    Mar 29, 2023Salim Çevik

    Syrian President Bashar al-Assad paid an important visit to Moscow in mid-March 2023. One of the main agenda items was the Turkish-Syrian reconciliation that R…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Arab States Are Normalizing with Syria’s Assad Regime

    Mar 28, 2023Gregory Aftandilian

    Taking advantage of the devastating earthquake that ravaged parts of northwestern Syria in February, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has tried to use the trag…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab WorldUS Foreign Policy

    US Middle East Policy: The Trump-Biden Doctrine in Action

    Mar 22, 2023Charles W. Dunne

    All US presidents, it seems, need their own foreign policy “doctrine.” President James Monroe famously started the trend in 1823, and many others—Truman, Eisen…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Lebanon and Syria and the Saudi-Iran Detente

    Mar 21, 2023Imad K. Harb

    The recent China-brokered agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran is expected to have a de-escalating effect on many issues in the Midd…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Politics, Displacement, and the Human Toll of the Recent Earthquake in Syria

    Mar 15, 2023Heba Gowayed

    On February 6, 2023, the earth shifted at the fault line that runs along the Turkey-Syria border, resulting in a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which was followed j…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaSecurity and Defense

    Syrian Kurds Are Hoping for, but Not Banking On, Continued US Partnership

    Feb 24, 2023Gregory Aftandilian

    The massive earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northwestern Syria has given the Syrian Kurds a reprieve from a possible Turkish military invasion of ar…