Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Failures of Authoritarian Governance in Egypt

    Apr 28, 2021Khalil Al-Anani

    On March 23, the world's attention turned to Egypt as traffic in the strategic Suez Canal was disrupted after the 400-meter container ship, the Ever Given, ran…

  • Policy Analysis
    Energy and Economics

    Starving and Being Starved: Addressing Food Insecurity in Arab Populations

    Apr 5, 2021Yara M. Asi

    After years of civil war and outside intervention, Yemen continues to be widely recognized as having the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. A significant contr…

  • Policy Analysis
    Climate and Environment

    Climate Change in the Arab World: An Existential Threat in an Unstable Region

    Mar 2, 2021Yara M. Asi

    In the mid-2010s, several years into Syria’s brutal civil war, a theory emerged that perhaps the conflict was even more complicated than originally conceived. …

  • Policy Analysis
    SomaliaSecurity and Defense

    Increasing Contestation over the Red Sea and Horn of Africa

    Dec 23, 2020Gregory Aftandilian

    Growing international and regional involvement in the Red Sea-Horn of Africa theater has made this area a potential hot spot that is somewhat reminiscent of Be…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Lebanon Risks Becoming Irrelevant

    Nov 11, 2020Imad K. Harb

    For the third time in the span of a year, Lebanese politicians are trying to go back to the proverbial drawing board. On October 22nd, President Michel Aoun ap…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaEnergy and Economics

    US-Russian Competition and the M4 Highway in Syria

    Jun 23, 2020Joe Macaron

    Joe Macaron argues that in Syria, implementing the Caesar Act sanctions and opening the east-west M4 Highway reflect intensified US-Russian competition while t…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    US Middle East Policy in Free Fall

    May 28, 2020Daniel Brumberg

    Gulf Arab states have little choice but to rely for their security needs on the Trump Administration despite its feckless policy in the Middle East and poor ca…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaDemocracy and Governance

    MbS’s New “Vision 2020”: Reform and Repression

    May 5, 2020Daniel Brumberg

    Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) will most likely weather the political, economic, and health storms generated by COVID-19. Prompted by th…

  • Policy Analysis
    Energy and Economics

    The Impact of Low Oil Prices and COVID-19 on Arab Economies

    May 4, 2020Bessma Momani

    Bessma Momani analyzes the global oil price collapse and the COVID-19 public health crisis as a dual blow to the social and economic well-being of both oil-ric…

  • Washington Policy Weekly
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Did the Saudi-Led Oil Deal Diminish Republicans’ 2020 Electoral Chances?

    Apr 15, 2020Marcus Montgomery

    Because the health of the US economy is critical for Donald Trump's reelection hopes, Marcus Montgomery asks if the recent Saudi-led OPEC+ cuts will contribute…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    The COVID-19 Pandemic Prompts Debate over Iran Sanctions

    Apr 1, 2020Marcus Montgomery

    Marcus Montgomery details splits in official Washington about how to deal with Iran at this delicate time of the coronavirus outbreak: some want to offer sanct…

  • Policy Analysis
    MoroccoDemocracy and Governance

    Morocco: Despite Some Progress, Many Challenges Remain

    Mar 31, 2020Nabeel A. Khoury

    Nabeel Khoury discusses Morocco's political and economic conditions and cautions its elite to use the opportunity of the current social calm engendered by the …