Policy Analysis

Policy Analysis
EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Explaining Egypt’s Role during the Gaza War
Jun 3, 2021Khalil Al-Anani
On May 21, 2021, a cease-fire agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas after an 11-day military confrontation. Egypt played a vital role in securing the …
Policy Analysis
Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
A Tough Nut to Crack: Rebalancing the US-Saudi Relationship
Jun 2, 2021Charles W. Dunne
Out on the campaign trail in 2019, presidential candidate Joe Biden made it clear that when it came to a principled US foreign policy, he intended to be the an…
Policy Analysis
SyriaDemocracy and Governance
Syria’s Presidential Election and the Absence of the American Role
Jun 1, 2021Radwan Ziadeh
On May 26, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth seven-year term in a practically uncontested election. No one was surprised by the original announceme…
Policy Analysis
SyriaUS Foreign Policy
The Biden Administration and the GCC Rapprochement with Damascus
May 27, 2021Joe Macaron
With Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on his way to a fourth term in the Syrian presidential election held this week, Moscow is expected to resume its diplomat…
Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
The Sheikh Jarrah Intifada: Vital Lessons for President Biden
May 25, 2021Charles W. Dunne Khalil E. Jahshan Laurie King
The recent Palestinian intifada instigated in early May by a series of local clashes between Israeli Jewish settlers and Palestinian activists over the anticip…
Policy Analysis
IranRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Iran Plays a Diplomatically Cautious (and Smart) Game on Gaza
May 22, 2021Daniel Brumberg
It’s not every day that Hamas leaders openly plead for Tehran’s support. But this is apparently what happened when, as the battle between Gaza’s militant grou…
Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
The Time Has Come for an American Change on Israel
May 20, 2021Imad K. Harb
President Joe Biden has finally uttered the magic word of cease-fire in a telephone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they discussed the o…
Policy Analysis
Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Contingencies Undergird Saudi Foreign Policy
May 18, 2021Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
A flurry of diplomatic outreach involving Iran, Syria, and Turkey, and a continuing warming of relations with other Gulf countries, have sparked questions over…
Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
The Sheikh Jarrah Chapter of the Palestinian Nakba
May 14, 2021Yara M. Asi Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Sarah Leah Whitson Radwan Ziadeh
On the 73rd anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, another round of dispossession of Palestinians continues, this time in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood…
Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
Israel’s Screen of Legality behind the Sheikh Jarrah Dispossession
May 12, 2021Jonathan Kuttab
The situation in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood represents a microcosm of the ongoing Judaization process that has been taking place since the creation…
Policy Analysis
Women & Gender Issues
The (Slowly) Changing Gender Dynamics in Arab Countries
May 11, 2021Yara M. Asi
A now infamous image from 2014 captured the moment Loujain al-Hathloul’s life changed: it shows her sitting behind the wheel of a car, a small smile on her fac…
Policy Analysis
TunisiaDemocracy and Governance
Is Tunisia’s President Endangering Democracy?
May 7, 2021Daniel Brumberg
Recently, Tunisia has witnessed a political dynamic that is all too rare in the Arab world: Islamists have joined forces with some secularly oriented Members o…