Policy Analysis

Policy Analysis
IranUS Foreign Policy
Perspectives on the US Attack on Iran and Its Repercussions
Jun 23, 2025Charles W. Dunne Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Tamara Kharroub Assal Rad Annelle Sheline Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
After waiting for a week following Israel’s June 13 attack on Iran, US President Donald Trump decided to involve the United States directly in the Israeli-Iran…
Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelIsraeli War Tactics and Genocide
Hunger in Gaza and the Ongoing Weaponization of Aid
Jun 20, 2025Yara M. Asi
“Hunger slowly crushes you. It feels like dying alone in a desert that no foot has ever touched. I cannot sleep properly or sit still long enough to read. I fe…
Policy Analysis
TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Turkey’s Repositioning in the Middle East’s Emerging Order
Jun 17, 2025Salim Çevik
The Middle East has undergone a profound upheaval following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and the fall of the Assad regime in Syria in December 2…
Policy Analysis
US Foreign Policy
Trump’s Cuts Badly Affect Promoting International Democracy and Human Rights
Jun 16, 2025Charles W. Dunne
The Trump administration’s swift demolition of key governmental and government-funded institutions promoting democracy abroad is a clear attack not just on imp…
Policy Analysis
YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Yemen’s Houthi Movement Reconsidered
Jun 12, 2025Nabeel A. Khoury
In January 2019, this author posed the question, “can one make peace with the Houthis of Yemen?” In the six years since, the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah…
From our Affiliates
Palestine/IsraelThe War on Gaza
Transformations in European Attitudes toward the Genocidal War on Gaza
Jun 4, 2025The Unit for Political Studies
Recent weeks have seen a remarkable shift in European policy on Gaza. After more than 18 months of support for, silence on, or, at the very least, turning a bl…
Policy Analysis
LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
Israel’s Justice System and the Genocidal War on Gaza
May 30, 2025Nareman Shehadeh-Zoabi
IntroductionDespite attempts to portray it as liberal, many consider the justice system in Israel to be part of Israel’s illiberal political system. This is b…
Policy Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy
Will Trump’s Gulf Trip Exacerbate or Mitigate the Arab World’s Three Plagues?
May 22, 2025Rami G. Khouri
The lasting effects of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf region may only become clear in the year ahead, making any suggestions of profound changes…
Policy Analysis
Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
Deals Without Guarantees: Trump’s Gulf Visit and the Future of US–Saudi Relations
May 22, 2025The Unit for Political Studies
On May 13, US President Donald Trump began a four-day tour of Gulf countries, during which he traveled to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UA…
Policy Analysis
YemenUS Foreign Policy
Implications of the US-Houthi Ceasefire Deal
May 21, 2025Gregory Aftandilian
President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement on May 6 of a ceasefire deal with Yemen’s Houthis—in which the militant group pledged not to target American shi…
Policy Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy
President Trump’s Gulf Trip: Post-Visit Observations
May 20, 2025Charles W. Dunne Dana El Kurd Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Assal Rad Annelle Sheline
Last week President Donald Trump ended a three-country trip to the Arabian Gulf—Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates—where he signed lucrative arm…
Policy Analysis
LebanonJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
Resumption of Beirut Port Blast Investigation Offers Lebanon New Hope
May 15, 2025Patricia Karam
Nearly five years after the devastating explosion at the Port of Beirut that killed some 220 people, injured some 7,000, and left a large portion of the city i…